The Rainmaker Page #4

May it please the court...

Leo F. Drummond, of Tinley Britt,

counsel for Great Benefit.

If this young man has passed the bar, -

let him argue the case.

We welcome him to big-time litigation.

You have no objection?

I would be honoured to introduce him

to the practice of law in Tennessee.

You can give him the oath right now.

I'll be pleased to stand for him.

Are you certain

you're prepared to proceed?

Yes, Your Honour.

Very well, raise your right hand.

Do you solemnly swear -

- that you will support the constitution

of the United States faithfully, -

- and conduct yourself to the best

of your abilities, so help you God?

- I do.

- Okay, let's move on.

Congratulations. Welcome.

Sworn in by a fool,

and vouched for by a scoundrel.

I'm a lawyer at last.

- May I, Harv?

- Sure.

Sit down.

This lawsuit bothers me.

I wouldn't use the word frivolous, -

- but I'm not impressed

with the merits of it.

I'm really tired of these type of lawsuits.

I'm inclined

to grant the motion to dismiss.

You can re-file it in federal court,

take it somewhere else.

I don't want it clogging up my docket.

Excuse me while I go to the can.

Rudy, I'm a very expensive lawyer.

I'm from a very expensive firm

and I've handled a lot of cases.

I told my clients at Great Benefit -

- that costs alone here are going to be

a big deal. And for you, too.

They've authorised me -

to offer you and your clients...

...$50,000 to settle this thing out.

I may even be able

to raise that figure up to... 75,000.

No admission of liability.

Of course, if you say no,

it's going to be World War Three.

- My turn. May I, Harv?

- Sure.

There's not much of a lawsuit here.

Maybe I can lean on Leo to settle.

They'll throw some money at you to

keep from paying him $1,000 a minute.

He already offered me

the cost of the defence.

- Oh really? How much?

- 75,000.

Jeez...

Look here, son,

you'd be crazy not to take that.

- You think so?

- 75,000, that's a bunch of money.

- It doesn't sound like Leo.

- He's a great guy.

- So?

- It was an ambush.

- What happened?

- They tag-teamed me.

- Would they have done that to Bruiser?

- No, he's too savvy for that.

- They offered me 75,000.

- Good. Our third is 25,000. We need it.

He was serious about dismissing

the case. He's just an old, angry man.

Let's grab what we can

to make things easier on his parents.

- They made an offer to settle.

- What kind of offer?

$75,000.

That's what it'll cost

to pay their lawyers to defend the case.

They think they can just buy us off?

That's exactly what they think.

You better talk to him.

Do you want to settle, Rudy?

Some of the money is yours.

No way.

I want to expose these people.

- Could you get me a glass of water?

- Sure, baby.

Whatever you get out of this case,

will you take care of my family with it?

I really love them.

While we're all out there scrambling,

like we're never gonna die, -

- this boy's looking right at it,

and he's doing it almost alone.

I can't even begin to imagine

the courage it must take.

- Hello.

- Guess who died last night.

- Do you ever sleep?

- Harvey Hale, 62, quite a pedigree.

- Judge Hale?

- Heart attack. Died in his pool.

You've got to be kidding me.

- Guess who got the case in his place.

- How the hell am I supposed to know?

Tyrone Kipler. Black, Harvard,

civil rights lawyer, hates Tinley Britt.

And he's tough on insurance

companies. Great luck for us!

You know what a rainmaker is?

The bucks will be falling from the sky!

When are you coming?

We've got to talk about fast-tracking.

Coffee's on the way.

Mr Drummond, you've objected

to the fast-tracking of this case.

- What's the problem?

- Judge Hale already ruled on the issue.

The preparations required

place undue burden on both parties.

Nonsense.

Let me ask you something.

As a defence lawyer, have you ever

agreed to fast-track a lawsuit?

- I believe I have.

- Fine...

Give me the name of the case

and the court.

I'll have to get back to you on that.

Call me this afternoon by three.

- I won't be in before three.

- Call when you get in.

I'm very anxious to hear about this case

you agreed to fast-track.

This boy is about to die. You do agree

we need to record his testimony?

Of course, Your Honour. But my trial

calendar is pushing me around good.

- How about next Thursday afternoon?

- Great for me.

- I'm sorry.

- That's a week from today.

I'm out of town Thursday.

The deposition is set for

next Thursday afternoon, two p. m.

Sorry if it inconveniences the defence, -

- but there's enough of you guys

to handle it.

- What's next?

- The motion to dismiss is still pending.

Oh, yes. That motion is denied.

- Well, I guess that's it.

- Gentlemen, let's go.

Congratulations on your appointment,

Your Honour.

Mr Drummond...

Don't forget to call me with the name

of that case you agreed to fast-track.

I'll look around.

You in over your head, son?

Absolutely.

Deck wants to do an ad on the local

rap station, but we can't afford it.

Furnishings, bar dues, 750 for a fax,

400 for a lease on the computer, -

- down-payment on a car,

and we're broke again.

But Deck's thrilled

with the way things are going.

Rudy, hi.

- How are you?

- Good.

I'm going up to Cleveland Wednesday,

the headquarters of Great Benefit.

I'm going to take depositions

from all the executives.

We'll take care of the expenses.

It's no problem.

Awkward...

- My associate, Deck Shifflet.

- How do you do?

- Rudy, Tyrone is here.

- Okay. The judge is here.

Wait, Dot, give me that.

- Hello.

- Hello.

- Come right in.

- Mrs Black, Judge Kipler.

It's a privilege to meet you.

Come on in.

There's not a lot of room here.

Let's take a look outside.

Is that all right with you, son?

Sure.

I'll show you the way.

These lawyers get $1,000 an hour,

and I hate them.

From their lofty perch, pissing down

on the justice system with disdain.

I used to hate them because

I wasn't good enough for them.

Now I hate them for who,

and what, they represent.

- Your Honour, how are you?

- Fine. The dogs didn't startle you?

- We're doing this thing outside?

- It's cramped inside. Have a seat.

Thank you.

- Hey, Donny Ray.

- Hey.

You've already met Judge Kipler.

This is Leo F. Drummond

and associates.

- This is Tammy, the court reporter.

- Swear him in.

Do you swear your testimony will be

the truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

- I told him...

- Don't worry about it.

- It's just a deposition.

- I represent Great Benefit.

And I'm very sorry to be here

under these circumstances.

We wouldn't be here if your clients

had done what they should've done.

You want a stick of gum?

Did you break your arm?

You had an accident?

- Why?

- I'm a lawyer.

Give it to your mom. You're his mom?

Maybe I can get you some money.

I'll help that gentleman first.

No, I got it.

- Can I help you, sir?

- I'm just looking.

Sit in the back row of the cinema down

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