Down Will Come Baby

Having worked in a Wall Street law firm for several years, Jess Raglan is beginning to find her way as a sole practitioner in New Jersey. In Princeton to be precise—a town of means and beauty but also a place with its share of people struggling under the new economic reality. Jess’s days once overflowed with the urgent and endless work of banks and broker-dealers. She now occupied herself with more ordinary tasks. In just the last week, Jess had (A) put together a simple will for a local high school teacher and (B) drafted a list of inspection issues the buyer of a charming but ancient cottage would do well to insist the seller address prior to closing. And she had (C) gotten herself invited to join the ethics committee of the local hospital. A good week, all in all, and Jess was starting to see herself as the together lawyer she’d had in mind when she began law school all those years ago. Things changed one uncommonly warm morning in late July when a young and frightened La

Just to spoil the story line a bit but also to respond to comments -- there's a reason I give so much attention to the law firm. How the law firm works is a factor to be taken into account in resolving the puzzle. If I have to play it down, the book can't work.