The Street Lawyer

RUNNING HEAD THE STREET LAWYER The Street lawyer Social Work 3040-01I Apr. 30, 2008 SUMMARY hind end Grishams The Street attorney tells the story of Michael Brock a married wealthy attorney who has it all. Michael, a refine of Yale University, plant life at Drake & Sweeny, one of the top and well respected firms in upper-case letter D. C. While there he is making the money and locomote relentlessly to the top of Drake & Sweeny. He is barely one step apart from an early partnership. Until one rainy winter afternoon at Drake & Sweeny.An godforsaken unsettled man who only wants to be called Mister holds Michael and eight other lawyers warranter in an rack upice at Drake & Sweeny. Mister demands the valuate records be brought to him. afterward the tax records arrive he orders Michael to tell him what each lawyer including Michael has made in earnings for the year and how much of their money is donated to charities and the homeless. After several hours the hostage stand of f is over leaving one man unused and another reborn. Mister is shot in the head by a sniper legal philosophyman as he opens the office door to receive the soup he wants delivered from a local shelter. Misters blood and bodily fluids cover Michaels entire face since he is standing directly behind him. The police escort Michael to a small gym in the building where doctors run across him and he is able to shower. After his shower Michael returns home. The next morning he returns to work at Drake & Sweeny. After culture an article in the piazza he learns more nigh Mister whose real name is DeVon Hardy.After pay a visit to Mordecia Green the director of the 14th Street ratified Clinic, where Mister was a node, Michael begins to rethink his c atomic number 18er as an anti-trust lawyer for Drake & Sweeny and his life as well. Leaving Drake & Sweeny to become a street lawyer would have dim affect on his home life and marriage as well. After telling his wife he will take a cliente le with less money and no benefits the couple separate and eventually data file for divorce. Michael moves to a smaller apartment on the rough posture of Washington D. C. nd begins working at the 14th Street Legal uprightness Clinic with Mordeci Green. While working there Michael is harboring a dark secret a confidential file. A confidential file from the law offices of Drake & Sweeny which contains information just about the illegal eviction of Mister and the other homeless people. Now Drake & Sweeny know their file is missing and want it returned immediately no matter what. until now if it federal agency Michael losing his license to practice law. His former partners have become his enemies and Michael is now the about dangerous man on the streets of Washington D.C. EXAMINATION Populations-at risk argon the homeless in John Grishams The Street Lawyer and the milieu that which they live in are considered the social environment. Populations-at risk are specify as populatio ns or groups of people who share nigh identifiable characteristics that places them at greater risk of social and economic deprivation and oppression than the habitual primary(prenominal)stream of society. The social environment involves the conditions, circumstances, and human interactions that encompasses human bes.People are symbiotic upon effective interactions with their environment in order to survive and thrive. The social environment includes the actual somatogenic setting that society provides. This involves the type of home a mortal lives in, the type of work that is done, the amount of money available, and the laws and social rules by which people live. Mister and the other homeless who were illegal evicted from their makeshift apartments are to considered members of a social environment. In reference to the social environment the actual physical setting that society provided to the homeless were homeless shelters.But once the homeless shelters do not begin to take n in borders because they are over crowded the homeless are forced into the streets in hopes of finding a safe and warm place to stay for the iniquity. Sleeping on place benches and makeshift warehouses are the only means of shelter available to them. take down if they are working at a business organisation the employs are usually not enough to provide adequate shelter. Society tends to consignd the homeless for their choice of life and for being homeless. But at clock it not the fault of the homeless entirely the fault of the government.For example a working middle class family loses their home to foreclosure because of lay-offs and calculate cuts at their jobs. With being laid off both lose their pension and benefits that came along with their jobs. Even if both parents would find another job paying minimum wage it would not be enough to pay the $1000. 00 periodic mortgage and other expenses. Therefore, those individuals cannot be held at fault for becoming homeless the fault lies with the compute cuts made by the federal government to their jobs. At other multiplication the fault lies with the individual themselves for becoming homeless.For example a woman works as a nurse in a hospital becomes habituated to prescription drugs and is later fired from her job because of stealing the prescription drugs to which is prone to. Since the prescription drugs are no longer available to her she becomes habituated to check up on/cocaine because it is accessible to her. She files for unemployment until she can find another job but her unemployment checks are going to support her habit instead of paying her monthly rent. She is evicted and thrown into the streets where and begins prostitution to support her habit.Receiving a fix has become her main priority in life. In that particular situation the individual is the blame for their choice to become homeless. ELUDICATION John Grishams characters Michael Brock and Mordecia Green worked not only as attorney s for the homeless but also as social workers too. throughout The Street Lawyer Michael and Mordecia counseled each individual to gain a intimacy of what their lives were before they became homeless and why they have become homeless. Most lawyers would not take the time find out if whether or not their client had a place to ease or food to eat the night before.Many lawyers would not offer their services free of charge. Michael and Mordecia worked as lawyers as well as social workers. Each day Michael and Mordecia traveled to a local homeless shelter to interview potential clients and help them with some(prenominal) they needed. Most of their clients were generally homeless people or individuals who were laid off from their job recently. The two helped these individuals fill out government forms, obtain job applications, and sometimes a rehab center for those who were addicted to drugs and alcohol.At times some clients could not be helped but Michael and Mordecia provided their co unseling service as a means of help. Some individuals only needed some to talk to about what was going on in their life at that time. He wants his readers to underwrite the similarities between social workers and attorneys. His examples with Michael and Mordecia with their clients express key elements in the career of a social worker. EVALUATION/CONCLUSION The Street Lawyer by John Grisham conveys its readers to the unknown realism of homelessness and the cause.He wants his readers to see the cruel dark side of humanity and how society views homelessness. By having the story take place in Washington D. C. , the capitol of the United States, a place where many would not cogitate crack houses are a block away from the White House. homeless person women, men, and children are forced to seek shelter anywhere when all the shelters in the city are full. These same people are usually victims of layoffs and budget cuts by Congress. Grisham wants his readers to see the reality of homeless ness and that it can happen to anyone.virtuosos whole perspective on their life can change in an instance because of one individual or many. He gives thorough examples throughout his book about the day and life of a homeless person and their family. The struggles they face day to day not knowing if he or she will have something to eat or a place to sleep by night fall. He contributes to the study of social work by having his main characters act as counselors to the homeless, employment agencies and location of rehabs for those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.The Street Lawyer is a development tool in the world of social work for those who want to gain a better mind of what a social worker does on a daily bases. One who enjoys helping others and making a difference in someone elses life will definitely enjoy reading this book. After reading this book I now have a better rationality of homelessness and I will eventually use this book as learning tool while furthering my educa tion in the study of social work.