Good Counsel

by Tim Junkin

Tim Junkin's fast-paced insider novel tracks a moral journey. Jack Stanton began his career as a public defender in the Washington, D.C., "Agency." A quick study and a charismatic trial lawyer, Jack believed wholeheartedly in indigent clients' rights to the best legal defense possible. He worked tirelessly and won some tough cases against the District's corps of prosecuting attorneys. His reputation for expert client preparation grew alongside his...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B001QHXZ9O
• ISBN13: 9781565122840
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Required reading

All persons involved in the law should read this book (if they enjoy fiction). Jack's stories have a ring of truth to them, however, and just the names have been changed to protect the innocent. I am a lawyer and very much enjoyed this book. The story, however, in some ways was too one-sided for the defense. The prosecution, in the form of Mr. Langrell, was portrayed as the evil villian too much. A little one-sided in its approach at times.

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Being exposed to criminal law in any book can be very intriguing, whether that information is true or not. Tim Junkin's different accounts of Jack Stanton in the courtroom, at a jail, or in the ghetto were so accurate and in tune with what criminal law and law enforcement is that I was unable to let go of this book. I work in law enforcement and know many defense attorneys who defend the individuals I supervise as a probation officer. Every detail of every journey into the courthouse and jail were vivid reminders of what I see on a day to day basis. The inner struggle Jack had with ehtics and his own indiscretions was played out very well and can be attested to by any attorney worth his salt. Flashback format was very cool and kept me entertained throughout. An outstanding thriller with real, real, real life undertones.

I have no title

I loved Tim Junkin's first novel, The Waterman. Good Counsel is quite different, but just as good and even better in it's own way. It is a thriller that grabs you from the first page and never let's go. It has an underlying seriousness; like a parable. The characters are fascinating and the action never stops. It is a story of passion, love and redemption, as well as a philosphical inquiry into modern ethics. A superb book and a must to those interested in the legal process.

Terrific Book

A lawyer friend gave me GOOD COUNSEL on Saturday and I finished it Sunday evening. It's a powerfully engaging and fun book to read. It's also a book that raises important and too often neglected questions, ones that deal with character, and the toll that small, gradual compromises can take. Susannah Blair, aka Muddy, is a fascinating counter-point to the protagonist, Jack, and while the story is a top notch thriller, it has a poignant and poetic finish, and one that's real--no gimmicks. It's a terrific book with a serious and important underlying theme, one that transcends the law and that all of us should relate to. I hope it gets the readership it deserves.

A Criminal Defense Lawyer's View of Good Counsel

Good Counsel is a story of the rise, fall, and redemption of a criminal defense lawyer. The hero, (or maybe I should say, anti-hero) Jack Stanton, of Tim Junkin's novel tells his story while on the run from a warrant for an indictment charging him with lying to a federal grand jury. In this dark and gripping novel, Junkin explores the life of a criminal defense lawyer which is hopefully very different from the life of many a practitioner. Stanton started his career as an intern while in lawschool - he also started his pattern of walking a moral tightrope at that time. While on the run, Stanton relates a number of "war stories,' similar to ones most criminal defense attorneys have either told or heardin hallways, bars, meetings, etc. The common thread of all of his stories is that throughout his career, Stanton had by one means or another, "shaped" the facts, misdirected attention, and in at least one case, allowed a "missing" report which was detrimental to his case to remain "missing." Stanton always justified these strategies as being necessary to help his client win - and winning was everything. While quite successful in the courts, Stanton is not very successful in managing his life. He has a failed marriage, is estranged from his son, and generally spent a great deal of his out of court time drinking, doing drugs and having a number of one-night stands. The pattern ends when, while on the run from his indictment, he is rescued, lierally and figuratively, by a woman who is involved in a quest of her own. She wants to find and expose the man responsible for her father's death. One element of the novel which I found to be somewhat contrived, is that in almost every case related by Stanton, his opponent is the same Assistant United States Attorney, at first trying misdemeanors and finally prosecuting Stanton as the United states Attorney for washington, D.C. I will not reveal the novel's ending, Suffice it to say, Stanton is a "stand-up" guy and redeems himself in a manner that just cries out, "Poetic Justice." This novel is a good, but dark read, and a great guide for suggesting what a criminal defense lawyer should and, more importantly, should not do to be only a "Good Counsel" but also to be a good person.