cover image The Lure of the Law

The Lure of the Law

Richard Moll. Viking Books, $18.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-670-81969-0

Seeking the reason why public respect for the law rarely extends to lawyers, Moll ( The Public Ivys ) surveyed attornies of many specialties regarding their attitudes about the profession. Their lively autobiographies and views on the law and colleagues, along with the author's penetrating analyses, depict diligent, competitive, sharp or dull men and women, including some who have become disenchanted by treadmill careers, and ``legal mercenaries'' who acknowledge that their youthful idealism has been warped by legalistic thinking, greed and power. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former New York mayor Edward Koch are among the non-practicing contributors. (Apr.)