Losing Faith

Mitzner (A Conflict of Interest) offers an effective variant on themes Scott Turow explored in his classic Presumed Innocent, albeit with less depth. New York attorney Aaron Littman is widely regarded as one of the country’s top litigators, but he’s guilty of one major ethical lapse: he represented a client in a case before judge Faith Nichols while conducting an affair with Faith—a conflict the two of them have naturally kept secret. Faith, who ended the relationship right after the trial, hopes to be nominated to the Supreme Court. Then hedge fund owner Nicolai Garkov, “the most reviled figure in America,” approaches Aaron. Suspected of involvement in a terrorist bombing, Garkov is facing trial for money laundering, and once his case is assigned to Faith, he demands that Aaron insure an acquittal or risk exposure of their affair. Mitzner sustains interest with complex plotting and effectively uses his own background as a defense attorney to add color. [em]Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Apr.) [/em]