The President's Lawyer - by Lawrence Robbins (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Washington, DC, litigator is hired to defend his best friend, the former President of the United States, against a murder charge in this novel that is "clever and thrilling with a shocking twist" (People).

After a long career as one of DC's most powerful litigators, Rob Jacobson is faced with the case of a lifetime: the former President of the United States--his childhood best friend--has been accused of murdering his mistress.

Rob knows he's the only one who can prove his friend's innocence, but he is soon overwhelmed as he attempts to devise a strategy to defend an authoritative man with a taste for infidelity, serious anger issues, and unconventional sexual appetites. As the high-profile case unfurls, the troubled, intertwining pasts of the two men complicate Rob's efforts and soon, doubts begin to grow in his head. Could his oldest friend truly be capable of murder or is something even darker at play? "Robbins...keeps the pace fast and the courtroom scenes convincing" (The New York Times Book Review) in this sensational thriller by a true DC legal insider.

Review Quotes

"A taut legal thriller that recalls the work of Scott Turow and John Grisham.... [The] courtroom scenes crackle with authenticity, and the climactic reveal is sensational."
--Publishers Weekly

"Clever and thrilling with a shocking twist."
--People

"Full of suspense, twists, and intrigue. . . . Complex characters deal with friendship, loyalty, and moral dilemmas giving readers an intriguing read. Fans of legal thrillers will definitely like this one."
--Times Leader

"Lawrence Robbins knows his way around a courtroom drama--like the real-life expert that he is--and merges the best of John Grisham with The West Wing in this suspenseful, riveting thriller."
--Douglas Brunt, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel

"Robbins... keeps the pace fast and the courtroom scenes convincing."
--New York Times Book Review

"Robbins' expertise as a high-profile trial litigator is on full display in this tautly constructed novel that exposes the slippery confluence of evidentiary facts and emotional trauma."
--Booklist

About the Author

Lawrence S. Robbins was an acclaimed trial and appellate litigator who argued twenty cases in the United States Supreme Court and more than sixty others in the federal circuit courts of appeals. He served as counsel to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and the Biden campaign, among others. Robbins was a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School. Early in his legal career, he became an Assistant US Attorney, a great place to learn to be a trial lawyer, which, throughout Robbins's life, was his favorite part of law practice. He founded the litigation firm Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner and was a partner at Friedman Kaplan. Robbins wrote his first novel The President's Lawyer during the COVID-19 pandemic and lived to see it published shortly before his death in November 2024.