the ending question (spoilers)
so why did they end up with the good lawyer helping them? what changed to get him on board?
shareThey had a case but just didn't have money to go the distance. Then Paul discovered the syringe re-use video tape at Mike's house which probably gave them a more winnable position and that probably was enough to convince the hot shot lawyer Mark to come on board.
I loved the smirk of confidence on Marks face at the end. You could see he was going to make mince meat out of the corporation.
teetong.typepad.com
yup, i liked it too. good point, i think it just needed to be a bit more clear why he suddenly decided to join them!
shareYeah, I guess it was the video tape but also the evidence that Mr Druggie had gathered, which helped their case.
As for the hot shot lawyer to join ... mmmmmmmh, I guess he wanted to put his career on the line fighting against a big, well-connected organisation to save thousands of lifes. That or the multi-million dollar settlement that was on the cards. (Of the $150m, he probably took more than half.) You decide.
also, Mark Lanier (the hotshot) probably just wrapped up the other big case he was fighting (the big pharma case), and is now able to take on the medical supplier.
btw, the names of the companies in the film are pseudonyms. the real "Thompson Needles" is actually Becton Dickinson (BD). "United Medical Health Supplies" is actually Premier Inc and Novation (relatively unknown GPOs). these names are noted in this NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/03/business/03buyer.html
only Lanier is mentioned in the article, but afaik, Mike Weiss and Paul Danziger are both real attorneys and Mike DID REALLY die of an OD.