Filthy Rich Lawyers: The Education of Ryan Coleman

American Fiction Awards Finalist


Inspired by real-life class-action lawyers, The Education of Ryan Coleman begins in a Texas courtroom, where an ambitious attorney from Philadelphia chases his share of a lawsuit and gets his ass reamed by the judge. During this “trial-by-fire,” Coleman meets Eugenia Cauley, a female legal shark whose life ends tragically, and Robert Smalley, a brilliant attorney and borderline criminal who boasts that “I have the greatest practice of law in the world. I have no clients.” Coleman enters a hedonistic world of wealth and power, and becomes an errand boy and fixer for Randy Hollis, an insanely successful lawyer who is trying to buy a professional football team. Patrick Coyle, a prosecutor with an old grudge, and Dick Dickey, former Secretary of Defense and CEO of a military contractor, try to ruin Hollis and Coleman. When an escort mysteriously dies in Hollis’ penthouse, Coleman must choose between telling the truth or going to jail. This satirical thriller reveals how our legal system enables lawyers to get filthy rich. As Mortimer Zuckerman, real estate magnate and media billionaire, once said, “Practicing law is the exact opposite of sex. Even when it’s good, it’s bad.”


I laughed out loud at the salty wise cracks on most every page. But the lightning paced humor provides a serious message about corruption in class action litigation. This is a hilarious satire about a very real problem. —Matt Flynn, author, Milwaukee Jihad


Felgoise and Tabatsky take us on a wild ride into the intense and lucrative world of class action litigation. Sex, money and drugs are only part of the reward available for lawyers who are tough and crafty enough to play in a league where shameless greed is sometimes rewarded, but where the personal and professional risks are as big as the dollar signs. —James V. Irving, Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C., author, of Friends Like These and the Joth Proctor Fixer novels


Filthy Rich Lawyers is expertly crafted and witty, which helps 'the medicine go down’ as we follow Ryan Coleman, a naïve stooge, as he navigates his way through a craven, soulless world.—Rick Parks Professor, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California, co-writer, Ever After and The Secret: Dare to Dream