⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

“He was born with bumpers that kept his bowling balls rolling down the middle of the lane, all the rest of us had to worry about staying out of the gutter.”

“You told me once before that the level abuse went way down after the assault. Why is that? Why? Because I killed the b@stard, obviously.”

Thanks to Atria for sending me a #gifted copy of this one. It wasn’t even on my radar but I’m so glad I checked it out. I also didn’t realize this was a debut novel. It was well crafted and written like a pro.

This book was a slower burn than I typically go for but I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. There was so much scandal and mess to unpack.

Oh and don’t even get me started about all of the unlikable characters. I mean that in only a complimentary way…promise. You know who I felt sorry for in this book?! Not a single person. I think as an author you have a real talent if you can create a world of terrible people and make your reader still enjoy the story. I also think it is very hard to find books with well defined and memorable characters when you have this big of a cast of characters. LR knocked it out of the park with this debut.

I can’t even get into the story for you because I think you should go in blind and I don’t want to spoil anything. Just know that I highly recommend it.

The President’s Lawyer lives up to its description as a twisty legal thriller. Former President Jack Cutler faces charges of murdering his mistress He calls on lifelong friend and attorney, Rob Jacobsen, to defend him. Rob is reluctant to do so due to multiple complicating relationships that might present a conflict. Despite that, he takes on the President’s case.

It is a well-written, fast-paced story that keeps you guessing. Mr. Robbins’ real-life experience and knowledge of the courts informs the story. It’s a quick, satisfying read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

I received an ARC through “NetGalley” and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins with Robbie just finishing a trial when he is met by a man telling him that Jack, the former President, needs his help. It seems that Jack is expected to be charged with murder. Robbie goes to meet and learns that Jack is to be charged with the murder of Amanda, Robbie’s former girlfriend who was also an Asst. Council for the President. Robbie explains that he can’t take the case because of his conflict being he was acquainted with the victim. Jack tells Robbie that he needs him as his lawyer and to disregard the conflict.

The story continues with descriptions of what transpired prior to Amanda’s murder. It then gets into the trial and follows Robbie and eventually Jane as they try to discredit the prosecutors. Closing arguments are finally and the case then goes to the jury.

To learn what the jury verdict was, what evidence the prosecution displayed and how Robbie and Jane worked to disprove it and what final attempt the prosecution presented in the end, then you must read this book.

The ending is one that you wouldn’t expect. Don’t miss it!

I found this book to so a fun, fast-paced read! I don’t normally read legal thrillers but I thought this was a unique take on the genre and from the second I saw it on NetGalley knew I needed to read it. The book centers on a former president of the United States who is charged with the unaliving of his mistress, and he tasks his childhood best friend to defend him in court. The majority of the book goes through the trial from jury selection through the end and the courtroom scenes felt like the reader was there experiencing the trial first hand. There was so much drama and twists that I didn’t see coming. You can totally tell that the author was passionate about this book which I always love as a reader. While the ending wasn’t totally out of left-field I didn’t love it and bet it will be a topic of conversation when this book is released and more people get to reading it. If you are interested in politics, courtroom drama, or legal thrillers I really think you would enjoy this book. It releases on 10/8. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for early access in exchange for my honest review!

4/5 Stars

I guess you can’t blame the guy?

When Rob Jacobson, one of DC’s most powerful litigators, is asked to defend the former President of the United States and his childhood best friend-accused of murdering his mistress-he knows it’s the case of a lifetime.

After all, their friendship has already survived Jack Cutler marrying Rob’s first love, Jess-and a few other nasty things that he has done along the way…

Jack has a habit of taking what isn’t his.

But, how do you defend a man who was clearly involved with the Victim and would prefer not to testify about his unconventional sexual preferences? The other defenses that Rob and his colleague, Jane Cashman could offer up, are definitely not very palatable either.

And, there lies the dilemma. Or, at least one of them.

The first 25% gives you some background information on their friendship, but at the halfway mark we are already in TRIAL-my favorite part of ANY legal thriller-the strategies, the pivots that must be made on the fly, and the surprises!

Including the shocking ending!

The story mostly unfolds in the first person POV of Rob, with a few chapters sharing the conversations between therapist and client.

This is a riveting DEBUT novel by an acclaimed trial and appellate litigator who has argued 20 cases in the United States Supreme Court, and 60 others in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and his expertise shows. I especially enjoyed learning about jury selection. Yikes.

This case seems to take place in the not so distant future, as our two most recent Presidents are mentioned and for authenticity, you will see some parallels made between the story and the current Political environment. But, don’t worry-the mention of anything Political is minimal, and the unconventional sexual acts are only minimally described as well.

In fact, the only TW is a brief mention of a dog killed.

I read the entire book in one day.

This book definitely deserves more attention than it is getting! Add it to your TBR today if you enjoy legal thrillers!

EXPECTED PUBLICATION DATE: October 8, 2024

Thank You to Atria for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

This is the first novel by lawyer Lawrence Robbins and it's a good one. Rob Jacobson and Jack Cutler have been best friends since childhood. Jack is now the former president of the United States and Rob is a very successful attorney. When Jack is accused of murdering his mistress, he insists that Rob is the only one he will allow to represent him even though their intertwined past presents many complications. As the trial proceeds, many sordid, embarrassing details about Jack's life are revealed. There are also some thinly-veiled parallels to today's political environment. If you like legal thrillers, then I think you'll enjoy this one. Thanks to #netgalley and #atriabooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jack Cutler, the former President of the United States, has been accused of murder and is asking his best friend and powerful litigator, Rob Jacobsen, to take his case. The stress of the case, however, digs up a troubled past between the two men.

I did read this as an ARC, so edits might have been made post reading.

This debut legal thriller had all the makings of a good legal thriller with lots of twists and turns and red herrings. Unfortunately, I found the foreshadowing in the begging a little too blunt and ended up predicting all the twists and turns miles before they happened. The pacing was slow in the beginning when Robbins laid the background and historical foundations. I would have liked to have seen a different book structure utilized to sprinkle this information throughout the book. The pace picked up in the courtroom and I really enjoyed that piece. The last two twists are a great ending to the book, but because the were predicted way ahead of time, we’re not has shocking as they could have been. Overall a promising debut that might have benefitted from one more round of editing. I’m rounding down from 3.5 to 3.

The opening to the book had a lot of promise, but all the elements that were put in place came together in a sloppy manner. I guessed part of the twist of the last chapter about 2/3 of the way through the novel -- at that point, it felt like there was no other logical conclusion to explain certain story elements -- but the identity of the murderer was still a mystery until the end. Once I read it, though, I didn't feel like the book gave that "aha!" payoff. It was more of like a "huh?" only because the entire idea was severely lacking in logic. I had so many questions afterward that just weren't answered and made me wonder if I missed whole chapters. If I'd had had a hard copy of this one, I would have flipped back to see where I missed things but I don't feel invested enough to swipe back on my Kindle and see what I did.

I was really disappointed with the pedantic, plodding writing, and the chapters where one of the characters is talking to a psychiatrist were too jarring to make any sense for a long time. They completely broke the flow of the narrative and the plot; they also gave part of the surprise away, as I mentioned before. Also, the courtroom scenes, instead of being riveting and full of excitement, felt tedious. Telling this in first person was the wrong choice for this book; it kept everything one-sided so that we only get Rob's POV and have to trust his narration to give us information on everyone else.

There were also some odd choices made that made me scratch my head. D.C. as the 51st state? "Frexit" -- as in, France exiting the EU? Within the confines of the fictional world, I didn't have trouble suspending my disbelief but these choices didn't add anything substantial to the book. Why throw in details of major political consequence like that if you're not going to explore them even a little? And something about the president's entire tenure just seemed off somehow. It didn't feel real or believable.

I was hoping to find another legal thriller writer to turn to with as much excitement as I once read John Grisham. This book, though, didn't provide that for me at all.

First of all I'd like to begin this review with a shout out to my friend, Kaceey, whose review convinced me that I needed to read this. You were right!!!

I'm not going to say too much because I want future readers to discover the secrets all on their own. What I will say is that the story revolves around a former president being accused of killing his mistress. He then hires his childhood best friend, Rob, a formidable DC lawyer, to take his case.

This book is the epitome of a *juicy* read. Truly. I couldn't get enough. So many secrets get spilled that I probably looked like a slack jawed fool the entire time I was reading this.

As far as the courtroom scenes. Damn, I felt like I was sitting front and center in that courtroom. Not surprised since Lawrence S. Robbins is an acclaimed trial and appellate litigator who has famously argued twenty cases in the United States Supreme Court. It shows. This man knows his way around the courtroom and it made for an absolutely riveting and scintillating read.

The very best part was the gasp worthy ending that I never once suspected. I was so surprised that when I turned that final page it was with a smile of satisfaction. This was absolutely sensational from start to finish. Highest recommendation. 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my complimentary copy.

This debut legal thriller will definitely keep you flipping pages! A scintillating premise: The former President of the United States is accused of murdering a woman with whom he had an affair and is defended by his childhood best friend, now a criminal defense lawyer. Although the first half of the novel is a pretty slow burn, it does help solidly establish the characters, their relationships to one another, and important background information. Midway through, the trial begins, and the action really, really picks up. The questioning/responses of the prosecution, defense, and witnesses is spot on and extremely intriguing. Although I had figured out what had happened before the ending, that did not spoil my enjoyment of all the pieces coming together.

When the just out of office President's mistress is found dead, his lifelong best friend, Rob, is entrusted to defend him from the murder charges. This courtroom drama is fast paced and engaging. It had a good mix of predictable and not plot points that I really enjoyed, and it is one of the best legal thrillers I've read in a long time. If you grew up on Grisham (like I did), you would like this book. I also really liked that it was set in the political world but not really political. If you want more from recent legal thrillers (I'm looking at you, Steve Cavanagh and old Scott Turow), give this action-packed courtroom read a try. I think we'll be hearing more from this lawyer turned author and that this book with get all the buzz this fall.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

It's a shame all authors can't remember to be hungry and take chances.
The story is familiar (albeit the source material is dark)
The surprise ending feels honest but the surprise is more due to the slow pacing that hypnotizes you from looking for it

Strong Proceedural that relies on their knowledge of the courtroom rather than modern technologies

Great for peers and middle agers
Nothing that brings the Tic Tok crowd back to reading though

Presidents Lawyer 4.25/5

Thank you Simon and Schuster and Lawrence Robbins for this ARC in exchange for an honest Review.

This was a medium-paced thriller that walked you through the legal turmoil of a former president in trouble. Did he kill his pregnant mistress? Former President Cutler relies on his friend Robbie, a highly established lawyer to be his defense. Even though Robbie was also sleeping with the deceased.

There were times where the legal jargon and American slang were above my understanding and that’s the only reason it’s not a 5 star for me. Other than that, the story was well laid out, and kept me engaged. I needed to know who the killer was, and without giving anything away- thoroughly enjoyed the twists at the end! Well done, will happily be looking for this author again in the future. Finished in under 24 hours.

Instagram review will be posted on the publish date.

The former President of the United States is arrested for the murder of his mistress and he calls his long time best friend and lawyer Rob Jacobson to represent him. What unfolds is a high stakes courtroom drama will keep you guessing until the very end.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
Ohh this was good! This debut had me engaged from the first chapter. Robbins takes us through a page turning trial but it is truly the flawed characters in Jack and Robbie and the backstory of their longstanding friendship that makes this a complex and twisted story with so much to unpack.

The author is an experienced trial lawyer and this comes through in his writing. The courtroom drama is top notch with some plot twists I definitely did not see coming! This book reminded me of Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series and maybe some early John Grisham.

If you love a good courtroom mystery this is not one to pass up!

If you love John Grisham books then this one is for you. This was steadily paced, tension building, keeps you guessing kinda read.
Well done!

Tension! Lots of it as the story builds to a surprise ending. The intertwining and entanglements keep the book moving along rapidly. The character development is interesting with some being fully developed and others superficially but for a reason that is realized eventually. Good mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

WOW!!!!! Somethin' else!!! Great story, good writing, and a total twist at the end. Hopefully Mr. Robbins is working on another book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

This legal thriller is not my usual read, i am open to new things but the book for me was not my favorite. I found the writing good but the characters had trouble connecting with me and the plot was just too slow for me to look forward to reading the book. I can see how many people enjoyed it, it just wasn't for me.

A top-notch Washington D.C. litigator, Rob Jacobson, gets the case lawyers dream about. Unfortunately, he’s in charge of the defense of his longtime friend and former President of the United States, Jack Cutler. He is accused of killing his mistress and unfortunately for him, the government has no other suspects. Jacobson has his work cut out as Cutler is definitely not a saint. Cutler is an egotistical philanderer who enjoys kinky sex and heavy drinking, while also contending with anger management issues. Cutler’s loyal wife has not only had to endure his infidelities, she’s also suffered physical abuse from him as well. To make things even more complicated, the murder victim, Amanda Harper, had also been Jacobson’s former paramour.

The author, Lawrence Robbins, is an accomplished trial and appellate litigator who has argued numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court and the federal circuit courts of appeals. He incorporates his copious courtroom experiences into this story. The courtroom scenes are vibrant and scintillating, providing an authenticity that gives the feeling that the author is recounting actual details from trials he has participated in. The author has also utilized various aspects from stories that have made the headlines, such as the Chandra Levy/Rock Creek Park murder case.

There are enough red herrings and characters with motive to keep one guessing who the murderer is. There are numerous complicated relationships and characters with deep rooted issues. The friendship between Jacobson and Cutler is quite complex and compelling. Cutler hasn’t always been a great friend as the school pranks he played on Jacobson were demeaning and embarrassing. On top of that, Cutler’s wife Jessica had been Jacobson’s first love. As the case progresses, Jacobson’s emotions are pushed to the limit as he discovers the extent of Cutler’s extramarital affairs and abusive behavior. Even though their friendship is strained, Jacobson remains committed to proving Cutler’s innocence, even to the extent of opening up the possibility of Jessica being a murder suspect.

The verdict is in: If you’re looking for a light, fun read that has suspenseful courtroom drama and complex characters, this book is guilty as charged!

A gripping legal thriller that combines courtroom drama with political intrigue. The narrative is both suspenseful and authentic and the plot is fast paced with enough twists and turns that I was kept on the edge.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.