"Every time I prepared for trial during my legal career it occurred to me I was doing what a novelist or a playwright would have to do in their preparations. Through whose eyes and voice should I tell the story, or the various parts of it? In what order should the witnesses come on stage (the witness chair)? How do I phrase the questions that will elicit testimony in a manner that will be persuasive to the audience (the jury)? How should I frame the major themes of the case so the audience (the jury) will understand how all of the evidence supports those themes?
"I also had the good fortune to handle some very interesting lawsuits that I thought readers would enjoy, particularly once they understood the consequences to the parties involved. The cases involved in my novels, while fictional, were inspired by issues I had to address in my practice. I thought readers might find them as interesting as I did when working on them.”