After a few weeks of heavy (lockdown inspired) fiction consumption, I am rebalancing with some non-fiction.

I read _Just Mercy_ over the weekend (the systematic racism of capital crimes and minority death row cases in the US is totally depressing from a lawyer’s perspective.... looking forward to watching the recent movie dramatisation).

Now diving into _She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement_.

It is a slow, solid retrospective of how the authors and NYT built the case against Harvey Weinstein.

Researching and reporting took months of painstaking interviews etc.

Immediately prior to publication, having amassed interviews, documents and official (govt/regulatory) + company records, they briefed Weinstein (and his phalanx of lawyers) on the details of the article (and specific accusations against him going back decades).

He was given 24 hours to respond.

This was the opener of their written response:

“All accusations by NYT and its alleged “sources” that my client engaged in sexual harassment, including toward employees and actors, are untrue. My client did not engage in the wrongful conduct that you are accusing him of.”

Only a lawyer could love that second sentence...