The Judge's Chambers and Other Stories

This uneven collection of short stories by a Chicago attorney offers an irreverent and macabre look at the legal world. Older lawyers are regretful and younger lawyers fearful, and many of them crack or ossify under the pressure of their work. In ""The Balloon of William Fuerst,'' the protagonist frequently has sensations of ``a slight hissing of air from his ears.'' ``I Am Greenwald, My Father's Son'' is about an ambitionless attorney who whiles away the days composing a memo to the other partners of his firm complaining about such things as the stationery, the librarians' clothing, the selection of magazines on the reception room table. ``Mentoring'' is a stomach-turning tale about the first female and first Jewish lawyer at a law firmshe has an affair with a married partner, miscarries his child and for a time keeps the fetus in a Ziploc bag in her purse. ``The Cornucopia of Julia K.'' sums up most characters' attitudesJulia, a burned-out partner at a corporate law firm, tells an eager law student to try another field: ``Go where the sun shines occasionally. You can always come back and get yourself a tailored suit and a briefcase and be an advisor to chicken franchisers.'' (June)