The Sweet Hereafter

Mitchell Stephens is a partner in a New York law firm. He focuses on negligence lawsuits. Stephens has been handling disaster negligence suits for twenty-five years. Klara is Stephen’s ex-wife and together they had a daughter named Zoe. He grew up in Illinois and lives in New York City. Stephens says he is driven by anger, not greed, although he understands that it may look like greed from the outside. He describes anger as useful. He wants to “nail [the responsible parties’] pelts to the wall” (90). He says that it’s “anger that drives us and delivers us” (90).Like a hunter, he enjoys the carnage and the “trophy heads” (90-91). 

After the accident, Stephens checks into the Bide-a-Wile Motel and spends the better part of six months in Sam Dent investigating and working on the case. He is contemplating suing the State of New York, the town of Sam Dent, and the School Board for allowing Dolores to service the bus herself. Stephens describes how, in his experience, people making decisions about safety will often select the cheaper option to save money. Stephens says his job is to make the cheaper, less-safe option ultimately more expensive through lawsuits and litigation.