Characters from A Civil Action

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Jan Schlichtmann - This person is a flamboyant, somewhat egotistical, personal injury lawyer, who represents the plaintiffs in the Woburn case.

Jerome Facher - This person is the chairman of the litigation department of Hale and Dorr, a prestigious law firm in Boston, which represents Beatrice Foods in the Woburn case.

William Cheeseman - This person is a senior partner with Foley, Hoag, and Eliot, who represent W. R. Grace in the Woburn case.

John J. Riley - This person is the operations manager of a tannery, a subsidiary of Beatrice Foods, which...
(read more)