By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / September 29, 1998

Irreverent, self-serving, hilarious and a terrific read, “Hail to the Dragon Slayer,” by Donaldsonville attorney Arthur Lemann III, offers an insider’s look at some of the more notorious criminal cases in southeast Louisiana.

Lemann, whose clients ranged from Carlos Marcello in the Brilab investigation to accused child pornographer Dino Cinel, gives a curved mirror’s view of life in the New Orleans legal scene. His depictions offellow attorneys and judges may not make him many friends and possibly lose a few for him, but many may be upset they were omitted.

The book is an autobiography in essence, but it offers its readers a delightful new viewpoint which digs beneath the banal newspaper headlines.

Some may be shocked by Lemann’s book, unknowing of just how Louisiana’s legal system really works. In Lemann’s lexicon, a “dragon slayer” is onewho never shirks from a challenge, especially a legal one, when the cause (or the price) is right.

This book is amazingly (for an attorney-author) easy read. Any book whichcan make the Brilab case understandable is a remarkable one.

It is both an indictment and a celebration of the loose-cannon style of legal life, and one can hardly wait for Volume Two.

Published by Vetter Publishing Co. of Baton Rouge, “Hail to the DragonSlayer” is available in major bookstores, retailing at $25.95. It is alsoavailable as an audio book, itself likely an enjoyable experience.

If you practice law, if you are considering practicing law or even if you despise lawyers as a breed, this book will find a welcome place on your reading list.

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