When Michael Brockton agreed to defend a public school teacher against charges of statutory rape and assault, he didn't realize that he would face a corrupt cop, an assistant DA bent on revenge, and an overzealous teacher. Nor did he think that his personal drug use would become a danger. Yet as one of the best lawyers in the city, he had no intention of shrinking from the task of seeking justice for his client and facing down the pressures of a system that pretended to be objective. He, too, had friends, and would use them and his own wits to emerge the much admired, battle-scarred victor.