What is a Comfort Letter? Whenever a big business deal closes stock issue, bond issue, merger the outside accountants must give written comfort by assuring everybody that nothing very bad has happened in the weeks since the financial statements were published. What if there is a problem? Ordway Smith is no specialist in these matters. Ordway Smith is a popular Philadelphia Gentleman with a handsome wife, two beautiful children and the unforgettable first love of his youth. He is a rainmaker partner at Conyers & Dean, the oldest and biggest law firm in town. His job is to bring in business. He has been doing that quite well, through his club memberships, directorships, extensive family connections, and now through his biggest client Charlie Conroy, the gardener son who fought his way up to become Chairman of a huge, international conglomerate. The intricate night-and-day work on Conroy's deals has always been done by Conyers & Deans brilliant corporate workhorses, but when the head of that department is suddenly put out of action by illness, Ordway Smith finds himself flying around the country in charge of Charlie Conroy's complicated and increasingly risky acquisitions. The Comfort Letter explains the stories behind today headlines, and illustrates the brutal pressures under which the players have to work. Keywords: The Comfort Letter, Philadelphia Lawyer, Arthur R. G. Solmssen,

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