drisdale , by his own admission , was no expert on construction industry litigation , indeed , only recently graduated from law school at the time , he was a self-confessed novice at many of the practical applications of the law , but , in many ways it was this very innocence which garnet had been keen to exploit : he had need of a grateful lawyer not a big-name lawyer , someone who was on the up and for whom the addition of such a prize client as garnet g. wendelson would mean the difference between sink and swim ; park avenue or skid row .