The Justice Game

18

He was only six weeks into private practice, and Jason Noble was already tired of the grind. He loved the practice of law; he just didn’t have time for it. He had become Jason Noble, office manager, rather than Jason Noble, trial lawyer. He kept telling himself things would be different once he put all the systems in place.

At least he had a sweet office space. Sherwood had strongly suggested that Jason secure a Class A space on Main Street. “Nobody wants a lawyer who can’t afford a Main Street address.” Jason initially protested, calculating the cash flow he would need until serious fees started rolling in.

Sherwood wiped out that objection with one phone call.

“You’ve got a hundred-thousand-dollar line of credit with Bank of America,” he said when he called back. “You can probably double that after six months if you make your payments on time.”

At first, $100,000 seemed like a lot of money. Six weeks later, Jason had already burned through half of it. An interior designer (another of Sherwood’s suggestions) cost $5,000; office and conference room furniture was $15,000; computers and software another $5,000; a lawyer to incorporate, insurance, an independent bookkeeper, a cleaning crew, etc., etc. For the first two weeks, it seemed that the only legal work Jason did was negotiating contracts with vendors. During his third week, he started interviewing assistants and opened his first legal file.

Jason spent the next few weeks trying to learn the procedures in the criminal courts in and around Richmond. As promised, Sherwood delivered a few major cases to Jason’s door, all dealing with hair-testing evidence. Three more cases came as referrals from Dr. Patricia Rivers, the commonwealth’s former chief forensic toxicologist. By week six, Jason had seven cases in his filing cabinet.

The call from Robert Sherwood, promising case number eight, was totally unexpected.

“You ready to take that job with the big firm in D.C.?” Sherwood asked.

“Just about.”

Sherwood laughed. “Hang in there. It’ll get much worse before it gets better. Trust me-I’ve been there.”

“Thanks for the encouragement.”

“How many cases you got?” Sherwood asked.

“Not many,” Jason admitted. He felt a little embarrassed about the exact number. He had never been much of a marketing guru. “Ten or so.”

“That’s not bad for the first few months,” Sherwood said. “Any civil cases yet?”

“Not yet.”

“You ready for your first one?”

Jason felt a surge of adrenaline. He had already figured out that landing the cases was half the battle.

“I think I can squeeze it in.”

“You may not want it,” Sherwood said, his tone playful. “It’ll take lots of time. Probably bill about two fifty, maybe even three hundred an hour. The client will have no trouble paying. Plus, it’s high profile.”

“Maybe I’d better stick to criminal work,” Jason said, playing along. “I’d rather work for less money and keep worrying about getting paid.”

“Okay,” Sherwood said. “Have a good day.”

“No… wait! Are you serious?”

“It’s a good case.” This time Sherwood sounded more somber. “But there’s a catch.”

Jason waited. There was always a catch.

“The case was filed in Virginia Beach. The plaintiff’s lawyer is not the kind to settle. It seems to me that any lawyer taking this case would have to spend a lot of time in Virginia Beach, maybe even move there. It’s the kind of case where you’ve got to get inside the heads of the jurors. From your time with us, you know how important that is.”

“I’ve spent time in Newark. I think I could survive a few months in Virginia Beach.”

“Good. The client will be calling you any day. Her name is Melissa Davids. She’s the CEO of MD Firearms. She wants you to defend the Rachel Crawford case.”

Jason didn’t respond immediately; he was not at all sure that he had heard the man correctly. “The Crawford case?”

“She wants a fresh face to represent the gun industry,” Sherwood said. It sounded like he was having fun breaking the news. “Someone who might also happen to be a pretty decent trial lawyer.”

Jason was at a loss for words. Most lawyers waited an entire career for a case like this. “Am I going to serve as local counsel?”

“Not just local counsel. As far as I know, they’re looking for you to help try the case. Maybe serve as co-counsel with their in-house lawyer.”

“That’s unbelievable…” For a split second, the euphoria lifted Jason. The next second, reality set in. “What makes them think I’m qualified?”

“They’re going on my say-so. And trust me, Jason, you’re more than ready.”