LITMIR.BIZ

       Friday, 5 June 2009 – 11.05

      ‘So how big is this department, then?’ Andi asked the lean, bespectacled man in a light gray suit as they walked past the desks in the open-plan office.

      A mix-up about her starting date had meant that she had spent half the morning sitting in a room reading brochures and web-based material about Levine and Webster instead of beginning her induction and being introduced to the staff. The human resources manager wouldn’t be back till Monday, so it was left to Paul Sherman, one of the partners in the firm, to lead Andi along through the maze of desks, as some of the younger (male) members of the staff leaned out from their shoulder height partitions to get a glimpse of the new girl. The women, for the most part, kept their attention to their photocopying or papers on their desks, only glancing round briefly to size up the competition.

      ‘It’s not really a department,’ Sherman replied nervously. ‘It’s more of a section in my department.’

      Andi experienced a hint of unease as these words wafted over her. ‘I don’t understand. I thought I was going to head up a department over here.’

      Sherman squirmed with embarrassment. He was only slightly shorter than Andi yet she seemed to tower over him. ‘Well, my department covers all forms of negligence and, for our purposes, tortious liability of criminals is a sub-section of that.’

      ‘I’d’ve thought there’s a difference between malicious acts and negligent ones.’

      ‘It’s all part of torts.’

      ‘Well so is trespass,’ she replied, as if addressing a child. ‘So is nuisance, so is defamation.’

      ‘Yes, but slander and libel are intentional.’

      ‘Just like crime.’

      Sherman seemed embarrassed, as if perturbed by Andi’s confrontational approach, but reluctant to follow suit. ‘Well, anyway, I won’t try to second guess you. When we’ve got a victim case to litigate, you’ll be the one whose desk it lands on. You’re the expert in that field. I’m just a humble negligence lawyer.’

      The uneasy feeling was growing in Andi. This wasn’t what they’d promised her when they offered her the job. They had given her the job without an interview, based on nothing more than her résumé and the recommendation of her head of department back in New York. But what Sherman was describing now wasn’t anything like what they had described when they made the job offer. If anything it was a step backwards.

      She had made this move because it had become clear to her that in New York she could only move sideways. But now it looked like she had been suckered into this and was going nowhere just as fast. She felt betrayed. No, she told herself. Don’t prejudge. Maybe it’s not what it seems. Maybe they just have a less formal structure in this firm.

      ‘So let me get this straight, Mr Sherman. Any crime victim wanting to sue the perp is mine?’

      She was watching his face carefully now.

      ‘As long as it falls exclusively within your remit. There might be some areas of overlap, in which case we’ll have to discuss it. But nobody’s going to go behind your back, let alone over your head. Everything’ll be done on a consensus basis.’

      It was obvious that he was trying to sound encouraging, to make her feel at home. It was clear that they respected her or they wouldn’t have hired someone from the other side of the country and made such a generous pay offer, not to mention paying her relocation costs.

      ‘I guess it makes sense. It’s just not what I had in mind.’

      ‘Well, let’s see how it goes,’ he said encouragingly. ‘You’ll have a lot of autonomy. And in most cases no one will try to second guess you. The other partners will probably defer to your judgment too. You’re the specialist after all.’

      ‘Okay,’ said Andi brightening up. ‘Let’s get to work.’

      ‘That’s the spirit.’

      ‘So, where’s my office?’

      Sherman looked embarrassed. ‘Well, it’s not really an office,’ he said nervously. ‘As you can see we’re open plan here.’

      ‘You mean only the partners have private offices?’

      ‘Well, no, some of the others do too. But we didn’t have a spare room, apart from the conference rooms. You’ll get one when we’ve got things sorted out. It’s just a matter of rearranging things. In the meantime, you’ll have a booth in the corner – away from most of the noise.’

      He had noticed the expression on her face. ‘What?’

      ‘Look, maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I’ll spell it out to you. This isn’t what I signed on for. I signed on to have an office, even head a department. Not to be an orphan or a stepchild.’