“Renee, wait up.” She turned to find Jefferson Perkins coming toward her. He fell in step beside her.
“Hey, Jeff. What’s up?”
“Your pro bono, what’s up with it?” They entered her office, where she set her binder down but held her salad bowl in her hands. Jeff motioned for her to continue eating, and she did.
After she swallowed, she told him again the story of Grady but added the accident and the fifteen years of alcohol abuse.
“Do you have a strategy?” he asked her.
“I’m waiting for him to wake up. Once arrested, I’ll appear on his behalf and go from there.”
Jeff nodded. “At his arraignment, ask to skip the preliminary hearing. Tell the judge your client is entering rehab. That’ll give you at least ninety days to get the case in order and plead him out to misdemeanors.”
“Really?” Rennie asked, stunned. “Will that work?”
“He’s a first-time offender and is unlikely to face jail time if he’s in a treatment facility.”
“Thanks, Jefferson.”
“No problem. If you want me to sit second chair, let me know.”
Rennie thanked him again as he left her office. She felt reassured and confident, knowing she had cocounsel to assist her if need be. Ester stood in her doorway with a folder in her arm. Rennie had a new client waiting for her in the conference room.
“What do we know about Ms. Futter?” Rennie asked as she reached for the folder. Ester filled her boss in and followed her to the smaller, cozier meeting room. She shut the door behind them, pulled the blinds closed, and sat across from Rennie with her pen and notepad, ready to take notes.
“Hello, I’m Renee Wallace. You must be Ms. Futter?” She shook hands with the trembling woman.
“Yes, but can you call me Leah?”
Rennie nodded. “I know you’ve already spoken to my assistant, Ester, but I’d like for you to tell me what’s going on.”
“My husband and I recently separated. I was under the impression we were going to go to counseling to try and work things out, but I lost my job, and the same day, he served me with papers.” Leah Futter slid the trifold stack toward Rennie. She opened it and scanned the document.
“It says here he wants full custody of your children. How old are they?”
“Five and three.”
“Just babies,” she muttered. “Why did you and Mr. Futter separate?”
“He had an affair, and now he wants our children to live with his girlfriend.”
Rennie nodded. She loathed people like Mr. Futter and would love nothing more than to take him down a peg or two. “We can take your case, but I won’t be your acting counsel. I’m going to assign you to one of my staff members. They’ll keep me apprised through the process, and Ester will always be available to answer any questions you have.” She set her hand on top of Ms. Futter’s and squeezed it. She then looked at Ester and asked, “Can you see if Charlie or Barbara is available for a consult?” Ester nodded and exited the room.
“I’m deeply sorry you’re going through this, but we’ll make things right for you. Unfortunately, the fact that your husband cheated will have no bearing on your divorce, but the fact that you’re unemployed does. Do you have another job lined up?”
“I’ve been looking, but it’s hard. I’m sad a lot.”
“I can understand.”
Charlie Raymond, a bright young lawyer on team Wallace, entered the room. Rennie made introductions and then stepped out. On her way back to her office, she ran into Donna, who followed Rennie into her office and shut the door behind her.
“Hey, it looks like the Soto case is going to close soon—that’ll be a relief.” Donna’s words caught Rennie off guard. She had just told everyone during the staff meeting that they were heading to mediation after Christmas. Nothing about mediation screamed resolution. However, Rennie played along.
“The husband is grasping at straws. She was the breadwinner for only a small part of their marriage. He’s lazy and doesn’t want to work.” Rennie sat at her desk and motioned for Donna to sit across from her. “And I just finished meeting with a new client whose husband cheated, moved in with the mistress, and now wants full custody of the children. The wife, who is now our client, is blindsided. She thought they were going to try counseling.”
“Who did you assign the case to?”
“Charlie. She’s hungry, and I think she can handle it and really send the husband through the wringer.”
“Listen, Lex isn’t happy about your pro bono case. Wants me to dig a little to see what’s going on.”
Rennie wanted to roll her eyes. “Since when are my cases monitored?”
“They’re not. It’s just the pro bono side. You know how Lex is.”
“Fine,” Rennie huffed. “I’ll make sure to do the work on my own time and use vacation days when I have to go to court.” The fact that Grady’s case had become a sore spot pissed her off. The firm took pro bono work all the time and had their first-years volunteering for legal aid. This case wasn’t out of the ordinary.