Zealous Representation

WARNING: Story contains one veiled reference to sexual assault and some use of profanity.

Ryan Reed, third-year law student, sat in the last row of the large classroom. It wasn’t assigned seating, but he always sat in the back. It was less crowded, he had more room for his six-foot frame, and the professors picked on the back rows less.

The Constitutional Law professor had been droning on, and on, and on, and since it was the class right after lunch, Ryan wasn’t the only student struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Mr. Reed, so how was it that the supreme court could find that refusing to serve a person of color at a coffee shop was unconstitutional?”

Ryan snapped his attention back from his daydream of the pretty redhead that had scribbled her number on a napkin at the bar he tended.

“Well,…” Ryan cleared his throat while he racked his brain. He knew this answer. He’d read it just last night before the late crowd came in.

“Yes?” Prof. Fuckwit intoned with unconcealed distain.

“They relied on the Interstate Commerce Clause.”

“Are you sure. What could some random customer being served lunch possibly have to do with interstate commerce?”

And so the ping pong of the Socratic Method continued. Ryan knew he was right, and he once again thanked his lucky stars for his eidetic memory.

After Prof. Fuckwad moved on to explore the nuances of Con Law by picking on other students, Ryan studied the side rear profile of Jasmine Kim. She’d been in many of his classes over the last two and a half years. Always chose a seat in the second row. Always overly prepared. Always eager to answer. And, annoyingly, always right. But Ryan suspected she’d never be a successful trial lawyer. Too stiff. Too unsure. She had the info, but not the delivery. Knowing how to throw a four-finger fast ball doesn’t mean you have the strength to pitch it past a slugger. But damn, she was hot, with her exotic Eurasian mix of beauty plus brains.

They’d rarely talked, not that either had tried particularly hard to do so. Jasmine was always at the law library between classes, and Ryan was either playing poker at the nearby Indian Casino or studying the sports odds. After all, he didn’t make enough tending bar to pay for the overpriced law school.

The wall clock finally quit dialing backwards and forty-five prayers were answered by the class bell.

“Prof. Fuckface mumbled something about the next assignment, but even he seemed to want to be somewhere else.

Ryan closed his tablet and left along with everyone else. He was headed toward the parking lot but became aware of someone walking to his left.

“Ryan, right?” Jasmine began.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you were there. Huh, yeah, Ryan.” His antenna went up. Plainly she must know his name after two and half years.

“Mind if I walk along with you?”

“No, the more the merrier.” Where the hell’d that lame ass ‘more the merrier’ come from?

“I’d like to talk to you about something. Do you have a few minutes? Maybe we could get a cup of coffee?”

Ryan stopped walking toward his ’69 MGB roadster he’d restored from junk back in high school, and turned to where he faced the pretty gal. What’s this all about? This didn’t seem like flirting, but despite her efforts to make it all seem casual, he’d played enough poker to pick up on her underlying nervousness. Might as well find out. “Yeah, I’d like that. Why don’t we go over to the Javahut and I’ll buy you a Danish and coffee.”

Jasmine chose a booth in the back away from the nearest occupied tables and booths. After they’d ordered, she started, “Look Ryan, we’ve never really talked that much, but I’ve watched you now for a couple of years.” She paused and took a sip of coffee.

“Should I feel flattered?”

Jasmine smiled, “That’s up to you, but flattery wasn’t my intention. Hear me out.” She gave a quick look around and leaned in. Ryan found himself drawn toward her.

“I’ve got a proposition. And wipe that smirk off your face,” she said without rancor.

Ryan dropped the very non-poker-faced smirk.

“We’ve both applied for the same internship position at Do We Cheat’em and How. Ryan had recently applied for a coveted job at Darwin, Whitman, Chase and Howard, a prestigious civil litigation firm downtown.

“How’d you know I applied?” Ryan asked. He was surprised but also had admiration for her inside info. And don’t you already work at Burnsdale?

“That’s not important. What’s important is they only have one open slot.”

Ryan nodded. That’s what he’d heard also.

“I’m pretty certain that despite the number of persons that applied, it’s going to come down to a coin toss between you and me.” Ryan nodded.

“What I propose is, I’ll muff up my interview just enough not to be obvious, but enough to take myself out of the competition.” Ryan leaned back. This was odd…and intriguing.

“You get the job. Then you’d be on the inside.”

“Okay, but to what end?” Ryan asked the obvious question.

“This is where trust comes into the picture. Can I trust you?”

He didn’t take Jasmine for a con artist, but she sure asked one of the most common lead ins to a con. “Of course. I’ve got no reason to want to screw you.” He hastily added, “Screw you over, that is. But’s what’s going on?”

“I can’t tell you the whole plan right now, but I just want to know if I can trust you and also what I will do to make sure you get the internship.”

“Well, trust’s a two-way street, but yeah, of course you can trust me.”

“Great.” Jasmine made a show of looking at her watch. “Look, I’ve got to get back to study for Corporations.” Ryan nodded and he dropped a ten on the table. He was surprised when Jasmine gave him a slight hug after they’d both risen. Now that was unexpected.

***

“You’ll be working assisting Bob Lemmon on the Kopenski litigation,” David Darwin explained to Ryan as he showed him around the offices of D,W,C,H. Bob will tell you all about it, but the nuts and bolts are, it’s going to trial in two months, and in fact that’s why we hired another intern to assist in trial preparation”

“I understand, and I’ll do everything I can to help.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Oh, here’s Bob now.”

Introductions were made and true to expectations, Lemmon worked with Ryan getting him fully immersed into the minutia of all that it takes to get cases ready for trial.

Back on campus, while Ryan continued to see Jasmine in class, their interactions didn’t seem to be any greater than before, except there were occasional smiles and nods that hadn’t occurred before.

Three weeks before the Kopenski case was set to go to trial, Jasmine was waiting for him by his MG.

“Ryan, it’s been a while since we talked.”

“I noticed. I’ve been getting the feeling you’ve been avoiding me.”

Jasmine smiled, “That’s been necessary. You’ll understand in a minute why. Let’s go somewhere where we can talk.”

Ryan drove them to Victory Park and they walked around the lake, stopping to watch the ducks and take in the pleasant sunshine. Finally, Ryan asked, “Well?”

“I’ve got a proposition. To be more precise, I’ve got a proposition that includes the both of us.” She paused and subtly glanced around.

“Persons who will remain nameless have made us an offer. And I say ‘us’ because this will involve us both.” She paused and after a beat Ryan gave the universal swirl of the hand to indicate for her to continue.

“They’re willing to pay a half-million dollars for certain information on a certain file that you just happen to be working on, and if need be, for certain documents to disappear or be altered from the file.”

Well fuck, there it is. Ryan wasn’t sure what to expect, but whatever it was, this wasn’t it.

He turned directly toward Jasmine and stared intently into her eyes. “Are you absolutely out of your ever fucking mind?”

Jasmine frowned, “No, listen, just think about this. You’re a student, an intern for Christ’s sake. You’re the ultimate non-suspect. No one thinks you’re smart enough to find the men’s room, let alone do something like this.” She sat back as if she’d just given a winning argument before the Supreme Court. Through his grimace Ryan said, “I’m pretty fucking sure we just covered this in our Ethics Class. You remember, client confidentiality, right?” He caught his breath and continued, “And what about the obligation to zealously fight for your client, within the law? You remember that one too, right?”

“Wonderful concepts, but this is the real world. I’m talking two-hundred and fifty each. With zero chance of discovery if we’re careful how the information is handled. Think about it. What could you do with that much money when you’re just starting out?”

The sad fact was, Ryan knew there was a lot he could do with that type of money, but he could also get his ticket to practice yanked before he even got started. Not cool. Not cool at all. He might even end up plying his legal trade while playing pick up the soap in prison.

“Look, this is a lot to take in. Let me think about things for a day or two.”

“Take your time, but remember, I think you know I’m talking about the Kopenski vs. Miller case, and after the trial starts, all bets are off. They’ll want an answer within forty-eight hours.”

They drove back to campus in silence and Jasmine got out. Before leaving she said through the open window, “It’s a sure thing.”

Back at his shoebox sized apartment Ryan contemplated what was just dropped in his lap. He knew the fact he’d not said no immediately meant that there was something seriously wrong with him. Could he actually go along with something so underhanded? It also suddenly hit him like a fastball to the head, Burnsdale was the law office representing Miller. He popped a beer and plunked down in his secondhand recliner with the stuffing coming out here and there. As he finished off his second beer a germ of an idea was taking root.

Before going to his bartending gig he called Jasmine.

“I’m in.”

***

The Kopenski vs Miller case was a complicated patent infringement lawsuit over technical jargon. Ryan only understood the general concepts of it. The rest the lawyers relied upon the engineers and other experts to explain. What he did know was, there were a lot of blueprints of prototypes. Any one of which, if slightly modified, would torpedo the entire case.

Liking an annoying mosquito, something kept niggling at the back of Ryan’s thoughts. There had to be more to why Jasmine was risking everything. It couldn’t be just for money. She came from a family that was loaded. She drove a new Mercedez-AMG for screaming out loud. She only worked for the experience and resume. Her father paid for her tuition and books, and had even bought her a condo. Ryan had done his due diligence on her. So, what gives?

She picked up on the third ring, “So why are you calling instead of texting? I’m studying for the Ethics midterm.”

Ryan had already memorized the Ethics material. “I’d like to meet and talk a little bit about our project.” That sounded better than saying ‘our conspiracy to defraud.’

“I need to take a break anyways. Why don’t you come over?” She gave him directions.

While he drove, Ryan played out how badly the blow back could be on Jasmine if he followed his plan.

She handed him a coke and the two sat in her living room. It was a palace compared to his cramped apartment. She said, “No time for second thoughts, if that’s what this about.”

He took a couple measured breaths, “Jasmine, why’re you doing this? I know it can’t be the money. That might be motivation enough for the likes of me but look at this.” He paused and raised his hand indicated their surroundings. “You don’t need the money. Your path is paved with marble. Why? What’s the game?”

It was obvious she was fighting not to crack. Her expression told Ryan that she was under a tremendous amount of pressure. He fought his impulse to lend her comfort.

“I thought I was putting on a good front. With all your experience reading people, I should have known it wouldn’t hold up around you.”

Ryan thought, hmm, she’s done her due diligence also.

She continued, “I was really stupid in the first year.” She couldn’t meet Ryan’s eyes. “You remember our Contracts professor?”

He nodded, “Professor Campbell.”

“I didn’t have the confidence back then that I could handle law school.” She looked up at Ryan as if searching for understanding, “My parents, particularly my father, are always finding fault, nit picking everything. It’s made me constantly second guess myself.”

Hardly Ryan’s background where he got a hardy pat on the back and a bottle of Jim Beam from his pops, then shown the door when he graduated high school.

“Anyways, long story short, Campbell said I’d get and “A” in his class guaranteed if I slept with him. I wanted that “A!” She laughed bitterly, turns out I aced the exam anyways. There was a long pause, each in their own thoughts.

“Well, the son-of-a-bitch videotaped our tryst. Bottom line, he’s one of the attorneys working on the Miller file, your Kopenski file. If I don’t go along, they will release an edited tape showing me in all my glory while protecting the identity of Campbell.” Tears were welling in her eyes. “The shame to my family would be unbearable. I can’t let that tape be seen by anyone.”

Ryan thought, jigsaw puzzle solved, and an ugly picture it was indeed.

After giving Jasmine time to compose herself, Ryan began, “You know good and well that Miller stole the concept for their Model GX Altruser from the Kopenski corporation High Impact Conimeter, right? This is just us talking. Save the posturing.”

Jasmine nodded, “To anyone with an IQ above room temperature that should be obvious. That’s why they’re going to these lengths to win the case before it starts.”

“Okay, well I’ve got a plan to screw Miller over while still getting the money. Problem with my plan is you’ll be caught in the blow back unless I let you in on it. But you’ll have to do your part to avoid any of the shit landing on you when it hits the fan.”

“Will I be in the clear?”

“You can be, but you’ve got to do what I tell you.”

“Will it nail Campbell?”

“He’ll be standing right in front of the fan.”

Jasmine rushed over and embraced Ryan. “I could kiss you!”

“What’s stopping you?”

Later, Ryan filled Jasmine in on his modified new plan. They’d change out critical final blueprints of the Miller Model GX such that it could be easily shown by an engineer to have been modified from the genuine blueprint. It would appear as if Miller Corporation was trying to fake evidence. Ryan’s original plan had him giving a faked modified blueprint of the Kopenski Conimeter, so that the Miller lawyers would mistakenly think they’d be able to win based on the discrepancy between the Kopenski model and their model.

This case made Ryan vow to himself to only practice something simple like criminal law, where the good guys and bad guys wore recognizable hats, so to speak.

The night before the trial was to start, Ryan paid a janitor to let him in the courtroom. He made his way to the defense counsel table. Wearing gloves, he dug through their boxes of evidence. He found the necessary factual blueprint. He slipped it out of the protective plastic sleeve and inserted the fake modified one. Campbell’s fingerprints were all over the sleeve. It wasn’t enough that Miller loose. Their attorneys, Campbell and Burnsdale, needed to be caught doing the shenanigans that they were trying to benefit from.

The fuse was lit.

And oh the explosion was beyond the best Fourth of July fireworks. Even their own engineers, after hemming and hawing, had to admit in open court in front of the judge and jury, that the proffered blueprint evidence had been modified from the original. This was after the Kopenski experts had done a complete disembowelment of Campbell when he tried to cross-examine them. The looks the jury gave Campbell and Burnsdale were bad, but appeared to be looks of admiration compared to how the judge was looking toward the defense lawyers.

For a patent case, the jury was out for a record short time of only an hour and a half. They took that long because they waited for the catered lunch. They felt they deserved it for their time and effort.

The hammer dropped on the Miller Corporation, but then the judge had choice words to say afterward. Something about an ethical complaint to the bar and she was going to have her law clerk research whether or not contempt charges including jail time were available for Campbell and Burnsdale.

Campbell had given the video tape back to Jasmine after she showed him the faked Kopenski blueprint. The one that Campbell had been assured would sink the Kopenski claim. Ryan, after receipt of the two-hundred and fifty large, replaced the fake with the genuine article, so there would be nothing wrong with the Kopenski evidence.

After the verdict, Ryan and Jasmine discussed their future, which included starting their own law firm after graduation.