The Divorce Papers: A Novel (28 page)
Read The Divorce Papers: A Novel Online
Authors: Susan Rieger
Tags: #Fiction, #Contemporary Women, #Humorous, #Literary
TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
222 CHURCH STREET
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
(393) 876-5678
TIME SHEET
Attorney Work Product
| Client: | Maria Mather Meiklejohn |
| Attorney: | Anne Sophie Diehl |
| Date: | May 21, 1999 |
| Rate: | $150/hour |
| Date | Item | Hour(s) |
| 3/17/99 | Interview with MMM | 1 |
| | Write-Up of Interview | 1½ |
| 3/29/99 | Meeting ASD & DG | ½ |
| | Write-Up of Memo on Meeting | 1 |
| | Drafting Recusal Letter to MMM | n.c. (½) |
| 4/5/99 | Drafting Memo to DG on Next Steps | 1 |
| | Drafting Acceptance of Summons, Etc. | ¼ |
| | Meeting with MMM | ½ |
| 4/6/99 | Drafting Letter to RK Re: Automatic Orders | 1 |
| | Phone Conversation with MMM Re: Withdrawing Money | ¼ |
| | Drafting Letters to Financial Institutions | 1 |
| 4/7/99 | Drafting Addendum to Fee Agreement | ½ |
| 4/8/99 | Meeting with MMM Re: Addendum to Fee Agreement | 1½ |
| | Preparing Statements: Income/Expenses, Assets/Liabilities | 1½ |
| 4/23/99 | Phone Conversation with MMM Re: Settlement Offer | ¼ |
| | Preparing Memo on Conversation | 1 |
| | Research on Value of Medical Degree | 3 (?) |
| | Drafting Memo on Value of Medical Degree | 3 (?) |
| 4/27/99 | Drafting Letter to MMM on DED Settlement Offer | 1 |
| | Letter to RK Re: DED Settlement Offer | 1 |
| | Preparation of Discovery Request | 1 |
| 5/5/99 | Meeting with MMM on DED Settlement Offer | 1½ |
| 5/7/99 | Drafting Bottom-Line Settlement Offer | 3 |
| 5/10/99 | Review of Bottom-Line Settlement Offer | ¾ |
| 5/12/99 | Drafting Letter to MMM Re: Bottom-Line Settlement Offer | 1 |
| 5/20/99 | Drafting Letter to RK with Counteroffer | 2 |
| 5/21/99 | Review of Counteroffer | 1 |
| Total Hours | | 31½ |
| Bill | | $4,725 |
TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
222 CHURCH STREET
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
(393) 876-5678
MEMORANDUM
Attorney Work Product
| From: | David Greaves |
| To: | Sophie Diehl |
| RE: | Maria Meiklejohn |
| Date: | May 21, 1999 |
| Attachments: | |
I approve your letter and settlement offer. Send it to Kahn if Ms. Meiklejohn approves, but be prepared for fireworks. Dr. Durkheim will be seriously displeased. I begin to think Ms. Meiklejohn is very canny. She sized you up at a glance and decided that you would be the perfect foil to someone like Kahn. You’re not a member of the club; you’re young; you’re inexperienced; you don’t know the rules or won’t play by them. There’s a kind of formal minuet divorce lawyers dance. You’re doing the tango, and Kahn & Co. don’t know the steps. You come at them with a nothing-to-lose-I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude.
Your hours look fine, including the adjusted time put in on the M.D. memo. The issue still hasn’t been decided by an appellate court in Narragansett,
Petrus
is still pending, and your memo speaks to the Meiklejohn’s particular fact situation, which is unusual. It’s a win-win situation for us. If they go along, Ms. Meiklejohn will get $100,000 for $900 worth of work, an excellent return on the time spent. And if they balk, it gives us something to give up in the negotiations. I’ve given your Time Sheet to Hannah; she already has mine. I’ll be billing at $150, and I’ve made adjustments so that Ms. Meiklejohn won’t be double-charged. Hannah will prepare the bill for you to give Ms. Meiklejohn at your meeting Monday. And we don’t accept cash, ever, to avoid even the appearance of money laundering. Still, our clients find ways to insult us. One of these days, the honeymoon with Ms. Meiklejohn will come to an end
and she’ll turn on you, if only briefly. They always do, or almost always. As I said in my article, in divorce, there are very few satisfied customers.
Which brings me to your May 12 letter to Ms. Meiklejohn. “We lawyers traffic in human misery; we make our money off of it.” In the future, save that kind of observation for Joe or one of the other cowboys upstairs, over a beer. A remark like that invites contempt for the profession and displays a corrosive cynicism about lawyers, which in the long run can only damage the lawyer-client relationship. If you don’t respect what you do, neither will she. Remember, she’s not a friend or a colleague but a paying client who wants to think she’s hired a competent professional to protect her interests.
Maybe you should take a week off and go somewhere tropical. You don’t seem quite yourself. What is it about this divorce that’s getting to you? As I recall, you defended a child murderer without blinking.
TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
222 CHURCH STREET
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
(393) 876-5678
TIME SHEET
Attorney Work Product
| Client: | Maria Mather Meiklejohn |
| Attorney: | David Greaves |
| Date: | May 21, 1999 |
| Rate: | $150/hour |
| Date | Item | Hour(s) |
| 3/16/99 | Preparing Memo to ASD on Divorce Interview | n.c. (1) |
| 3/23/99 | Review of Interview Documents | n.c. (1) |
| | Preparing Memo to ASD on Representation | n.c. (¼) |
| 3/29/99 | Meeting ASD & DG | ½ |
| | Review of ASD Recusal Letter | n.c. (¼) |
| | Memo to ASD on Recusal Letter to MMM | n.c. (¼) |
| 4/5/99 | Review of Official Documents | ¼ |
| | Memo to ASD on Proposed Next Steps | 1¼ |
| 4/6/99 | Review of MMM Letter & Memo | ¼ |
| | Review of Draft Letter to RK | ¼ |
| | Review of Draft Letters to Financial Institutions | ¼ |
| 4/22/99 | Review of DED Settlement Offer & Letter from RK | ½ |
| | Memo to ASD on DED Settlement Offer | ½ |
| 4/27/99 | Drafting Response to RK on DED Settlement Offer | ½ |
| | Preparing Discovery Requests | ½ |
| 5/3/99 | Review of MMM Letter on DED Settlement Offer | ¼ |
| | Preparing Memo to ASD on MMM Letter | ¼ |
| 5/10/99 | Review of Draft MMM Counteroffer | ½ |
| | Preparing Memo to ASD on MMM Counteroffer | ¼ |
| 5/21/99 | Review of Letter to RK and Final MMM Counteroffer | ½ |
| Total Hours | | 6½ |
| Bill | | $975 |
TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
222 CHURCH STREET
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
(393) 876-5678
BILL FOR SERVICES
Attorney Work Product
| Client: | Maria Mather Meiklejohn | |
| Rate: | $150/hour | |
| Period: | 3/16/99 to 5/21/99 | |
| Date: | May 21, 1999 | |
| Attorney: | David Greaves 6½ Hours | $975 |
| Attorney: | Anne Sophie Diehl 31½ Hours | $4,725 |
| Total: | | $5,700 |
TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
222 CHURCH STREET
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
(393) 876-5678
MEMORANDUM
Attorney Work Product
| From: | Sophie Diehl |
| To: | David Greaves |
| RE: | Ms. Maria Meiklejohn: Settlement Offer Approved |
| Date: | May 24, 1999 |
| Attachments: | |
Ms. Meiklejohn waltzed into my office today, all smiles and complaisance, nothing like her recent correspondence. She approved the letter and settlement offer I drafted for Kahn, the bottom-line offer, and the bill. They made her practically giddy with pleasure—she positively hooted several times as she read over the papers—and she was surprised the bill was so low. “I thought I’d used up the retainer. Are you sure you’re not undercharging me?” She liked the request for reimbursement alimony and thought the time I spent on the memo well worth it. She said her husband was going to go berserk when he read the offer. “I’m feeling like Napoleon at Trafalgar. I’m not going to win, but I’ll do serious damage to the other side.” (My mother once said something very much to the same effect, though tailored more to my parents’ particularly apt nationalities. I thought it was a French/British thing; apparently not. Do all divorcing women feel like Napoleon, grandiose and fatalistic? What do all divorcing men feel like?) She smiled at me. “It’s better to die on one’s feet than to live on one’s knees, no?” I asked if she was worried about her husband’s response. “Oh, I’m ready for him,” she said. “There’s really nothing he can do to me. Jane is the only thing that really matters, and if he challenges me on custody, I’ll sic my father on him. Just let me know if you need more money.” And then she was gone. She must have upped her meds.
The offer will go out tomorrow.
P.S. I shouldn’t have been disrespectful about lawyers in my letter to Ms. Meiklejohn. I’ll do my best to see it doesn’t happen again.
P.P.S. You must agree that having to behave oneself all the time is a downside of civil practice. Don’t you find it at least a bit constricting? Don’t you ever want to say what you’re really thinking?
BRUCE MEIKLEJOHN
50 SAINT CLOUD
NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
May 25, 1999
David Greaves
Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski
222 Church Street
New Salem, NA 06555
Dear David:
Maria showed me the settlement offer. That little Sophie Diehl is dynamite. I’d like her to work for me. Just kidding. Where did she go to law school?
The bill was a surprise. You charge me that much for a tenth of the time. You don’t have to eat the bill. I’ll pay. It’s worth it. I’d give anything to be in the room when Durkheim reads that letter.
I’d like to take you and Ms. Diehl to lunch at the Plimouth Club. What do you say to next Thursday, June 3?
Thanks for coming to the New York meeting. I know you don’t like being window dressing (not for three days), but having you there was very useful. For the first time since negotiations started, they looked worried. As they should. I’m going to take them over, one way or the other. You made them see that. How many shares will I have to sell to pay that bill? Just kidding.
Let me know about the 3rd.
Sincerely,
Harry Redux
| From: Sophie Diehl To: Maggie Pfeiffer Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 23:28:54 Subject: Harry Redux | 5/26/99 11:28 PM |
Dear Maggie:
Harry showed up tonight around 9, drunk as a skunk. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that drunk since high school. He couldn’t stand up and was sloppily affectionate. (Memories of Jack.) At least he didn’t puke all over everything. In high school the boys always puked everywhere, on the car seat, on themselves, on you. Did they drink to puke? Anyway, Harry kept on saying how sorry he was. God, I hate drunks. I put him in the shower, made him drink a quart of water, then put him to bed. He’s there now. He hasn’t shaved in days, and he’s got huge, dark shadows under his eyes, like Nehru. He looks awful and yet he’s still so beautiful. I don’t know what he’s been up to—other than his cups in Jack Daniel’s. I couldn’t get a coherent word out of him, except, of course, “Sorry.” Do I sleep on the couch, or do I get into bed with him?
I don’t know what I’m doing.
Love,
Sophie