Webb is feeling overwhelmed when Sabatani refuses to have anyone except Webb defend him on charges of murdering the restauranteur, Gretchen Hall, from whom he took back a painting he sold her because she did not display it publicly, and Yuri Makarov, the bodyguard of movie producer, Leon Golden.
Webb’s modest legal practice has not needed an assistant. He rents space in a suite of offices where there is a slot outside each office door for a lawyer’s card reflecting the constant turnover of lawyers in the building.
Now he is dealing with a case with a huge amount of information.
Webb is grateful when an attractive young woman, Crane, volunteers to help him.
It turns out Crane has personal reasons and motivations for becoming Webb’s assistant. She is far from the woman he thought she was when she joined him.
Webb does not do a background check upon her. He is happy to have an unpaid assistant.
Crane’s deceit prompted me to think about hiring assistants in the real world. At our law office in Melfort when hiring we rely on resumes, interviews and calls to past employers. We explain the need for confidentiality to prospective assistants.
Legal assistants, especially in small offices, must have access to confidential information to do their jobs. They are trusted to be responsible and not disclose office information.
Our experience has been that our assistants have been reliable and discreet.
In Escape Velocity by Susan Wolfe, a legal mystery set in Silicon Valley, the lead character is Georgia Griffin, a paralegal in the firm. When I asked Wolfe in an email exchange why Griffin was a paralegal rather than a lawyer she advised:
That was strictly dictated by my plot. I needed to have a main character whom other people would underestimate, even forget about, because that allowed her to be a fly on the wall for many very senior meetings she would otherwise not have access to. The executives treated her as invisible. I don’t believe they would have treated even the most junior lawyer in such a dismissive manner.
We work hard in our office not to treat staff as “invisble” but recognize they are usually in the background.
I would say virtually every law office is vulnerable should an assistant be unscrupulous.
The vulnerability of law offices was further illustrated in Proof by Jon Cowan. Grace Jamieson, a paralegal at the Los Angeles law firm of Thompson West, leaves the firm to join fired senior partner, Jake West, in his quest to solve murders that are connected to Thompson West. Her inside knowledge of the firm is used in ways that are definitely unethical and, probably legally wrong.
In An Insignificant Case, Webb is blind sided when Crane reveals she has been using her position for her own purposes.
Using office information for personal reasons would destroy an assistant’s career but to the dishonest that would be of no concern.
I will continue to be confident that our office can rely on the integrity of our assistants while recognizing as a blogger and a reader there are abundant fictional opportunities for authors to create unreliable assistants.
****
Thanks, Bill, for your helpful insights on legal assistants. I can see how they must be important to the effective function of a quality law office. And, yes, I'd imagine they need to be carefully screened, and be thoroughly aware of the importance of discretion, among other things. You make an interesting comment about not treating legal assistants with anything but courtesy, dignity, and respect. I've seen this sort of dynamic in classrooms, too. Teaching assistants can be an important part of an effective and successful classroom. Like legal assistants, they don't always get the 'press' that an outstanding teacher does, but they are important. And wise, skilled teachers treat them as important colleagues. It was really interesting to get your thoughts on the legal assistant's role.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for your comment. Legal assistants are important. When law school graduates start articling they find to their dismay, as was my case 50 years ago, that the assistants know more about the practice of law than they learned in law school.
Delete