Deathbed Dimes

by Naomi Elana Zener

  “Nervous,” Esty said, one knee bouncing against the oak bench.

  “It’s to be expected, but don’t worry. We’re ready for whatever they try to throw our way,” I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

  “How are you?” I asked, turning to Rita. She was dressed in a wool boucle Chanel suit with matching pumps and purse, topped off with a chunky gold necklace — a gift from Ivana.

  “I’m fine, dear. Quite excited actually. I’m looking forward to seeing those scoundrels get what they deserve — nothing!” she cried.

  “We’re still quite a long way from trial, so don’t get too worked up,” I chuckled. “Rita, you will need to sit in the gallery, but, Esty, you will be seated with me at the counsel’s table over here.”

  Chip entered the courtroom with Mandy, Ty Sumner Jr. and the elder Sumner in tow.

  “Isn’t it a wonderful day to inherit a billion dollars?” I remarked, shuffling my papers casually. I knew I’d said it loud enough for Chip to hear as he walked by.

  “Probably as lovely as it is for disbarment,” he remarked snidely, sliding into the opposing bench.

  “What did he say?” Esty asked.

  “Oh, nothing. Just ignore him,” I said.

  Blake entered the courtroom and sat next to Rita. I introduced him to both Esty and Rita as our retained estates expert who would be assisting us in preparing our case.

  “So, Chip, did you get service of my witness’ deposition?” I asked, sauntering over to his table.

  “Um, yeah, at the last minute.” He looked up at me, annoyed. I smiled down at him.

  “You got disclosure, so don’t even waste your time trying to get it dismissed,” I said.

  “Whatever, Joely. The only thing that will be dismissed is you,” he threatened, standing to be at my height.

  “Chip, show some decorum. Fear is not so becoming on you,” I upped my tone to patronize him.

  “I have nothing to be afraid of,” he said.

  “Well, you failed to disclose jurisprudence that puts your client’s case at a severe disadvantage. Last time I checked, failure to do so is a violation of your duties as an officer of the court,” I advised.

  “I’m fully aware of my duties, which is why I will dutifully inform the judge that you have a conflict of interest in representing your client!” He was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

  “Try not to look so constipated when you say that. A word of advice, don’t wet your pants with embarrassment when the judge wonders how you were ever called to the bar. That reminds me, since you’re not even called in California, how do you plan on representing your client today?” I asked him, tilting my head in mock curiosity. Chip looked at me confused.

  I arched an eyebrow at him before walking back to my table.

  “Joely, why does he keep threatening you?” Esty asked.

  “Just a little former colleague repartee. I told you that we used to work together. When he stole my partnership from me, I refused to support his rise to the top. Let’s just say that he’s bitter,” I told her, looking over the papers in front of me. “He never could win a case without my help.”

  “And now he’s scared?” she asked.

  “Precisely,” I replied. Chip continued to busy himself in an effort to appear as though he knew what he was doing. Mandy was, predictably, fixing her makeup, while Mr. Sumner looked preoccupied on his iPhone. Ty remained in the back of the gallery reading a comic book, along for the ride but completely disinterested in the proceedings.

  “All rise,” the clerk bellowed as the judge entered the courtroom. “The Honourable Judge Williams is presiding. Please be seated.”

  “The matter before us today is threefold. First, we have a motion to admit the last will and testament of Ivana Iretzski of Southampton, New York, to probate. Second, we have notice of objection to the validity of the will being admitted to probate brought by Esty Baxter on the basis that it is a product of undue influence and fraud,” the judge declared solemnly. “Last, I see that there is also a motion to dismiss the change of venue to California. I presume that counsel have mutually agreed to the change of venue to Los Angeles County for reasons that are unnecessary to review given the mutual consensus?”

  Chip and I nodded our heads in agreement.

  “Then I propose that we proceed as follows,” the judge continued. Judge Williams was a short, stout, bald man in his mid-fifties. A man whose reputation preceded him, he was an expert in undue influence and a seasoned litigator before ascending to the bench. Judge Williams’s acute awareness of estates jurisprudence made him a no-nonsense judge when it came to hearing legal arguments. Miss a court decision that could help your client and he would nudge an attorney in the right direction. Fail to disclose one that could hurt your client’s case, and you were dead in the water.

  “Excuse me, your Honour,” Chip interrupted.

  “Yes, Mr. Hancock?” the judge asked.

  “There is a preliminary matter that needs to be addressed before we can proceed,” Chip explained. “It is my contention that Ms. Zeller is not qualified to act as Ms. Baxter’s counsel.”

  “I most certainly am. For that matter, however, Mr. Hancock is not authorized to appear in your court,” I retorted, jumping to my feet.

  “And why is that?” the judge queried.

  “Because she worked on this case when she was my junior associate at Mavis, McLeish, Meinsdorf and Mooring LLP in New York,” Chip said, throwing me a snide grin.

  “And Mr. Hancock does not have a license to practice law in California. He’s barely capable of being a member of the New York State Bar Association,” I said.

  “Ms. Zeller, is this true?” the judge asked.

  “Your Honour, allow me to explain. When I was at Mavis — where we were both associates — I did work with Mr. Hancock; however, I never had carriage of this matter, nor did I work on it in any material way,” I explained.

  “It is immaterial if you were associates or not. What matters is whether you gained intimate knowledge of Ms. Chalmers’ file, obtained privileged information that affects Ms. Chalmers’ case and whether you provided any legal advice to Ms. Chalmers when you worked at Mr. Hancock’s firm,” the judge said pointedly. “It is incumbent upon me to uphold and maintain the integrity of the justice system to ensure that there is no bias or appearance of bias or conflict of interest that could affect the outcome of this trial.”

  “As I stated before, I never had carriage of the matter, nor did I gain any intimate knowledge of the case or provide any legal advice to Ms. Chalmers. My knowledge of this matter is restricted to the same facts that were disclosed in both Mr. Hancock’s notice to the named heirs and in Ms. Chalmers’ affidavit,” I explained.

  “Your Honour, I must object to Ms. Zeller’s selective memory of what she knew and did for my client. At the initial client meeting, Ms. Zeller attempted to bring to Ms. Chalmers’ attention the possibility that a claim of undue influence was a basis for a potential challenge to the validity of the will we seek to propound,” Chip jumped in eagerly.

  “I was merely stating the obvious legal challenges that could arise in any estates case. Such a suggestion is not privileged information. Rather, as you know your Honour, it is a basic legal principle one learns in law school,” I said defensively. “Furthermore, in that meeting, I was quickly cut off by Mr. Hancock and the other partners before I could provide any meaningful advice or work on the case in any material way. Neither the client, the partners, nor Mr. Hancock wanted any obstacles to Ms. Chalmers’ case discussed.”

  “I see,” the judge said. “However, you were present at a client meeting as a member of the firm retained to work on the case.”

  “I was never counsel of record. In fact, I was referred to as an ‘employee’ of the firm at the meeting, relegated to fetching the partners and client coffee. As I have already stated, I was not relied upon to provide any legal advice. Moreover, Ms. Chalmers herself instructed the partners to keep me off of the cas
e,” I said.

  “Is this true, Mr. Hancock?” the judge asked.

  “Your Honour, she worked on this file. She knows intimate, privileged details about my client’s case,” Chip reaffirmed.

  “That is impossible, your Honour. I never was given the file. In fact, it was only the partners and Mr. Hancock who came to the meeting prepared since Mr. Hancock never shared the file with me. The only thing I ever was asked to do was to research and prepare an outline of the potential legal pitfalls that could arise in any estates case, because I had no facts to base my research on,” I explained.

  “Mr. Hancock, I am confused. If Ms. Zeller never had possession of the file and she was kept from working on the matter as per your client’s instructions,” the judge said, pointing to Mandy, “who is currently nodding her head in agreement before me, what privileged information could Ms. Zeller have acquired?”

  Thank god for Mandy’s ineptitude.

  “She stole the file from my office without permission!” he cried. “The senior partners know this!”

  “Your Honour, with all due respect, Mr. Hancock is lying,” I said evenly.

  “This is a serious allegation you are making against Ms. Zeller. Are the senior partners of your firm prepared to attest to that fact?” Judge Williams asked.

  “No,” Chip replied quietly.

  “What was that?” the judge asked.

  “I said no, they are not willing to attest to that fact,” Chip said, still looking down.

  “Why is that?” the judge asked.

  “Because Ms. Zeller was with the partners when I couldn’t find the file and it turned out to be in my locked cabinet,” Chip mumbled. “But I know that Joely knew where the key was and I know she took it.” He sounded like a petulant child.

  “Your Honour, I will not stand to be maligned like this by Mr. Hancock. His misplacement of the file cannot be transformed into some conspiracy theory that he has concocted in an attempt to disqualify me from representing Ms. Baxter. Mr. Hancock is merely posturing for his client’s benefit and has no basis in fact or in law to make such allegations against me,” I stated firmly.

  “I have to agree with Ms. Zeller that these defamatory statements are both unacceptable and inappropriate. Mr. Hancock you have demonstrated no basis upon which Ms. Zeller can be disqualified from this case,” the judge held. “However, I am concerned about the close proximity Ms. Zeller had to this matter prior to representing Ms. Baxter. To that end, to ensure that there is no attorney misconduct, conflict of interest or improper behaviour, I am ordering you, Ms. Zeller, to retain co-counsel to assist you in this matter.”

  “But, your Honour, that is completely unnecessary,” I pleaded. “I understand that I have a prior connection to Ms. Chalmers, which is tenuous at best, but in no way should I be removed as counsel of record.”

  “Ms. Zeller, I will not be argued with,” the judge said, his voice low and measured. “You should be thankful that you are still able to assist in Ms. Baxter’s representation. For that matter, you should be grateful that I am not conducting a hearing into whether you had greater involvement in this matter than what you have already disclosed. However, given my weighing both yours and Mr. Hancock’s oral arguments and the sheer preposterousness of Mr. Hancock’s unsupportable allegations against you, I believe that a hearing is unwarranted. However, for my peace of mind and to ensure that justice both is done and appears to be done, you will retain co-counsel.”

  “Your Honour, I have to restate my strenuous objection to Ms. Zeller’s continued involvement in this matter, with or without co-counsel,” Chip objected.

  “Mr. Hancock, while I don’t want you to strain yourself, are you prepared to provide affidavit evidence from your senior partners to support your charges of theft against Ms. Zeller?” the judge asked. “Are you prepared to file misconduct charges against her before the state bars of New York and California? Are you prepared to have your own practice history exposed to scrutiny?”

  “No, your Honour,” he replied, quieted again.

  “Then this matter is settled,” the judge ordered. “Now, Ms. Zeller, in order to continue here today, do you have an associate from your firm to assist you in the interim?”

  “I will be assisting Ms. Zeller,” Blake piped up. “Professor Blake Hart.”

  “I am honoured by your esteemed presence in my courtroom, Professor Hart. If you were here to assist Ms. Zeller, then why have you not found a seat at the counsel’s table already?” the judge asked, shifting his sizeable weight to find a more comfortable position.

  “It’s because he is not retained as legal counsel. He’s some combination of expert witness and lover, based on what I saw at dinner last night,” Chip said smugly.

  “Professor Hart has been retained as an expert witness in this matter,” I said, ignoring Chip’s backhanded comment. “Last night’s dinner was a strategy session.”

  “I am not interested in what happens outside of the four walls of my courtroom so long as it does not interfere with the administration of justice,” the judge stated tersely. “Ms. Zeller, your firm is not disqualified from representing Ms. Baxter, but is there not another attorney in your practice who can be named as Ms. Baxter’s counsel of record?”

  “I am happy to act in such capacity,” Blake repeated.

  “He’s a professor and not even a practicing lawyer in the state of California!” Chip cried indignantly.

  “Neither are you,” I retorted.

  “I’ve already agreed with you, Mr. Hancock, in saying that Professor Hart cannot act as Ms. Zeller’s co-counsel. The issue is who then can assist Ms. Zeller in representing Ms. Baxter so that there is no appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest,” the judge asked, anger flaring at Chip’s interruption. “Mr. Hancock, I will address your lack of license in a moment.”

  “I will assist Ms. Zeller, your Honour,” a male voice echoed from the back of the courtroom. I spun around to find Ethan speaking from the back of the gallery, Javier and Tanya seated beside him.

  “Who are you?” the judge asked, straining to see Ethan.

  “I am Ms. Zeller’s partner,” Ethan advised.

  “Are you a litigator as well?” the judge asked.

  “No, your Honour, but our other partner, Coco Hirohito, is and she will act as counsel of record after today’s proceedings have been adjourned,” Ethan advised.

  The judge nodded his head in agreement and instructed the court stenographer to make note of that fact.

  “Now that this matter has been settled, it would seem that we need to address Mr. Hancock’s appearance in my courtroom,” the judge said, turning his attention to the fact that Chip was not licensed to practice in California. “I assume that you are requesting to act as counsel pro hac vice?”

  “Excuse me, your Honour?” Chip asked with a blank stare.

  I allowed myself a smile at Chip’s lack of familiarity with the California Rules of Court.

  “I am referring to rule 9.40 of the California Rules of Court, Mr. Hancock,” the judge replied. “Given that you are not a member of the State Bar of California, I am asking you again whether you are requesting that you be allowed to act as counsel pro hac vice? You do have an active member of the State Bar of California associated with this matter as attorney of record, do you not?”

  The judge rifled through Chip’s motion record, searching for Chip’s written application to act pro hac vice, but found none.

  “I must apologize, your Honour, but I forgot to apply to act as a vice counsel,” Chip said, misunderstanding the rule.

  “Mr. Hancock, I’ve reached the end of my tether,” the judge sighed. “Acting pro hac vice requires that you are a member in good standing of and eligible to practice before the bar of any US court and that you have been retained to appear in a particular cause pending in a court of the state of California. But you must also have a California-licensed lawyer to act as your attorney of record.”

  “I certainly meet the firs
t two requirements you mentioned as I am called to the Bar of New York,” Chip advised.

  “Just barely,” I muttered loudly enough for Chip to hear.

  “I am deeply sorry for the error, your Honour. Is it too late to apply?” Chip asked in as charming a manner as he could muster, ignoring my remark.

  “Mr. Hancock, you have two days to find an attorney of record to assist you and to file your written application with this court to appear as counsel pro hac vice,” the judge warned. “It remains in my discretion as to whether I will allow it. I will set the trial date to commence two weeks from today providing that there are no other unforeseen glitches. Court is adjourned.”

  With the fall of the judge’s gavel, I let out a big sigh of relief. I was beyond grateful for not being forced to recuse myself from acting on Esty’s behalf. However, I was incredibly angered by Ethan’s pronouncement that he was taking control of the case. Worse still, when I turned to face Esty and Rita, I was confronted with looks of anger and disappointment. Flustered by the judge’s rulings, Chip quickly hustled his clients out of the courtroom, while Rita, Javier and Tanya joined Ethan, Blake, Esty and me at the counsel’s table.

  “What are you all doing here?” I demanded to know.

  “What am I doing here? What the hell is he doing here?” Ethan barked, pointing at Blake.

  “Joely asked me to be here,” Blake replied calmly. “As an expert witness retained to advise on this case.”

  “You had to hire him out of all of the experts in the United States?” Ethan cried. “This is unreal, Joely. I am not going to stand idly by and allow him back into any of our lives.”

  “This is not up for discussion in front of our client and associates,” I said, giving Ethan a long look. “Still none of you have explained why you are here.”

  “Well, I had a pretrial meeting that Tanya attended with me,” Javier explained, “and we ran into Ethan in the hall because it ended early and he asked us to join him.”

  “I came to offer you moral support, given that this was your first foray into a courtroom since your move from New York. Clearly coming here was a good thing given that I was finally able to hear the truth about your history with this case,” Ethan explained tersely. “How could you lie to Coco and me?”