Attorney-Client Privilege

by Pamela Samuels Young

  To further demonstrate our commitment, we are implementing a new Diversity Task force to examine our promotional and pay practices. Going forward, promotions in all of our stores must be approved by a corporate human resources panel.

  I balled up the letter and hurled it across the room.

  The company was undermining my class action by waving a fake apology and a measly three grand in front of these women’s faces. This was probably the largest lump sum most would ever receive in their lives. There was no way they would turn it down for the possibility of a larger payment months or years from now.

  I charged out of my office and headed next door to talk to Nichelle Ayers, a close friend and one of the partners at the law firm where I rented space. I barged in without knocking.

  “Sorry to disturb you,” I said, “but I have an emergency.”

  “Hey, girl. Have a seat. What’s going on?”

  I was too peeved to sit down so I remained standing, gripping the back of the chair. “Big Buy just pulled the rug out from under me.”

  I told her about the letter. “Can they do that?”

  “That’s crazy,” Nichelle said, her eyes expanding in surprise. She punched three numbers on her phone. “Can you come over to my office?” she said, when her law partner picked up. “We need your help with something.”

  “I’ve never heard of a company doing that,” Nichelle said, as we waited for Russell Barnes to join us. “But when you think about it, paying off the women now means they’ll probably save millions in attorneys’ fees and engender some good will from their employees. It’s actually quite brilliant.”

  “Yeah, it’s brilliant,” I grumbled, “but is it legal? I’ve met with some of the women in person and had telephone conversations with others. So as far as I’m concerned, there was an attorney-client relationship between us. And Big Buy violated it by sending them that letter.”

  Tall and studious-looking, Russell Barnes towered into the office. “What’s up?”

  “Wait until you hear this,” Nichelle said, then shared my predicament. “Can they get away with that?”

  Russell scratched his head. “I think I have heard of companies doing that before.”

  “But those women are my clients,” I insisted. “They can’t contact them directly. They have to communicate with them through me.”

  “Did they sign representation agreements?” Russell asked.

  “Only the three lead plaintiffs did and I know for sure that two of them didn’t get the letter. The other women we spoke to were really nervous about the lawsuit and weren’t willing to be listed as plaintiffs, so I didn’t ask them to sign agreements.”

  “Then you may be out of luck. Technically, you don’t represent anybody else because the class hasn’t been certified by the court yet. So Big Buy may be perfectly within its rights to pay off the women.”

  As I stood there, all I could see was Girlie Cortez’s gloating face.

  I had no idea what I was going to do, but there was no way I was going to let her defeat me a fourth time.

  CHAPTER 52

  For the last twenty minutes, Mankowski and Thomas had been hot on Phillip’s tail as he drove north up La Cienega Boulevard. They were reasonably sure they hadn’t been spotted because Mankowski had borrowed his cousin’s new Porsche.

  Thomas gripped the steering wheel like he was holding the woman he loved.

  “Man, if I could afford one of these, I’d trade in my firstborn.”

  Mankowski smiled. “I’ll be sure not to mention that to your wife.”

  Phillip transitioned to San Vicente Boulevard. “Get in your left lane,” Mankowski barked. “Don’t lose him.”

  “We’re in a Porsche. He’s in a Benz,” Thomas said. “That’s not going to happen. He’s got luxury, but we’ve got luxury and speed. He’s probably headed to another acting class. This dude needs to get a job.”

  Mankowski chuckled. “I’m betting Actor Boy’s found himself a replacement cougar.”

  “What a lucky guy,” Thomas said wistfully. “A woman willing to pay all the bills and screw your brains out too.”

  Mankowski started whistling as he thought about his mind-blowing tryst with Girlie Cortez. He was dying to brag to Thomas about it, but he knew better.

  “Speaking of screwing around,” Thomas said, “meet anybody new?”

  A chill swept through Mankowski. “Nope.”

  He had been extra careful. There was no way Thomas could know that he had hooked up with Girlie. “Why’d you ask?”

  “I dunno. Maybe it’s your rosy cheeks and the fact you’re whistling all the time.”

  Mankowski stared out of the window. “Hey, man, I’m just a happy-go-lucky kinda guy.”

  Even though he’d screwed her, Mankowski was still playing Girlie the way she needed to be played. When she suggested dinner the night after their hookup, he’d put her off. It wasn’t that difficult pretending to be aloof. He was still jacking off from the memory of his evening with her.

  They continued northwest on San Vicente Boulevard until Phillip made a left onto Burton Way.

  “Where the hell is he going?” Thomas asked.

  “I’m telling you, he’s got a new woman,” Mankowski insisted. “This is a pretty nice neighborhood, so she probably has some bucks. I think he’s just been laying low for the past few weeks. But now he can’t hold out any longer.”

  After a moment, Mankowski snapped his fingers. “I bet I know exactly where he’s going.”

  Thomas turned to face him. “Well, hurry up and let me in on it.”

  “The Four Seasons Hotel on Doheny.”

  “He can’t afford that place. The cheapest room there has to be at least five-hundred bucks a night.”

  “He can if the chick he’s screwing has dough.”

  They followed as Phillip did indeed turn onto Doheny and then made another quick right into the small half-circle driveway in front of the Four Seasons Hotel.

  “Crap,” Mankowski said. “We can’t follow him in there. He’ll spot us.”

  The front of the hotel was hidden from street view by a large brick wall and tall shrubbery. The wealthy relished their privacy.

  Thomas drove past the hotel, then did a U-turn and pulled over to the curb across the street.

  “So now what?” Thomas asked.

  Mankowski glanced at his watch. “Let’s give him a chance to get inside, then we’re going in. I’m figuring that after he gets through pumping his girlfriend, we may get lucky and catch them walking out together.”

  After another ten minutes, they pulled up in front of the hotel and climbed out of the car. Thomas was slow to hand over the keys to the Porsche. “How about if I park it myself?” he said to the valet.

  “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have self-parking.”

  “Give him the damn keys,” Mankowski barked.

  “Don’t scratch it,” Thomas said, staring wistfully as the valet drove off.

  “I see now that I’m going to have to pry the keys from your hands when it’s time to give it back.”

  Thomas whipped his head around. “We gotta give it back?”

  Mankowski chuckled. He was about to reach for the door when a doorman opened it for him.

  Thomas whistled as they stepped inside the lobby. “This place even feels like money. It’s a shame how the other half lives.”

  They found a deserted area of the bar, after first making sure Phillip wasn’t in there.

  Thomas pulled out his iPhone to check on his most recent stock trades. “So how long are we waiting?”

  “I figure a stud like Phillip would need about an hour to do his thing. It’s the middle of the day so his princess probably has a job or a husband to get back to. In another thirty minutes, let’s find a spot where we can see them leave.”

  Exactly forty-two minutes later, they spotted Phillip walking out of the hotel. Alone.

  “There he is,” Thomas said. “There’s a pep in his step. I’d say he definite
ly got laid.”

  Mankowski groaned. “No matter how many women walk out of here after him, there’s no way for us to figure out who he was with.”

  So far, except for a few men who looked like businessmen, only couples had gone in and out of the hotel.

  “Let’s stay put a little while longer. Keep an eye on any woman walking out alone,” Mankowski said. “We can jot down the license plate numbers of each one and check her out.”

  Just as the words left Mankowski’s lips, a strikingly hot brunette floated through the lobby carrying a dainty leather briefcase. Every man in the vicinity stopped to gawk at her.

  Thomas looked from the woman to Mankowski. “You okay?”

  Mankowski didn’t answer right away. “Why wouldn’t I be?” he snapped.

  “I don’t know. Just checking.”

  “Checking for what?”

  Thomas frowned. “Man, don’t think you can keep any secrets from me. I know what you’ve been up to. I am a detective.”

  Mankowski tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. He could not let Thomas see the mix of emotions churning in his chest. Regret, embarrassment, and most of all, anger. The fact that his partner knew his little secret made it even worse.

  They both sat speechless, watching from the ritzy lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel as the parking attendant helped Girlie Cortez into her silver blue Jaguar.

  CHAPTER 53

  I was sitting in the gallery of Department 36 of the Los Angeles Superior Court waiting for the judge to take the bench. I was surprised that Girlie hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe she’d been hit by a bus.

  The day after getting word of Big Buy’s underhanded attempt to derail my class action, I moved for a temporary injunction to prevent the company from paying off the Big Buy employees.

  While the law wasn’t clearly in my favor on this issue, it wasn’t a slam dunk for Big Buy either. No matter what the precedent directed, the judge always had the option to go off on a tangent if he so chose. That was my hope for today.

  Olivia had informed me that Janice Miller had reported to Big Buy everything that went on at our meeting at the Center for Justice. I should have listened to my gut. I should have known she was taking copious notes for a reason.

  I waited patiently as two attorneys battled over a discovery motion. They finished and the judge called my case number. As I rose to head into the well of the courtroom, Girlie strolled in as if on cue.

  She handed a business card to the judge’s clerk, who didn’t seem to mind that she should’ve been there to do that long before the judge took the bench.

  “Your motion poses a rather unique legal question,” Judge Ezra Goldberg began, peering down at me from the bench. “My law clerk didn’t find much California law on point.”

  I was about to respond when Girlie cut me off.

  “That’s because there isn’t much, Your Honor,” Girlie said. “But what’s out there is enough to support Big Buy’s position that its action was completely legal.”

  “I disagree,” I said, trying to regain control. “Your Honor, Big Buy was well aware that the meeting I held with its employees at the Center for Justice was for the purpose of discussing legal action against the company. It was a confidential, privileged discussion. Yet Big Buy’s lawyer questioned one of the attendees, intentionally violating the attorney-client privilege that I had established with these potential class members. Then the company used the information that it had improperly gathered as the basis for its decision to entice its female employees not to join the class action.”

  Girlie puffed out a breath. “I’ll concede that Ms. Henderson represented three of the employees, and none of them received our letter. Maybe I missed it in her moving papers, but I wasn’t aware of any agreement she had with Big Buy’s other one-thousand-plus female employees across the state.”

  Judge Goldberg grimaced. Girlie’s sarcasm wasn’t winning her any points with him. Nor was the low-cut blouse she was wearing. Prior to joining the bench, Goldberg had been a semi-radical activist for Jewish causes. He was the father of eight and as straight-laced as they came. I had appeared in his courtroom many times and always felt he fairly and accurately interpreted the law.

  “Your Honor,” I began, “this is not just an issue of whether a formal representation agreement exists. The issue here is the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship. The policy underlying the privilege is to encourage open and honest communication between attorneys and their clients. Big Buy intentionally infringed upon that relationship. If Ms. Cortez wanted to discuss an early settlement, she should’ve contacted me.”

  The judge focused his gaze on Girlie. “Counselor, I have to say that I am quite concerned about your actions. In that you were aware that Ms. Henderson was meeting with those employees in preparation for legal action, your discussion with Janice Miller appears highly inappropriate.”

  “Your Honor, I’d like to point out that we did not approach Ms. Miller. She came to us, which means she willingly waived the privilege, if one even existed. In addition, before allowing her to share any information with us, I confirmed that she had not signed a representation agreement with Ms. Henderson.”

  “Is it your position, Ms. Cortez, that the privilege doesn’t exist in the absence of a written representation agreement?”

  “Uh, well…no, Your Honor.” Girlie looked down at her notes and shifted her weight from one of her red patent leather pumps to the other. “But it is my contention that no privilege existed between Ms. Henderson and any Big Buy employee who had not signed a retainer agreement because the class hasn’t been certified yet.”

  Judge Goldberg hesitated, then proceeded. “I’m going to grant Ms. Henderson’s request for a temporary injunction. Big Buy is prohibited from issuing checks to any employee until this matter has been fully decided by this court. I will make a ruling as to Ms. Henderson’s request for a permanent injunction by the end of the week.”

  My smile was so bright it could have lit up the whole courthouse.

  I exited the courtroom ahead of Girlie and politely held the door open for her. This time I was the one gloating and it felt fantastic.

  “Tell your client to start saving up,” I said, as Girlie pushed past me. “Because I’m going to make sure Big Buy pays those women a hell of a lot more than the peanuts they’re offering them now.”

  Girlie’s eyes hardened and her nose lifted into a sneer. “Don’t bet on it.”

  CHAPTER 54

  Girlie stood in the lobby of Big Buy’s corporate headquarters, wishing she could be someplace, anyplace, else.

  The CEO and general counsel wanted to be informed of the results of the judge’s ruling as soon as the hearing ended. Girlie could’ve taken the coward’s way out and delivered the news by phone, but it was her style to face a difficult situation head on.

  Evelyn Kimble, the general counsel, greeted her in the lobby.

  “So how did it go?” she asked.

  “Why don’t we wait until we get to Rita’s office?”

  Evelyn exhaled. “Doesn’t sound like you have good news for us.”

  Girlie followed her into an elevator. Right before they entered the CEO’s office, Evelyn slowed.

  “If the news is bad, Rita’s going to go off,” she said sympathetically. “Don’t take it personally. I never do.”

  Rita Richards-Kimble rose from her seat as soon as they stepped inside. “Is it time to pop open the champagne bottles?”

  Girlie simply smiled and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the CEO’s desk. Evelyn sat down next to her. Girlie inhaled and braced herself for the coming onslaught.

  “The judge granted the temporary injunction,” she said quickly. “We can’t pay out the checks until Goldberg rules on whether he’s going to issue a permanent injunction.”

  “I don’t believe this shit!” Rita yelled and pounded the desk with both fists like a spoiled five-year-old. “I just got off the phone with Welson’s CEO. I assured him
that this case was history. They’re not going to buy this company if they’ll have to defend a costly class action. When you came up with this harebrained idea to pay off those women, you told me it was perfectly legal.”

  “It is,” Girlie tried to explain. “One of my partners did it successfully in a similar case. I’m confident that the court’s final ruling will go our way. The judge just wanted some time to study the issue.”

  “If the court grants that permanent injunction, then what are you going to do?” the CEO demanded.

  Rita was the reason women had a hard time gaining respect in the business world, Girlie thought to herself. They were way too emotional.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Is that a guarantee?”

  “No,” Girlie said. “But the odds are on our side.”

  “I don’t want odds. I want guarantees! You also told us you’d be able to find those documents Judi Irving supposedly had. You didn’t come through on that either.”

  “No,” Girlie corrected her, “I said if they existed, I would find them. And so far the only thing I’ve been able to track down about those documents are rumors.”

  Rita ranted for a few more minutes, then stormed out of her own office, leaving Girlie alone with the general counsel.

  “Please excuse her,” Evelyn apologized. “She can’t help herself.”

  “You deserve an award for being able to work with her.”

  Evelyn smiled. “I don’t let her get to me. I stay with this company because my brother built it. If I left, she’d destroy it.”

  “Why is she so worried about those documents?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Evelyn was being just as closed mouth as Mankowski had been. Girlie had hoped that having sex with the detective would ultimately produce some useful information. Now, she realized, that wasn’t going to happen. Still, the handsome cop had turned out to be a nice lay. She was a little perturbed that he’d turned down her invitation for dinner. He was probably just freaked out about the whole conflict-of-interest thing. Maybe she would invite him out again.