TO-WIT: AND IN THIS CORNER
It was a welcome call. “Hi,” the familiar voice said on the other end, “its ______,” identifying himself by his first name only. My relationship with this friend and colleague spanned several decades and I recognized his voice instantly.
“And to what do I owe the honor of this call from such a distingushed colleague,” I inquired with a sincerity I usually have to fake for most other callers.
“I’m calling you on the Smith case, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be representing the defendants,” he said.
Now in our little backwater neck of the woods, such calls are commonplace. It is the custom here for colleagues to call each other to let them know they’ll be handling the other end of litigation. Ours is a very collegial, very friendly bar association, and by and large this is what we do. It’s a practice that beats the hell out of what lawyers from nearby Big City do. Over the years, I’ve learned that whenever I get a letter from a Big City law firm, its best to let my secretary open it. As a result, she’s built up a healthy immunity to anthrax.
The conversation that ensued served only to fortify my initial pleasure in receiving the call. The case in question was a simple one, but fraught with emotion. My clients had entered into a written contract to purchase a home from another couple. Shortly before the closing they received notice that the sellers had changed their mind and did not intend to close. I was hired to enforce the contract, and it was a case I took on eagerly. I already knew the law and I already knew the procedure, things that of late I find myself saying with less and less frequency. It was a feeling akin to what my father used to feel whenever he got an order for inventory that had sat unsold on the shelves for years. It was, as he used to say, found money.
I prepared a simple complaint for specific performance, filed it and had it served. The attorney who had represented the sellers in negotiating the contract was from out of county. I called him to let him know I was filing suit.
“Yeah, well, we have a clear defense,” he said.
“And that would be……?” I inquired.
“I am not at liberty to divulge it,” he replied, “until I discuss the matter with my clients.”
That’s how knew this guy was no litigator, and that’s why I wasn’t too surprised when my friend said he was going to represent the sellers. He is a litigator.
2014, S. Sponte, Esq.