it to her? And did I even feel that torn about it?
Carver was already turning to go. “I’ll let the committee know.” Carver was halfway out the door when he turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot this.” He pulled a white envelope from his pocket. It was creased from where he’d been sitting on it. He shook my hand a final time and smiled. “Welcome aboard.”
“Thanks.” I stood behind my desk and watched Carver’s back disappear through the doorway. Then I looked down at the envelope, staring at it blankly for a moment. I assumed it was a letter and tore it open. I was right. It was a letter welcoming me to the firm:
Dear Mr. Olson:
Welcome to Kohlberg & Crowley.
As you know, the firm will pay for your bar examination fees and provide you with a salary while you study for the exam. Although the Human Resource Department will be in touch with you regarding these and other benefits, there are some programs in place that you may wish to take advantage of now.
First, although salaries are set in January of each year, current first year associates are paid $160,000 per year. We anticipate that your starting salary will be at least this amount. Furthermore, we have relationships with several banks in Los Angeles that provide our attorneys with low interest, zero-point mortgages to enable the purchase of a home as soon as possible. In addition, if you are interested, the firm has a relationship with a BMW dealer in Beverly Hills that will enable you to acquire a new automobile through them at zero percent interest based on your having accepted our offer of permanent employment.
Finally, because you attend a local law school, we would be pleased to have you continue with the firm on a part time basis during your final year of school. Should you decide to work part-time, you will be paid seventy-five dollars per hour.
Thank you once again for deciding to join us and please accept the attached check as a token of our gratitude.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Kent Jolley
Managing Partner
I turned the page. Behind it was a pay stub and a check for $10,000. I sat down, my mouth open and hands shaking slightly. I was convinced that someone would walk in at any moment and say, gotcha! and it would all be gone. I was twenty-four years old and had just been offered a job making $160,000 a year and some of the best fringe benefits imaginable. It was probably three times what my dad made.
And, beneath my excitement, I could feel cynicism already blooming. I knew there was something the firm would ask in return, something large and painful to give. And when they asked, I would have to be prepared to give. If I didn’t like it, I could quit or be fired and the cushy life I’d grown used to would be gone. After awhile, walking away would no longer be a realistic option.
But for now I could enjoy it. I folded the check and put it in my pocket. Seventy-five dollars an hour to work part-time. That was a grand a week while I was in my last year of school. I’d already saved enough over the summer to cover my tuition and living expenses for the year. The extra income would just be walking around money.
I laughed as I divided the ten thousand I’d just put in my pocket by the nine months I had left in school: just over $1100 a month. I reached for the phone to call home with the news, wondering how much the payments on a new BMW would be.
18
The courtroom was packed. Despite its high ceilings, the air was hot and stagnant. Reporters had been lining up outside since four in the morning. Those who were too late to get a seat in the courtroom had to watch on a monitor in a room down the hall. Those who were too late to get a seat in there were out of luck.
Reilly and I had spent the entire time Carver was gone getting ready, going through every scrap of paper in the file. Carver had called almost daily from France. Not much of a vacation, I thought. But that was the price he paid for the lifestyle he had.
I scanned the crowd, wondering if Ed Snyder was there, and saw Garrett Andersen in a seat in the back row. I was surprised he’d shown up. I couldn’t imagine him standing in line