city’s best country clubs again. Mr. Spalding was an unknown entity. Sarah decided to focus her attention on him.
“Ms. Edwards, why don’t you start by telling us a little about yourself.” Mrs. Dillard folded her hands on the table in front of her.
Sarah walked them through her education, her previous career, and her subsequent decision to go to law school, and finally her tenure with the hospital’s legal office.
“What motivates you?”
Sarah turned to Mr. Cheswick to answer his question. “I’ve always been motivated by the desire to do a good job at whatever task I undertake. I want to excel and be successful in my job, both for my own personal satisfaction, and for my employer.”
“You certainly come highly recommended. Ken is always singing your praises.” Mr. Cheswick’s warm smile soothed her jangled nerves.
“What challenges do you expect to face in this job, and how will you handle them?” Mrs. Dillard asked before taking a sip of her coffee.
“I expect I’ll have to juggle many priorities–supervising employees, attending meetings, handling complex legal matters, advising clients, not to mention budgetary concerns, resource availability, among many others. But I am quite adept at prioritizing my responsibilities so I have a clear idea of what needs to be done. I’m a planner.”
After about a half hour of questions, Sarah’s nerves settled down to a low hum. The interview was going well. So far none of the questions had thrown her.
“You’ve been here seven years?” Before she could answer, Mr. Spalding continued. “And Ken was here over twenty years?”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes it’s beneficial to bring new blood into an organization. Get a fresh perspective. Wouldn’t you agree, Ms. Edwards?” Mr. Spalding wore a smug smile.
The low hum became a dull roar. If she agreed, she’d be arguing herself out of the running. If she disagreed, she would appear self-serving.
“Mr. Spalding, a fresh perspective is crucial to the success of any organization. But so is institutional knowledge. One is not necessarily exclusive of the other.” Sarah paused to carefully formulate her response so that it didn’t cast aspersions on Ken’s managerial skills.
“An individual who has worked in the trenches may offer a fresh perspective when placed in a management position. The individual who gains experience in the day-to-day routine is uniquely situated to bring an understanding of what works well and what doesn’t–what the client likes and dislikes.”
Mr. Cheswick looked impressed, while Mrs. Dillard looked at her watch. Mr. Spalding frowned as he flipped through Sarah’s résumé.
“You don’t have a litigation background.” It was a statement, not a question.
“No. I came to work here after graduating from law school. Health law is mostly regulatory, so Ken didn’t find it necessary . . .” She trailed off, unsure where Mr. Spalding was headed with his comment.
“In today’s litigious society, it would be helpful to have someone with a litigation background.”
“Ken didn’t have a litigation background either, and since our malpractice cases are handled by the risk management department, this office doesn’t generally get involved.”
“Malpractice isn’t the only litigation the health system could face, and an experienced litigator could cut down on our outside counsel bills.”
“Most in-house legal offices don’t handle litigation because it is frequently more cost-effective to hire outside counsel with expertise in the specific legal matter being litigated.” Sarah felt sick. If this is the direction they were headed with Ken’s position, then she didn’t stand a chance.
“The board hasn’t decided yet that this is the direction they would like to go.” After exchanging looks with her fellow board members, Mrs. Dillard said, “Unless you have any additional questions gentleman . . . .” She turned to Sarah. “Thank you for speaking with us today. As you know, we have two more candidates to interview this week. We expect to have a decision by the end of next week.”
Sarah stood and, reaching across the table, shook each committee member’s hand, and thanked them for the opportunity to discuss her qualifications.
Well, Sarah thought as she walked to the door, she’d done her best. Mr. Spalding’s pointed questions had been disconcerting, but she thought she’d handled them well. The concerns over her lack of litigation experience were troubling, but at this point there was nothing left for her to do but wait.
Waiting didn’t come easy to Sarah. She’d always been patient. She’d make plans, and bide her time, methodically taking the steps necessary to achieve her goal. But when things were beyond her control, when there was no longer anything she could do to affect the outcome, she