Page 22 of Maddy's Justice

“How do you go through six million bucks per year?” an incredulous Carvelli asked.

“It’s not that hard,” Connie replied. “First, take half right off the top for state and federal taxes.”

“He has a condo in Malibu and Aspen and a place in Minnetonka on the lake and these are just the places that Elena knows about. During their affair, he took her to each. Plus, he has a pilot’s license and his own jet. The man lives well and Elena and the others on the mass torts team work eighty plus hours per week. Troy, on a good week, might put in forty. He hasn’t done a deposition or seen the inside of a courtroom for at least two years,” Maddy told them reading from her notes.

“That’s not all of it,” Carvelli said. “Paul did some digging. He has three ex-wives all of whom are getting alimony, a couple of kids in very expensive East Coast colleges…”

“Studying how to be a permanent college student on Daddy’s money,” Maddy said. “At least according to Elena. A hundred fifty grand per year in tuition for the kids. Twins. A boy and a girl. Twenty-six years old. Been in school achieving nothing for seven or eight years.

“What does Troy do?” Connie asked.

“He flies around the country hustling up cases. He has connections, it seems, everywhere to other firms who gather the clients and give them to Stafford, Hughes. Then the referring firm sits back and waits for a piece of the fees when it pays off.” Maddy said.

“So, he is out there working on behalf of the firm and bringing in business,” Marc said.

“Sweet deal,” Connie added.

“Yep. She says he’s a good trial lawyer but not a great one. What he’s good at is bringing in business,” Maddy said. “That’s not the only way they get business. The firm has an advertising budget of at least thirty million bucks a year. They run TV ads during daytime shows with a different eight hundred number for every type of product liability case you can think of. They have a large room in the building they are in filled with people taking calls for it. A cube farm. Any type of injury you can think of, they’ll take a look at it. The only thing they don’t do themselves is medical malpractice cases.”

“Why is that?” Carvelli asked.

“Too expensive, too difficult, too risky,” Connie answered him. “Despite what people believe, very few lawyers, and I mean a miniscule number, do medical malpractice cases. The image that the public has of a lawyer hovering over every doctor is nonsense. It just ain’t so. Insurance industry propaganda.”

“They’ll take a call for medical malpractice but then refer it to a different firm,” Maddy said.

“So, she knew it was likely she’d have to sleep with Troy to get on the mass torts team and she voluntarily did it,” Marc said. “What about others?”

“She says she knows about other women who did it, too,” Maddy answered. “Including paralegals and secretaries. It’s a high stress job. Long hours, no life outside the firm. Paralegals and secretaries share in the loot. They make a good salary and with bonuses most make in excess of three hundred grand.”

“Seriously?” Carvelli asked. “Are they looking for an investigator?

“You wouldn’t last ten minutes in that place,” Connie said. “You think the people you deal with on the street are assholes, try dealing with this bunch.”

“She’s got a point,” Marc said.

“They make great money, but the burnout and turnover rate is astronomical. Elena’s been there three years and she’s an alcoholic wreck and that’s not the worst of it. She takes speed to keep her up and pills to put her to sleep. She made two trips to the women’s bathroom and came back with traces of cocaine on her nose.

“Toward the end of the evening––we were there until closing––she admitted sleeping with and, I quote, ‘at least ten of the senior partners, to make partner,’” Maddy said. “The place is a sexual harassment cesspool.”

“Not if she’s doing it voluntarily,” Connie said.

“And she admitted she was,” Maddy agreed.

“Not necessarily,” Marc said. “If it is common knowledge around the office that sleeping with the senior partners is the only way for a woman to make partner then, it may not be quite so voluntary.”

“And, according to her, it was well-known that if you want to get on Troy’s very lucrative team, women had to put out to get there,” Connie said.

“Yep,” Maddy said. “But she did say the she knows for sure Melanie Stewart didn’t play that game with them. She’s not sure why.”

“What about men?” Marc asked. “What do they have to do?”

“Good question” Connie said.

“I don’t know,” Maddy admitted. “She didn’t say anything about that, and I didn’t think to ask.”

“Let’s find out,” Marc said.

“Troy?” Marc asked looking at Carvelli.

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