Kate fought the urge to puke as she opened the glass door to the lobby of her law firm. It was 6:45 on a cold Monday morning in February. In only fifteen minutes, she had to meet with the senior partners about her dreadful performance in court the previous Friday. It felt so long ago after her wild weekend with Matt, the drunken partying and intense sex combining to push the memory of her public embarrassment out of her mind for two days.
But now, as she returned to the real world, it hit her full in the face. Or, more accurately, the stomach. Nausea bubbled up inside her as she thought about being grilled by her bosses. It was not going to go well. Attorneys at her firm simply didn't make mistakes in federal court, at least if they wanted to move up in the ranks. Kate had worked insanely hard through college, law school and her first five years at the firm, all with the goal of making partner. And now it was all over, she thought as she walked past the receptionist's desk. It was still early enough that no one else was in the office. At least they spared me the embarrassment of being escorted out in front of everyone, Kate thought glumly.
Her office was still dark as she stopped in to drop off her bag and the files she'd brought home over the weekend. Kate suppressed a smile as she recalled her time with Matt, from the backseat of her car on Friday to her bed on Sunday morning. She'd had more sex in one weekend than in the previous three years combined. And not just sex--intense, passionate, crazy sex. She'd never orgasmed so powerfully. Well, at least I went out with a bang, Kate thought, getting turned on as she thought about Matt's mouth between her legs, his tongue sliding up and down her...
"Ms. Harris?" a voice said, interrupting her thoughts. "They're ready for you in the conference room." It was Debra, Mr. Howe's assistant.
"Thanks, Debra," Kate replied. "Sorry you had to come in so early."
"It's okay, Kate," Debra said. "Good luck in there. I'm rooting for you." Debra patted Kate's arm and smiled sympathetically, likely aware of what was about to happen. Kate returned the smile and walked down the hall to the conference room. She took a deep breath as she opened the door and was surprised to see only Gary Howe and Jane Rogers inside. She had expected all seven senior partners.
"Have a seat, Ms. Harris," Howe said sternly as Kate closed the door behind her. She took a seat in a leather chair on one side of the mahogany table. Only the best at the biggest firm in town, Kate thought as she smoothed her skirt underneath her. She'd taken no chances with her outfit today--a dark gray skirt suit, a button-down white dress shirt that showed no cleavage, and pantyhose. She wore her long, straight black hair down and left the pushup bra at home. "I assume you know why you're here so early," Howe added.
"Yes, sir," Kate said. "I promise it will never happen again. I knew the answer to the judge's question, I really did. I can't explain why I answered that way, but I can assure you..."
"I don't want to hear your excuses," Howe said. "I built this firm from the ground up and expect nothing less than the absolute best. If you can't handle practicing law at this level, I suggest you find another firm. Or maybe another line of work. Your performance was simply unacceptable." He continued in that vein for a couple minutes, raising his voice and becoming increasingly agitated. Kate bristled as he laid into her, knowing she was as good--or better--than any attorney at the firm. Eventually he petered out and said simply, "I think I've made my point. Jane will take it from here."
After Mr. Howe left, Jane smiled sympathetically at Kate. "I think we've covered that sufficiently. Gary won't admit it now, but we all think you have a bright future here, Kate. As long as you're willing to stay and work hard, consider this a warning."
"Absolutely, Ms. Rogers, I love it here and hope to stay here my whole career," Kate said.
"In the past we've been too quick to chew up and spit out young associates rather than developing talent. So let me let you in on a secret. To really get ahead, you need to do three things here. Know what they are?" Kate's mind raced, trying to think of the right answer. Thankfully, Jane spared her the pop quiz. "First, written advocacy. You're great at that. You write better than anyone here, present company included."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Rogers," Kate said, almost blushing. She'd always admired Jane, the first female senior partner at the firm and one of the best attorneys in the Midwest. Kate appreciated the trails Jane had blazed for women like her. At the same time, she was scared to death of getting crosswise with her, having seen how she eviscerated poor performers. To have Jane Rogers say she was a better legal writer than her was the biggest compliment Kate had ever received.
"The second thing you need to do is develop business," Jane said. "But you're still young and we'll work on that. What you really need to focus on right now is the third attribute."
"Which is?" Kate asked.
"Oral advocacy," Jane answered. "You must be able to advocate for your clients in court. You need to be able to argue to judges and juries if you want people to take you seriously. You flubbed your first chance, but you're getting a second one at the trial in four weeks. If you do well and then continue to improve your oral advocacy, you'll have a bright future here. Understand?"
"Yes, Ms. Rogers, I do," Kate said as Jane stood up to leave. "I'm really looking forward to the trial and I promise I won't let you down. Thank you so much for believing in me."
"Oh, and fair warning," Jane said as she opened the door to leave. "Gary's going to put you through hell the next four weeks. Nothing I can do to stop that. It's a big trial and he has every right to expect excellent preparation." With that, Jane left. Kate sat alone in the conference room, thrilled to be given a second chance and excited about the trial. I'm sure the workload won't be that bad, Kate thought.
An hour later, she learned otherwise. Debra brought her box after box of documents and a list of assignments that seemed like it was a mile long. Kate spent entire days researching every possible legal issue and reviewing documents over and over. Over those four weeks she worked 12-14 hour days, leaving her time for nothing but sleep and work. Thankfully, she was able to fit in her morning run and a few weekend trips to the gym. But by the end, she just wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for a week.
