Chapter 4
Nikki marvelled at both the beauty and functionality of the internal layout of her new work place, everything just fit so flawlessly together. Very different from the cramped, cluttered environment she'd been working in for the past few years. Not that she was complaining she'd loved her previous job; it had gotten her to where she was today. Allan Sharp, her previous employer, was a brilliant mentor and one of the smartest, most dedicated men she'd ever met. He'd seen a star in Nikki and given her the chance to be part of cases she never would have dreamt of even seeing at the larger firms. He'd played an instrumental role in Nikki's acquisition of higher rights, without his or Claire's help she wouldn't have gotten very far.
She smiled to herself as she dawdled along behind Philip who seemed to be getting rather exasperated by her slow pace. He led her into the glass conference room that occupied most of the floor space in the left half of the central expanse on the eighth floor. A wide corridor separated it from an identical glass walled room on the right, a mirror image, perfectly symmetrical.
"This is the main conference room," Philip began, "we have a general staff meeting here every Monday morning at promptly 08h30, every senior solicitor is to attend and all general business matters for the week are discussed and a plan of action assembled. New cases are brought to everyone's attention and the progress of ongoing cases evaluated. It is a simple, yet effective way of bringing everyone up to date with what is going on around them. It also allows for brainstorming and a certain amount of teamwork on particularly difficult cases."
"The structure of this firm may be a little different from what you are used to Miss Wade. Mr Chapman and Mr Howell hold the titles of both solicitor and barrister. They have chosen to surround themselves with some of the best solicitors and solicitor advocates, like yourself, and keep things in house, and it has led to remarkable success," Philip said, a tone of reverence ringing in his voice. "It allows them to interact directly and on a personal level with those who bring in the cases that they will be advocating, leading to tremendous loyalty and a steady flow of cases" Satisfied that he had impressed upon her what a privilege it was for her to have been offered this job he swiftly went back to the role of tour guide.
"The offices are situated in a ring along the outer wall of the building, encircling this central area," he said as he gestured with his outstretched arms and rotated through three hundred and sixty degrees. "You have already been to Mr Chapman's office in the far left corner, and you will find Mr Howell's on the far right," he pointed in each direction as he spoke of it. "The remaining offices house the four solicitor advocates, including you, the senior solicitors and their assistants. The rest of the staff can be found on the floors below."
Nikki nodded quietly as she took in all the information that Philip was providing. She followed him once more when he made his way to the conference room door and turned left, easily matching his stride. He came to a halt in front of one of the large glass doors dotting the outer perimeter, which to Nikki's surprise already had her name on it. "As you can see," he said, inclining his head toward the door, "this is your office. Your assistant, Miss Jenifer Edwards, can be found in the office to your right; I will leave you to settle in. Miss Walker will be by to see you in thirty minutes. If you need anything further I'm sure that Jen would be more than happy to come to your assistance. Good day Miss Wade, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you," he said with a warm smile. "Thank you for your time Mr Elliot, you have been most helpful," Nikki said as she opened the door to her new office. With a courteous nod Philip turned and walked back in the direction of Henry Chapman's office.
Nikki stepped through the doorway and turned slowly form side to side, inspecting every inch of her new office, the large mahogany desk, the empty bookshelves, the tasteful art that adorned what would have been open wall space and the expansive floor to ceiling window that made up the far wall. "I could get used to this," she thought as she took a seat in the leather chair behind the desk, her desk.
She sat there rocking the chair from side to side and thought about the road that had brought her here, she thought back to the day she initially thought about perusing law as a career. The idea had first occurred to her about four months after her release from Larkhall. She and Helen had been out to dinner with Claire, their usual foray for a Thursday night and as was customary those two had their heads together in no time, talking about their jobs and all the injustice they dealt with on a daily basis. Helen had taken to her new job like a duck to water, she was now part of a team of specialists who reviewed, rewrote and implemented policies for British prisons. All the drama with Fenner had hit her hard and she was determined to change the system so that others, staff and prisoners alike, couldn't be taken advantage of.
As Nikki sat there, with Helen's hand resting lightly on her knee and Claire speaking about a particularly upsetting case of hers it struck her, she also wanted to make a difference. The injustice that went on in the British justice system was disgusting, just look where it got her. It made her blood boil when she thought of all the things she'd come across in Larkhall. After all that she'd experienced in those three years she couldn't just sit back knowing that there were others walking the same path she did, one without someone like Helen with them every step of the way.
At first she thought it just a passing fancy, quite ludicrous actually, how on earth could it even be possible for an ex con to become a lawyer? And besides, at 34 she was well passed her student years. So she had pushed the thoughts from her mind and concentrated on enjoying her freedom, and of course Helen. But the seed had been planted and the thought of such a challenge intrigued her. Once there was something Nikki wanted there was no stopping her.
At first she had kept her ideas from Helen, unsure of how she would react to the news of her plans to sell off her part of the club and jump head first into full time studies. Money wouldn't be a problem, the club was doing well and the sale of her share would make her a very rich woman indeed. But before she got ahead of herself she thought it best to speak to Claire first and find out if any of it was actually even possible.
Claire had been a little reluctant at first, as she had had an inkling that it would be a long hard fight Nikki would be walking into if she went after this, but when she saw the determination on Nik's face she knew there was no going back. After that her mind was easily made up, she would stand by Nikki's side every step of the way, helping as much as she could.
She had told Helen a few days later, a bit nervous about the way she would react to the news, they were just starting to settle down together and this was bound to put some strain on them. Not to mention the press fiasco it could turn into if this wasn't done carefully, she could see the headlines now, dyke cop killer dons court apparel, what is this country coming to? She had been a fool to worry about how Helen would respond, a smile had lit up her face as she came over and sat on Nik's lap, "I'm so proud of you," she had said, brushing Nikki's fringe from her eyes and kissing her deeply. "You're going to be one hell of a lawyer."
Claire had been damn right about the difficulties Nikki would have to overcome, her application had been turned down by every law school she had applied to. It seemed no one was at all keen on allowing a known criminal into their midst. It was Claire who came through for her in the end. It turned out the threat of legal action and large amounts of bad press were very persuasive incentives, especially when the name Chapman and Howell was thrown into the mix.
Claire rapped twice on Nikki's open door and walked in as she was turning away from the large window. "Beautiful view isn't it?" she said and embraced Nikki warmly. "Yeah, fantastic," Nikki replied, "it's a marvel you lot get any work done here, must take a lot not to sit and stare out the window all day." "That's what blinds are for," Claire said with a wink.
So, what do you think? Smitten with your new office yet?" Claire asked as she sat in the chair across from Nikki. "Yeah, not too shabby. Could do with a few extra shelves though, and maybe a fireplace, oh and a chandelier," Nikki said jokingly. Claire gave a little chuckle; Nikki's sense of humour was the thing she loved most about her. "How are Helen and the little one doing?" Claire enquired. "They are well, three weeks to her due date now and bean is getting a bit feisty these days, I think he enjoys giving her a good kicking every now and then," Nikki said with a grin. Claire shook her head and laughed, it was good to see Nik so happy, and she deserved every moment.
"Right, we better get down to business," Claire said in a more serious tone. "Philip has more than likely given you an overview of the general workings of the firm so I will fill you in a bit more with regards to what you and I will be tackling. Henry has wanted to start this pro bono project for some time now; it's been his baby for the past few years. It started out as a few cases every now and then but he always wanted it to be more than that. Which is where we come in. he feels that the firm should be giving back to the community, helping those that slip through the system and don't deserve to be behind bars, women in particular."
Nikki listened attentively as Claire spoke, "so where do our cases come from and how much say do we have in which cases we take?" "I was waiting for that question," Claire said, "Here's the good part. We pick our own cases, we have free reign. Obviously winning some high profile cases is a must for us and we'll have to prove our worth first but I have no doubt we'll make a great impression. The only way we can afford to provide this service is by generating loads of good press and getting the name Chapman and Howell out there and one everyone's lips. Two birds with one stone, we get innocent people out of jail and get good advertising at the same time."
Nikki smiled, "sounds good to me, when do we get started?" Claire laughed, "My, someone is quite the eager beaver, all in good time. For now you and I will be working together on cases. Henry feels that my experience will be helpful to build a good base of cases for you. As soon as you find your feet you will be getting cases from other solicitors in the firm as well. As you have rights in the higher courts you will be doing all the advocacy while we solicitors do what we do best and help you build the strongest cases possible."
"These prosecutors are going to have no idea what hit them when they come face to face with us," Nikki said. Claire could see the eagerness all over Nikki's face and caught a glimpse of the glint in her eye, it was almost predatory and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She'd seen that same look in Henry Chapman's eyes many a time, the mark of a true fighter.
"I've already put together a list of possible cases for us to look at. As we are an untested team Henry will be keeping a close eye on us, and has personally approved all of the cases I have selected. Once we have proven ourselves we'll be out on our own most of the time, so let's put on a good show shall we?" Claire said enthusiastically. Nikki put her elbows on the desk and lent forward, "I'm up for it if you are." "Good," Claire said as she got up from the chair, "I'll leave you to get settled and fill up some of those shelves. We'll jump right in first thing tomorrow morning." "Thanks Claire, for everything," Nikki said, deep emotion creeping into her expression. "What are friends for?" Claire said, and with a small wave and a smile she was on her way.