Friends With A Prostitute

Chapter 20

"I've been practicing for about 20 years now. The majority of the cases I do are divorce cases. I believe I've done over 500 divorce cases, and only a handful of them have been unsuccessful." Stacy had asked the gentleman sitting opposite her what his legal record was and that was his response.

"Very impressive Mr. Buckler. I trust you're honest in your self-portrayal?"

"Of course! It would do me no good to be anything but honest with you. I work very hard to ensure the success of my clients. In fact, I'll wager you this: after the initial consultation fee, you don't have to pay me a cent until the end of your case. And you'll only have to pay if I win."

"Oh, you're quite confident in your abilities!" Stacy said in a rather joking tone. "I like that. All right, let's go over the facts we have so far. Cynthia Lancaster is 32 years old. She's a part-time chartered accountant at PWC and a mother of two. She's been married for 9 years and she suspects with good reason that her husband is cheating on her. He might also have assets which he failed to disclose during the signing of their prenuptial agreement. What we want is an annulment of the prenup and a good final statement after the divorce." Stacy leaned forward onto the table and clasped her hands before concluding with, "Can we get that?"

"Prenups are very rarely annulled in divorce cases." Mr. Buckler replied. "Usually those who managed to get a lucrative settlement are those that don't have a prenup at all. But it's definitely not impossible. I have, myself, facilitated a couple of prenup annulments. I'm going to need you to provide with hard evidence that Cynthia's husband had the undisclosed assets before signing the prenup and did not purchase them later in the marriage." Mr. Buckler emphasized the word before as he said this, "Sometimes there are provisions made for assets acquired during the marriage. Of course, I will need a copy of the prenup. And usually, infidelity doesn't factor much into the settlement or custody hearing. You can be a good parent even though you're cheating on your wife. But together with perhaps evidence of neglect, it might make the judge favor your friend, even if slightly."

"Oh really? Someone who cares little enough about his kids to hurt their mother is considered a good parent?" Stacy asked sarcastically.

"I know. Those no-fault laws are rather twisted. But don't you worry. Evidence of infidelity won't be useless, and in fact, if you can bring me hard evidence of his extra-marital affairs, that would be a great help. Would you like me to give you a copy of the divorce filing papers for your friend?" Mr. Buckler walked over to the cabinet just in front of his floor length window.

"Sure! That would be fantastic. I was going to stop by the court to get them." Stacy extended her hand to receive the papers Mr. Buckler was handing her. "Otherwise, when are you available again for a meeting with me and Cynthia?"

"Let's have one next week Monday. I don't believe I have any commitments scheduled there. Let me just confirm with my secretary quickly," Mr. Buckler walked to his door, opened it slightly and asked, "Nancy, is there anything on my schedule for Monday?"

A voice in the lobby shouted, "No, sir."

"Perfect. Don't add anything to it yet." Mr. Buckler closed the door, turned back to Stacy and said, "So what time would you like to come?"

"Cynthia is free from 9:30 to 12:00 so that would do." Stacy put her notepad back in her handbag and stood up.

"All right. I'll be expecting you then." Mr. Buckler extended his hand for a handshake, and when Stacy reciprocated, he concluded with, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Williams."

Stacy hadn't heard her surname said aloud for so long. The sound of it had caught her by surprise when Mr. Buckler had said it a few minutes ago, and even now it surprised her. After a noticeable pause, she finally managed to say, "The feeling is mutual Mr. Buckler." Mr. Buckler walked her to the door. With the additional flare that the outfit and the high-heeled pumps gave her, she strutted the rest of the way out of Buckler & Associates.