Outside Counsel

1. Harvey Specter

I looked down and saw that it was Lorna again, so I picked up the phone "So?"

"Hello, this is Pearson Specter. We would like to speak to Mr.Haller."

***

I decided to have a little fun , "Mr.Haller is currently with a client, can I know what this is in reference to?"

"I would much rather things stayed between just client and attorney." The man said and I could hear the frustration that had crept in. This must be a rookie associate that had been assigned to making sure a call was placed regularly until I picked up.

Now I was seriously interested in the cause.

I wanted to try and extract some information from the caller first before I decided on anything, so I pressed on "I certainly respect attorney-client privilege, Mr-?"

"Jacobwski."

"Alright ...sir. You will note that since there has been no contract or verbal agreement that can show this privilege you keep stressing actually exists, whatever you wish to say to Mr. Haller would not be privileged information." I explained slowly, like a school teacher. "Therefore I believe there is no reason to withhold any such content from me."

The associate remained silent, he was probably contemplating what to say.

As I'd said, rookie.

"Would you excuse me for a second, sir?"

"Of course."

I could hear muffled sounds of what was probably a conversation between him and his superior. I used the time to type Pearson Specter into the search bar. Upon pressing enter, millions of articles jumped up, most of which described lawsuits that the firm itself or their clients had undergone and had won brilliantly.

As I aimlessly scrolled through the articles, my mind was pulled to a name that kept appearing as first chair or leading counsel: Harvey Specter .

A name whose owner was probably the most treasured asset to the firm.

It was no surprise that he took on and won so many cases, what struck me as a little odd was that the further back I went in time, the more frequent his name appeared. I ran that thought through my head a couple more times and came to a conclusion: something was happening and it was holding him back from accepting cases.

And that something was serious enough to require maximum participation from Harvey Specter.

Hmm...

My phone vibrated before I could type in some more precise keywords. The associate was back on the line.

"Hello, sir? Are you still there?" He sounded anxious, I wondered what would happen to him if I had decided to hang up.

"Yes. And I know this may be rude, but I don't have all day and-"

"I understand, sir." The way he packed his words together made it known that this matter was, indeed, of great importance. And that they were ready to disclose some information in order to get me on board.

As expected, the associated started speaking. Well, it sounded like he was reading something for the first time. "A member of the firm is currently facing charges that cannot be revealed before a confidentiality affidavit is signed." He stumbled through the legal jargon. "The thing is, the firm is looking to use outside counsel for this case. And Mr.Haller's excellent record on both court wins and work ethic made him our first choice."

"And you must be aware of the fact that Mr.Haller is a criminal defense attorney."

"We are aware of that, sir, yes."

So they were facing criminal charges. Interesting.

As fishy as this whole thing was, I couldn't bring myself to turn down such a big client. A legitimate Wallstreet-level firm was looking to hire me. Who was I to turn them down?

"This is Michael Haller speaking. May I speak to the man responsible?"

I couldn't help but smile at the shock silence that followed my words. I wondered whether the associate was going to tell his supervisory that he had been speaking to the right man all along without realizing it.

Finally, I heard some beeps, meaning I was being redirected. "Mr. Haller?" The new voice said.

At the tone of that voice, I couldn't help but sit a little straighter and tightened my tie a little. It was a voice with confidence filled to the brim and arrogance oozing everywhere.

It was a voice that belonged to winners.

"Speaking," I said, suddenly finding my voice an octave higher. I desperately wished there was a rewind button to life.

The person on the other end either didn't notice or chose not to react, he carried on professionally"We appreciate you spending the time to talk with us. I apologize for the behavior of my colleague's associate, as you may have noticed, he's new."

I raised my eyebrows slightly, a bit impressed by the fact that he had managed to put the fault on someone else's back while apologizing for it and making himself seem like the most responsible mab in such few words.

Wanting to match his game, I squared my shoulder and replied, this time in a normal pitch "Yes, and it's quite alright. It is my understanding that your firm is currently facing charges, will it be going to court?"

"That would be the last option. But we're fine with it going to court." His indifference to whether or not the case would be taken to court would usually give people the impression that the charges were easy to fight, unfortunately, the rookie associate gave it all away. The seriousness of the charges they were facing and the urgent need for an outside counsel.

Still, just by his calm and collected voice, I could tell that this was one experienced lawyer.

"And you wish to hire outside counsel, is that correct? Mr...?"

"Specter. Harvey Specter." He said casually, throwing in his name like something everyone should already know. Like he couldn't imagine people not knowing.

I was not completely taken by surprise but was still a little shocked. A second or two passed before I replied "Alright, Mr.Specter. You would know, being an attorney yourself, that one does not take cases without knowing what they're getting themselves into."

"I understand. Here's what I suggest," He said it like he was stating a proven fact rather than suggesting something "We meet at Four Green Fields for dinner say... tonight."

"You've done your due diligence," I observed. I wondered where he got that piece of information, there were only so many people that knew my favorite club. And it couldn't have been a coincident because we happened to live on the two ends of this country.

I guessed I had to do a little due diligence of my own before tonight, so this could actually be a fair game.

"I take my due diligence very seriously, Mr.Haller." Harvey Specter said as a way of replying. "And if you happen to be considering doing some, I suggest you refrain from clicking on the images."

"And why is that?"

"Some has compared my beauty to that of the sun. "

"Because it gives you a headache if you stare for too long?"

"No. Too dazzling for most."

"Goodbye, Mr.Specter," I said with a smile playing on my lips.

"See you tonight, Mr.Haller."

***

A/N Thank you all for keeping up with me! I hope you're liking this story so far! If you are , it would mean a lot of you could press that little star button and vote for this story, as this could help it reach a wider audience!

Again, thank you. See you next week :)