America 1982-Chapter 134 - 43: The Influence of Jim Manzi

Massachusetts, Boston, Hale and Dorr White Shoe Law Firm.

On the office door, a metal nameplate specially marked with partnership status: Robert Molley Attorney’s Office.

The intern pushed open the door and handed the documents in his hands to Robert, who was sitting behind the desk, his back to the large floor-to-ceiling window, focused on flipping through an investigative report, "Mr. Molley, here’s the material you asked for."

Robert took it and, while opening it, ordered, "In a moment, go give Leonard a call, introduce him to Mr. Norwich. Mr. Norwich has a case that needs his private detectives to help gather evidence."

"Okay, Jim Manzi wants to see you," the intern said after hearing Robert’s instructions.

Robert was startled for a moment, "Jim? Do I have an appointment with him?"

"Yeah, an appointment to go have some fun with you? I’m your f***ing employer, and then I want to see you..." Jim’s voice came from outside the door.

Seeing Jim’s big face appear at the doorway, Robert immediately said to his intern, "OK, Noah, you go out first, thank you for bringing the materials, I’ll call you if I have other questions."

"Do I need to help you and Mr. Manzi prepare some coffee..." the intern asked.

Robert looked expressionless at Jim Manzi, who was walking in, and said, "No need, as a partner I have to save expenses for the firm."

After the intern went out and closed the door, Jim walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk, admiring the street view, "The view from this office is much better than from your previous room, which wasn’t as big as my underwear, Robert."

"You embarrassed me in front of an intern, Jim, come on, this is my first day being promoted to partner," Robert said, frustrated and turning his back to Jim.

"Is it?" Jim turned around, walked behind Robert, and patted his shoulders, "So you’re a little unhappy? On your very first day of being freshly promoted to partner?"

"F*ck, Jim, can’t you just..." Robert, his voice tinged with annoyance, looked up, wanting to remind his long-time friend that he should mind the occasion when joking.

But before he could finish, Jim took out a business card and stuffed it in front of his mouth, silencing the rest of the words.

Robert took it, and on the beautifully crafted British-style card was written Thomson Holdings International, Chairman Kenneth Thomson.

"I’ve recommended you, buddy, to be an independent director of Thomson Holdings International, and Mr. Thomson agreed. He’s willing to have a chat with you the next time he comes to Boston from Toronto, how about that? Does this gift cheer you up a bit?" Jim slowly walked back to his seat opposite Robert, laughing and saying:

"Seven years, you made partner at a white-shoe firm in seven years, sometimes I think you’re really a genius, Robert." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Thanks, I tend to agree," Robert put away the business card, also breaking into a smile.

If only all his friends were as considerate as this asshole Jim, those friends had prepared various gifts, perhaps fine wine, perhaps flowers, even possibly a party, but only this asshole knew what he needed most and delivered a truly significant gift according to his needs.

Lawyers like Robert Molley, fresh to a partnership at a large firm, need to hold the title of independent director at several companies and take on a few cases important enough to show strong capability and ambition within the industry. This helps significantly whether he is being courted by other firms, being invited by the government to join the Justice Department, or even further, aspiring for a managing partner position.

But titles from ordinary small companies would only diminish their value; the best are those with enough influence, worthy of a white-shoe law firm partner’s position, such as Thomson Holdings International that Jim had recommended, a major Canadian publishing organization with newspapers distributed in the United States with a combined circulation of over a million copies. Becoming an independent director of this company would first make the Congress members within the newspapers’ distribution regions consider making friends with him, introducing him to a new circle.

"You can now boast to everyone about this incredible speed because it’s only more than half slower than the speed at which I became the Assistant Editor of the National Review in just three years," Jim motioned with a finger and said.

Robert pulled open a drawer and tossed him a box of cigars, "So you just come to my office, bring a gift to congratulate me, and then you use your freakish experience to tweak me?"

"No, dear consultant of Lotus Corporation, what I’m more curious about is how far along that case is?" Jim took the cigar box, picked out a cigar, and sniffed it slowly by his nose while asking.

Leaning back in his chair with his hands resting on his stomach, Robert tilted his head back and thought for a moment, "The other side has sent a letter to the court indicating they’ll contest the case, that’s about it. Under normal circumstances, the next step would be waiting for the court’s permission for both lawyers to enter the evidence collection and disclosure phase, just waiting until all the evidence is gathered to go to war in court."

"Which law firm sent the letter of defense on their behalf?" Jim didn’t use a cigar cutter, instead, he bit off the end with his teeth and spat it out on the carpet.

Seeing Jim’s behavior, Robert said irritably, "Can’t you act like a gentleman? I really can’t believe such an asshole like you could have become Mr. Buckley’s assistant back in the day. How could he stand you!"

"Because I dared to go to the Soviet Union for research and help the magazine become an indispensable read for every American politician. I’m just a magazine editor, but I was doing the job of the CIA. That’s why Mr. Buckley valued me." Jim laughed arrogantly, "It was my 150,000-word investigative report that told those dumb politicians in America, who didn’t even know where Moscow was, that the Soviets weren’t living in the hellish conditions the CIA’s intel suggested, so they should stop making those idiotic speeches or get ready to become the butt of jokes."

"Alright, stop bragging. I’ve looked into it for you. It’s a small law firm near Stanford University, established in 1979. In California, they’re nobodies, no real power at all." Robert told Jim to stop bragging, but actually, he waited until Jim finished speaking to say this, without interrupting him midway. Deep down, he had great admiration for the bastard who’d slipped into the Soviet Union at the height of the tension with the United States, secretly lived with the most ordinary Soviet citizens for nearly a year, and helped Buckley complete that investigative report. Others wouldn’t even have the courage to sign up to go to the Soviet Union.

Robert himself took a cigar to fiddle with, "Do you think that Actor Corporation has lots of money to hire white-shoe elites as their corporate legal consultants, just like Lotus?"

"After the other side filed their response, we can’t have private meetings anymore, can we?" Jim didn’t answer but slowly toasted his cigar with a lighter and continued asking.

"It’s best to meet under the circumstances where both parties have their lawyers present, to avoid giving the other side any chance to cause trouble," Robert said.

"I’ve heard they’ve trained a bunch of low-level women, the cheap prostitute type, and they’ve also collaborated with organizations like the Stanford Women’s Advancement Association. Are you sure if this goes to court it won’t cause trouble? You know, women are mostly trouble, except for prostitutes," Jim said vulgarly, stuffing the lit cigar in his mouth.

Robert shrugged, "The other side, whether they collaborate with women’s organizations or even the President, can’t change the fact that they’ve infringed on the rights of Lotus Corporation. The interface is the same, the functions are the same, and you guys have that special edition in hand, all of which proves that from the beginning they knew they were plagiarizing. When it gets to the stage where the court allows both lawyers to collect evidence, I’ll have colleagues in California help get solid evidence from Stanford University. Don’t worry, the only thing you should be concerned about is that they’d better not suddenly get a large investment, otherwise it will turn into a Moore Company-type drawn-out situation. Both sides would spend tens of millions on lawyers over three to five years, and in the end, if they can’t stand the reality that both sides are losing money and only the lawyers are profiting, they’ll settle amicably with lawyers taking their money."

"I’ve already done some PR work. Those computer magazines and newspapers won’t be reporting about Actor Corporation for a while. No matter how much they spend on PR, I’ll pay double, so they won’t appear in any professional magazines or newspapers for the time being, minimizing the chances of being seen by investors," Jim said after some thought, and then asked,

"How long before the court issues the documents allowing both lawyers to collect evidence for the case?"

"Insider information, a week. I’ve sped it up for you. That’s the benefit of hiring a large firm, you get what you pay for. The whole of Massachusetts knows that the presiding judges of the state courts were partners of this firm before becoming judges. If a small, unheard-of law firm from California comes to Boston and wins, this firm wouldn’t be able to keep its standing in Boston for a hundred years. Isn’t that why you chose us?"

"What if a large corporation gets involved, like Microsoft, Micro-Innovation, Borland, and those other big software companies? What if they use Actor Corporation as their puppet while they pull the strings behind the scenes?"

"Dragging it out, most likely it’ll be years of dragging followed by a settlement. In the state courts, the circuit courts stage, we can’t lose."

"So you’re saying there’s still a chance of losing?"

"Jim, America has a three-tier court system, and 99% of cases are settled at the circuit court level. In the Massachusetts State Courts, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, we’re undefeated. 70% of the judges and clerks in these courts have interned or worked at Hale and Dorr. Even if this case ends up in the Supreme Court, our influence in Washington is not something those California computer nerds can match."

"So the worst-case scenario is dragging it out and then settling, right?"

"Yes, it won’t get any worse than that."

"Good, I’ll persuade Mr. Buckley to allow me to publish an article on National Review using my long-unused title of Assistant Editor-in-Chief," Jim said. After receiving an affirmative answer from Robert, he exhaled a light blue cloud of smoke, and through the haze, his face broke into a sly smile:

"Don’t think I don’t have any influence in the software industry. Those goddamn nouveau riches bookworms, they can just drool over Lotus Corporation."