A Path Through the Woods
| Publication year | 1996 |
| Pages | 45 |
| Citation | Vol. 25 No. 11 Pg. 45 |
1996, November, Pg. 45. A Path Through the Woods
Sally Fontaine had been my court reporter for years. Partly it was because she was fast and accurate. But partly it was because of her annual open house, which was always on Thursday afternoon exactly one week before Thanksgiving. She held the bash at her office suite, filled it with food and drink, and invited the bench and bar. I went every year, and so did Tim Flegleman.
Sally greeted me at the door, took my coat, and steered me toward her conference room. At one end of the table, Judge Morris was heaping sliced turkey onto his paper plate. The self-service bar was at the other end of the room, and I fished in an ice chest for a cold bottle of beer. I went back to the reception area and found Susan Victor talking to Will Brodsky, one of her former colleagues on the Court of Appeals. Victor had served on the Court for three years and then had resigned to become the appellate specialist at one of the city's best litigation boutique firms.
"When are you going to apply for a slot on the Supreme Court?" Brodsky was asking her as I joined them. "You're a lock to be one of the three names submitted to the governor."
"Oh, I don't know, Will," Victor replied. "The competition is pretty tough out there. Besides, in private practice I get to choose my own cases."
Just then, Tim Flegleman joined our little group and said hello to Victor and Judge Brodsky. He had a highball glass full of scotch in his right hand, diluted only by two small ice cubes. Brodsky said, "That's quite a drink you've got there, Tim."
"Just trying to drown my sorrows, your honor. Actually, I was hoping for a little advice."
Flegleman was well known as one of the city's premier consumers of free advice, and nearly every judge and competent lawyer in the city had, at one time or another, been cornered by one of Flegleman's earnest requests for assistance.
Sensing Judge Brodsky's reluctance, Susan Victor smoothly intervened. "Maybe I can help you, Tim," she said. "Why don't we go down to Sally's office?"
Flegleman brightened. "That would be terrific, Susan," he said. He winked at Judge Brodsky and said, "Maybe next time, your honor." Brodsky nodded wanly.
As Victor and Flegleman turned toward the corridor, I said, "Mind if I join you?" Victor's advice was always...
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