It’s never easy to represent a lawyer in a criminal investigation. It is especially difficult when the lawyer doesn’t listen to advice, keeps secrets, and is notorious for negotiating a $2 billion contract described by media as the worst deal in the state’s history.
On the Friday before Christmas, I walked into George Gonzalez Elementary School to eat lunch and mentor Angela Dupree, a fourth-grade student I had mentored since the beginning of the school year.
It was Angela’ s last day of class before the holiday break, and the school had invited parents to join their children for lunch and then take them home.
Angela’s parents couldn’t leave work, so I planned to take Angela back to the office with me and then drive Angela home.
One of my partners once had asked why I wasted my time mentoring students. I told him it was my way of keeping a young girl’s dream alive. Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, I had watched poor Mexican-American boys and girls quit dreaming about their future by the time they were in middle school.
I grew up as one of the most fortunate kids.
My father was a lawyer, and my mother was a teacher. They pushed me to excel in school and even though many of my father’s clients could not afford to pay him, being in the middle-class made us among the most affluent in the Valley.
Several of my friends worked in the fields picking crops with their parents and missed school while they were picking crops. The white students in our school made fun of my friends who struggled to speak English. I vowed that when I became successful, I would never forget the Mexican-American children and I would help them make it in America.
When I checked in at the elementary school’s front office, my name tag with the photo from my driver’s license was waiting for me. I sat on a bench across from the main office and watched lines of students walking by on their way to the cafeteria. As they passed in single file, I spotted Angela, who ran over and gave me a hug.
We walked together to the cafeteria and sat one of the tables on the stage designated for children and their parents or their mentors. Most mentor days I stopped at Chick-Fil-A, Angela’s favorite restaurant and picked up meals for the two of us. But today the school served the holiday meal, so we stood in line for the sliced turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes.
At most of our lunch meals, I started the conversation and asked questions to get Angela to share what was on her mind.
“What are your plans for your holiday break?” Angela shrugged her shoulders.
“Will anyone come to visit?”
She shrugged her shoulders again and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
I doubted Angela’s parents had made any plans, so her silence was no surprise. Finally, Angela pointed at my iPad. Back during the second week of mentoring, I had clicked on: “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” on my iPad, and Angela had wanted to play each week. This day she was all smiles as she correctly answered the least difficult Math and Geography questions.
At 12:30, the teachers stood and asked the children to clean up their tables. Angela and I cleaned our table, then exited the cafeteria and went to my car, where I handed Angela a box wrapped in Christmas tree wrapping paper. Inside the box was a handwritten note: ‘Angela, I love you and I believe in you because you try hard to learn in school. I am blessed to be your mentor and watch you grow each day.’
“Now, I want you to save this until Christmas morning. Can you do that?”
I knew my gifts would be among the few Angela would open on Christmas morning.
She smiled and looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes sparkling. “Yes, Ms. Sanchez. Thank you.” She grabbed me by the waist and dropped the packages. I reached out to catch it and missed.
Angela’s face turned red and I saw tears on her cheeks. “Angela, it’s okay. Nothing broke.”
I started my car. Before I could back out of my parking space, my telephone started vibrating. I saw a text message from Lucia.
“Allen O’Grady, Roberson Grant partner wants u 2 represent 1 of their lawyers. Call him.”
I texted back: “Call O’Grady. Tell him I will call him in 20 minutes.” When we arrived at my office, I took Angela to Lucia’s desk.
“Please look after Angela while I return Allen O’Grady’s call. Angela smiled when Lucia brought out the Uno cards and started dealing.
I stepped into my office, closed the door and called Allen O’Grady, and he explained that Roberson Grant had received a grand jury subpoena to produce client files and the Assistant U. S. Attorney had told him that one of the firm’s lawyers would be served a subpoena to testify before the grand jury on January 2nd.
I asked the name of the lawyer and he told me her name was Gina Rossi. When I asked what he could tell me about her, he hesitated. Then he told me Gina was the daughter of the famed Dallas trial lawyer, Leo Baretti.
I put Gina Rossi in Google and did a search. Her law firm bio came up first. I clicked and saw a full-length photo of an olive skinned, brown eyed blond woman. She looked like Jessica Alba with toned muscles.
“She’ll remind you of Claire Underwood,” O’Grady said. “Claire Underwood?”
“Yes, Claire Underwood. You must not have watched House of Cards.”
“I don’t have time to watch television.”
“Well, I recommend you read all you can about the Claire Underwood character in House of Cards, because that’s what you will be dealing with when you represent Gina Rossi.
O’Grady spent the next ten minutes telling me how I would have a difficult time representing Gina Rossi. He concluded with something for me to remember, “Gina Rossi’s soft spoken and elegant, but don’t let that fool you. She’d cut your heart out to advance her agenda, just like Claire Underwood.”
I finally asked, “Allen, are you trying to convince me not to represent her?”
“No, I’m giving you the heads up that Gina Rossi is a handful. She uses people and she’ll use you.”
“What positive thing can you say about her?”
“What she lacks in brilliance as a lawyer, Gina has overcome with her energy, self- confidence, and hard work. She is also the most tenacious and ambitious lawyer you will ever meet.”
I smiled and replied, thinking that it is okay for male lawyers to be determined and ambitious, but if a female lawyer has those traits, she’s narcissistic.
“Gina used her hard work and determination to get where she is,” added O’Grady. “But she also used her good looks. Gina is a beautiful blond after her mother and has her father’s olive skin. She’s a fitness fanatic. She turns heads when she walks into a room.”
I wanted to get an idea of what I would be doing so I asked Green to tell be about the grand jury subpoena. He told me the Special Counsel’s office is investigating former Governor Harrington for accepting a bribe from Gina’s client, Randall Burke, in return for awarding his company the $2 billion Cross-Town Tollway contract. Green advised me that Gina will refuse to testify.
I wanted to know why, so I asked. Green’s reply didn’t surprise me.
“Out of loyalty to her client, Randall Burke. She is loyal to her friends, and Randall Burke is her number one client and friend. She will have his back, no matter what the cost to our firm.”
“Does she know something damaging to her client and Harrington?”
“She might. I don’t know. Maybe you can find out.”
I thought for a moment and wasn’t sure I wanted to represent Gina. “Allen, I’ve never represented a woman and I’ve already had a lifetime supply of representing difficult clients. I’m not sure I want to be in the media spotlight again.”
“You won’t be back in the spotlight. Gina is simply a witness in a grand jury investigation. I expect your work to be finished on January 2nd. We’ll make it worth your while for two weeks of work.”
I spent that evening reading every article written about Claire Underwood. She was an interesting character to say the least, but it was hard to picture anyone in real life being like her. I knew better, but I decided to represent Gina Rossi anyway.