was professional. What Fred said was true – someone whose strength lay in cross-examination was just what they needed, and Leo was very, very good. They were taking an extra leader on at the shortest possible notice, too – the trial would start in just under a month – and whoever they chose would have to be able to get to grips with the essentials of this case in a very short space of time.
‘Well,’ said Rachel at last, ‘he was the leader in the Capstall case, so he has the advantage of experience.’
‘Quite,’ said Fred quickly. He had been uncertain how Rachel would react to his suggestion of instructing Leo, and he wanted to capitalise on any enthusiasm she showed. He had no doubt that Leo was the best they could hope for. ‘Anyone else is going to have to spend twice as long familiarising themselves with all the details. Most of it will be second nature to Leo.’
Still Rachel hesitated. It would mean working alongside Leo, talking to him on the phone regularly, seeing himonce or twice each week, and then every day when the trial started. It was bad enough when he came to pick up Oliver every other weekend – just the sight of him still made her heart tighten. She had been trying so hard this past year to make a success of what she and Charles had. She had told herself that while she could never hope to replace what she had felt for Leo, at least she could be safe and happy being loved by Charles, and returning that love so far as she was able. Prolonged exposure to Leo could undermine all of that.
But only if she let it. It was ridiculous to be afraid of working professionally with one’s ex-husband. Their marriage was over and done with. Life had to go on. After a few moments she looked up. ‘Why don’t you speak to his clerk and see if he’s free?’
Fred smiled and nodded. ‘I’ll do that. And failing Leo, we can always try Young. He’s very good.’
But already Rachel found herself hoping that Leo would be free. Not a good sign.
Leo and Sarah came back from court at lunchtime and met Henry coming out of chambers.
‘Oh, Mr Davies, I had Nichols on the phone this morning. They’re looking for an extra leader in a three-monther coming up at the end of March. The fraud case against Lloyd’s. Seems you could do it, if you wanted to. There’s nothing coming up that couldn’t be moved or handed over to someone else.’
Leo gave a faint groan. Not the Names again. They could be some of the most difficult clients on earth – not onaccount of their individual natures, though that applied in certain cases, but because of their capacity for indecision, infighting, and general lack of cohesion. ‘It’s rather short notice, isn’t it?’
Henry shrugged. ‘They’ve spent six months trying to get approval from the Legal Aid Board. They couldn’t appoint a second leader till now. They’ve already got Conor Grimley.’
‘Ah, Conor …’ Leo knew Conor as a lawyer of the old school, a painstaking, maddeningly slow Irishman, infinitely courteous and pleasant but with his own very pedantic way of doing things. Not the easiest person to work alongside, especially since Leo’s own way of conducting a case was very different. He thought for a moment. ‘OK, then. I know most of the background anyway, so the preparation shouldn’t be that hard.’
‘Right, I’ll put it in.’
‘You didn’t sound very enthusiastic about that,’ remarked Sarah, as they made their way upstairs.
‘I’m not. Lloyd’s Names are a prickly lot. Personalities tend to get in the way of the smooth running of their case. And suing Lloyd’s for fraud is an especially difficult number.’
‘Why did you take it, then?’
Leo smiled. ‘Well, hardly for reasons of sentiment. I suppose I rather like cases where little men pit themselves against big institutions.’
‘
You
mean you think they’ll win?’
‘Good God, no. While I would never dream of suggesting that our judges are anything less than
‘Well,’ said Rachel at last, ‘he was the leader in the Capstall case, so he has the advantage of experience.’
‘Quite,’ said Fred quickly. He had been uncertain how Rachel would react to his suggestion of instructing Leo, and he wanted to capitalise on any enthusiasm she showed. He had no doubt that Leo was the best they could hope for. ‘Anyone else is going to have to spend twice as long familiarising themselves with all the details. Most of it will be second nature to Leo.’
Still Rachel hesitated. It would mean working alongside Leo, talking to him on the phone regularly, seeing himonce or twice each week, and then every day when the trial started. It was bad enough when he came to pick up Oliver every other weekend – just the sight of him still made her heart tighten. She had been trying so hard this past year to make a success of what she and Charles had. She had told herself that while she could never hope to replace what she had felt for Leo, at least she could be safe and happy being loved by Charles, and returning that love so far as she was able. Prolonged exposure to Leo could undermine all of that.
But only if she let it. It was ridiculous to be afraid of working professionally with one’s ex-husband. Their marriage was over and done with. Life had to go on. After a few moments she looked up. ‘Why don’t you speak to his clerk and see if he’s free?’
Fred smiled and nodded. ‘I’ll do that. And failing Leo, we can always try Young. He’s very good.’
But already Rachel found herself hoping that Leo would be free. Not a good sign.
Leo and Sarah came back from court at lunchtime and met Henry coming out of chambers.
‘Oh, Mr Davies, I had Nichols on the phone this morning. They’re looking for an extra leader in a three-monther coming up at the end of March. The fraud case against Lloyd’s. Seems you could do it, if you wanted to. There’s nothing coming up that couldn’t be moved or handed over to someone else.’
Leo gave a faint groan. Not the Names again. They could be some of the most difficult clients on earth – not onaccount of their individual natures, though that applied in certain cases, but because of their capacity for indecision, infighting, and general lack of cohesion. ‘It’s rather short notice, isn’t it?’
Henry shrugged. ‘They’ve spent six months trying to get approval from the Legal Aid Board. They couldn’t appoint a second leader till now. They’ve already got Conor Grimley.’
‘Ah, Conor …’ Leo knew Conor as a lawyer of the old school, a painstaking, maddeningly slow Irishman, infinitely courteous and pleasant but with his own very pedantic way of doing things. Not the easiest person to work alongside, especially since Leo’s own way of conducting a case was very different. He thought for a moment. ‘OK, then. I know most of the background anyway, so the preparation shouldn’t be that hard.’
‘Right, I’ll put it in.’
‘You didn’t sound very enthusiastic about that,’ remarked Sarah, as they made their way upstairs.
‘I’m not. Lloyd’s Names are a prickly lot. Personalities tend to get in the way of the smooth running of their case. And suing Lloyd’s for fraud is an especially difficult number.’
‘Why did you take it, then?’
Leo smiled. ‘Well, hardly for reasons of sentiment. I suppose I rather like cases where little men pit themselves against big institutions.’
‘
You
mean you think they’ll win?’
‘Good God, no. While I would never dream of suggesting that our judges are anything less than
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