(5) had read a newspaper or magazine article about Krayoxx and the litigation surrounding it. The four-page questionnaire went on to cover other areas that might disqualify a prospective juror.
In the next five days, Rogan Rothberg would spend $500,000 delving into the backgrounds of the jury pool. Once the trial started, they would have three highly paid consultants scattered around the courtroom observing the jury as it reacted to the testimony. Finley amp; Figg’s consultant cost $25,000 and was brought on board only after another firm fight. She and her associates would do their best to check backgrounds and profile the model juror, and she would observe the selection process. Her name was Consuelo, and she quickly realized that she had never worked with such inexperienced attorneys.
It had been determined, through an unpleasant and often testy process, that Oscar would take the role of lead counsel and do most of the footwork in the courtroom. Wally would observe, offer advice, take notes, and do whatever the second-in-command was supposed to do, though none of them were certain what this would entail. David would be in charge of the research, a monumental task since this was the first federal trial for all three and everything had to be researched. Through the course of numerous arduous strategy sessions around the table, David had learned that Oscar’s last jury trial had been in state court eight years earlier, a relatively simple who- ran-the-red-light car accident that he had lost. Wally’s record was even more modest-a slip-and-fall case against a Walmart in which the jury deliberated fifteen minutes before finding for the store, and an almost forgotten car wreck up in Wilmette that had also ended badly.
When Oscar and Wally locked horns over strategy, they had turned to David because he was the only one there. His votes had been crucial, a fact that disturbed him greatly.
After the lists were handed over, Judge Seawright delivered a stern lecture about getting close to the jury pool. He explained that when the prospective jurors arrived Monday morning, he would grill them on the subject of improper contact. Did they feel as if someone had been prying into their lives, their backgrounds? Had they been followed, photographed? Any violations, and he would be a very unhappy judge.
Moving on, he said, “No Daubert challenges have been filed, so it’s safe to say that neither side wishes to challenge the other’s experts, am I correct?”
Neither Oscar nor Wally was aware of the Daubert rule, which had been around for years. Daubert allowed each side to challenge the admissibility of the other’s expert testimony. It was standard procedure in federal cases and was followed in about half of the states. David had stumbled across it ten days earlier when he was watching a trial down the hall. After some quick research, he realized that Nadine Karros could probably exclude their experts before the trial even started. The fact that she had not requested a Daubert hearing meant only one thing-she wanted their experts on the stand so she could castigate them before the jury.
After David explained the rule to his partners, the three made the decision not to file Daubert challenges against the experts for Varrick. Their reason was as simple as Nadine’s but on the reverse side. Her experts were so experienced, credentialed, and qualified that a Daubert challenge would be fruitless.
“That’s correct, Your Honor,” she replied.
“That’s correct,” Oscar said.
“Unusual, but then I’m not looking for any extra work.” The judge shuffled some papers and whispered to a clerk. “I see no pending motions, nothing left to do but start the trial. The jurors will be here at 8:30 Monday morning and we will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Anything else?”
Nothing from the lawyers.
“Very well. I commend both sides on an efficient discovery process and unusual cooperation. I intend to oversee a fair and speedy trial. Court’s adjourned.”
The Finley amp; Figg team quickly gathered its files and papers and left the courtroom. On the way out, David tried to imagine what the place would look like in five days, with sixty prospective and nervous jurors, moles from other mass tort law firms on hand for a bloodletting, reporters, stock analysts, jury consultants trying to blend in, smug corporate honchos from Varrick, and the usual courthouse observers. The knot in his stomach made breathing difficult. “Just survive it,” he kept telling himself. “You’re only thirty-two years old. This will not be the end of your career.”
In the hallway, he suggested they split up and spend a few hours watching other trials, but Oscar and Wally just wanted to leave. So David did what he’d been doing for the past two weeks; he eased into a tense courtroom and took a seat three rows behind the lawyers.
The more he watched, the more fascinated he became with the art of a trial.
CHAPTER 37
In the matter of Klopeck v. Varrick Labs, the first crisis was the failure of the plaintiff to show up for court. When informed of this in chambers, Judge Seawright was less than pleased. Wally tried to explain that Iris had been rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, complaining of shortness of breath, hyperventilation, hives, and one or two other afflictions.
Three hours earlier, as the Finley amp; Figg lawyers worked frantically around the table in a predawn session, a call came on Wally’s cell. It was Bart Shaw, the malpractice lawyer who was threatening to sue if the Krayoxx cases were mishandled. Apparently, Iris’s son, Clint, had found a lawyer’s phone number and called to say his mother was in the ambulance and headed for the hospital. She would not be able to attend the trial. Clint had called the wrong lawyer, and Shaw was just passing along the news.
“Gee thanks, asshole,” Wally had said as he punched the disconnect.
“When did you first learn that she was taken to the hospital?” Judge Seawright was now asking.
“A few hours ago, Judge. We were at the office preparing, and her lawyer called.”
“Her lawyer? I thought you were her lawyer.”
David and Oscar wanted to slide under the table. Wally’s brain was already fried and he had taken two sedatives. He looked upward at the ceiling and tried to think of a quick way out of this blunder. “Yes, well, you see, Judge, it’s complicated. But she’s at the hospital. I’ll go see her during the lunch break.”
Across the table, Nadine Karros maintained a look of casual concern. She knew everything about Bart Shaw’s bullying of Finley amp; Figg. In fact, she and her associates had located Shaw and recommended him to Nicholas Walker and Judy Beck.
“You do that, Mr. Figg,” Seawright said sternly. “And I want to see some report from her doctors. I suppose if she’s unable to testify, then we’ll be forced to use her deposition.”
“Yes sir.”
“Jury selection should move right along. I anticipate seating the jury by late this afternoon, so you’re first up in the morning, Mr. Figg. Ideally, the plaintiff begins its case by taking the stand and talking about the dearly departed.”
It was certainly thoughtful of Judge Seawright to tell them how to try their case, Wally thought, but his tone was condescending.
“I’ll talk to her doctors,” Wally said again. “That’s the best I can do.”
“Anything else?”
All the lawyers shook their heads, then left the chambers. They filed into the courtroom, which had filled up nicely in the past fifteen minutes. To the left, behind the plaintiff’s counsel table, a bailiff was herding the sixty jurors into the long, padded benches. To the right, several groups of spectators were milling about, waiting, whispering. Seated near the back, together, were Millie Marino, Adam Grand, and Agnes Schmidt, three of Finley amp; Figg’s other victims, present out of curiosity and perhaps looking for answers since their guaranteed $1 million jackpots had suddenly vanished. They were with Bart Shaw, the vulture, the pariah, the lowest scum to be found in the legal profession. Two rows in front of them sat Goodloe Stamm, the divorce lawyer hired by Paula Finley. Stamm had already heard the gossip and knew the serious trial lawyers had jumped ship. Still, he was curious about the case and even hopeful Finley amp; Figg could pull off a miracle and generate some money for his client.
Judge Seawright called things to order and thanked the jurors for their patriotic duty. He gave a thirty-word summary of the case, then introduced the lawyers and the courtroom personnel who would take part in the trial- the court reporter, the bailiffs, the clerks. He explained the absence of Iris Klopeck and introduced Nicholas Walker,
