WATERGATE (CONTINUED)

After spending the night at my house,  I took my client and his wife to my law office.  

 Downtown Tampa on a Sunday morning is funeral quiet.  No traffic and my office on the 31st floor offered an air conditioned retreat from the almost 100 degree Tampa heat and humidity.  It was clear to me that these folks couldn't afford me.  She was a kindergarten teacher and he owned a memorabilia shop in Toronto.  Neither occupation conducive to a 6 figure legal fee for this case.    I liked them both and I felt that he was wrongfully convicted after being thrown under the bus by his father.  I decided to represent them for the single dollar that the wife gave me for a retainer when we were at the Federal lock up in Orlando.  We spent the day discussing the indictment and subsequent conviction and outstanding warrant.  I called the AUSA that was assigned the case in Tampa and we tried to figure a way to resolve the case or at least enable the couple to return to Canada and not have to travel back and forth for hearings, etc. I would file my official Notice of Appearance before the Middle District Court in the morning and meet with the AUSA afterwards and try to get on the Magistrate's docket the same day.  During the time spent in my office, my client and his wife admired my Southwestern antique furnishings, artwork, and many bronzes on display.  They had never seen a law office like it and told me it was like stepping into the Old West right down to the piece of art I had hanging behind my desk that featured a mustachioed gunslinger that declared "GUNFIGHTERS DON'T CHARGE BY THE BULLET"...meaning I don't bill by the hour..  

   (to be continued)