THE AGENCY

As I sat in the chilly lobby waiting for Alexandra Madison I thought about what Freddie told me about Employment Agencies and the people who worked there. She emphasized that the agencies were something like a pimping organization with pimps who went out and recruited prostitutes—contract attorneys—to staff projects for law firms. “Make no mistake,” she had said in an almost grave tone, her large brown eyes narrowed so that only a slit of her pupil was visible, “they are playing us. This is a win-win-accept what you get game. How much do you think the firms bill contract attorneys to their clients?” I thought about my billing rate at my old firm and took a guess above that amount. Although there was nothing at stake I wanted to be right. “Two hundred dollars,” I stated in a tone that suggested, “of course”. “No,” she said, firmly planting her palm on the table for emphasis. “Usually they bill us out at around two hundred and fifty dollars” she said, slowly enunciated each word. “Okay,” I said, with a sense of familiarity, trying not to betray my ignorance and surprise. “How much of that do you think the agency gets?” I decided not to play games. “I don’t know.”
“They get a third of that.”
“Wow!” I said, unable to withhold my surprise.
“So, how much do we get?” I knew where she was going with this. “A measly fraction of that,” I snorted with a healthy dose of indignation.
“For a bricklayer or a roofer or a plumber, working for an hourly wage might be acceptable but we are professionals. Have you read the Legal News recently? Firms are now laying off their associates an offering them jobs as contract attorneys while profits for these same law firms are soaring. It makes no sense. Where’s the ABA in all of this? Who’s got our backs?”

For a few minutes I was back at dinner, with Freddie as my guru and me as the student. She took on an almost religious persona as she educated me about Temp Town. Then Alexandra Madison walked into the room, her hand extended downward toward me. She wore a black dress that stopped just above flawless knees, a black jacket and black heels. I felt small under her smiling gaze and quickly rose to my feet where I stood several inches above her despite the inches that her heels added. Her hand shake was firm and her expression and conversation very professional. She introduced herself then said, “Let’s go back into my office.” I followed her down a corridor into an office at the end with large windows overlooking the hot, bustling city below. She indicated toward a chair in front of her desk and I took a seat. Her large black captain’s chair seemed to swallow her when she sat in it. She was a small woman. Not short but very thin. Thin enough for her wrist bones and collar bones to display prominently through porcelain skin. I thought she needed some sun badly.

Alexandra got right down to business. Her spiel was so rapid-fire it had to be rehearsed. I could imagine she had given it to a thousand other aspiring contract attorneys as they sat in the same spot as me. At the end of her introduction she asked me if I had any questions. “Nope. Seems like you covered everything,” I said with a smile. “Great. I’ll get the paperwork. You can fill out the forms and we’ll try to get you on something ASAP.” “Sounds great,” I said, trying to match her upbeat tone. I could never by that peppy. I watched Alexandra walk away enjoying every moment of it. She was so polished, so on top of her game, so sexy. I got the feeling that working with her would be a great experience.