Dramatis Personae

It occurs to me that not all of my readers will know everyone I refer to. When referring to stuff happening at work, there are a lot of rather, um, interesting personalities. Rather than name names and risk employment problems, I’ve chosen to use lighthearted nicknames for them. So the people I work with most every day are:

The Great Man — this is the lawyer who owns the law firm where I work. He’s about twice my age, of legendary stature in the profession, and has acres of big verdicts under his belt. His administrative style is erratic and he falls for quack medicine far too easily for a man of his intelligence. Still, it’s hard not to be drawn in by the force of his personality.

Happy Bachelor Lawyer — this guy is my age; he’s been a lawyer as long as I have. As the nickname applies, he’s single. He and his dog live in a townhouse in downtown Knoxville, and he rarely, if ever, leaves downtown Knoxville other than to get groceries or once in a while take a trip. It seems he rarely takes anything very seriously; he’s quick to find the humor in any set of facts. HBL has a quasi-independent relationship with the firm; he takes home a large percentage of the cases he works and does not draw a regular paycheck.

Bad Attitude Paralegal — She is ostensibly supposed to assist Happy Bachelor Lawyer in his day-to-day tasks. Alas, The Great Man can spot competence a mile away and has assigned BAP a number of office manager kinds of tasks. She’s as sarcastic as I am, and is usually unhappy about something going on at the office.

Bird Lady — She is ostensibly supposed to be The Great Man’s paralegal and case manager. I assume that’s what she does because she spends most of her time working quietly at the farthest point in our floor of the building from The Great Man’s office. Maybe that’s been the secret to her employment longevity.

Southern Gentleman Lawyer — He only rents office space from TGM, and in fact is completely autonomous from the firm. He does nothing but personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Sometimes his southern accent is impenetrably thick, belying the fact that he has spent considerable portions of his life in New York City. His charm is disarming but the affection behind it is genuine; he enjoys the more-than-occasional martini after work.

The Tough Girl — She’s the receptionist and when she is able to, she works as my paralegal. BAP is foisting off various administrative duties on her rather than do them herself, so I have less and less time to use her resources. She used to work for the firm, quit to move on to greener pastures, and has been persuaded to come back. While she’s got a tough initial persona (hence the name), she’s actually quite nice and very smart; I’m glad to have her on my side.

Eager Young Law Clerk — A young man, between his first and second years of law school, who is wide-eyed, energetic, anxious to please, and breathless to learn more about how to really practice law. He’s fun to argue politics with, especially since unlike a lot of people, he can keep a political disagreement in perspective and still be a friend and colleague to someone with whom he has a strenuous disagreement, even The Great Man. A little bit awkward, but that’s largely a function of inexperience and somehow I don’t think that will last long.

And then there’s me, the Transplanted Lawyer, more often than not shaking his head in disbelief at how California could possibly have been more sane, orderly, and well-thought-out than Tennessee has proven to be. But hey, you can afford to buy a house here. So it’s a good crew; we all get along pretty well despite the occasional personality clash.

At home, there’s four critters (two dogs, two cats) and The Wife. She’s my best friend, my sweetie-pie, and my chosen life partner. She’s also very, very attractive, and she doesn’t seem to believe that I think that no matter how much I tell her. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have her. I’ve no siblings, my parents are both alive and still married, living in Connecticut. Dad travels abroad frequently and Mom comes down to visit us in Tennessee frequently. My mom’s mother is still alive, living in Wisconsin (where most of the rest of my family and The Wife’s family both life). Nearby in Tennessee is my Dramatic Great Aunt, who is also a sweetheart and who was instrumental in persuading The Wife and I to move here to Tennessee. We’ve been here since September of last year, and we’re finally starting to make some good friends, including the couple that got us started on this blogging thing. (Andrew has already made comments here on the Transplanted Lawyer Blog.)

That’s enough for one day. The lawn mower isn’t going to fix itself.