03 The Role of the Attorney

Leon Niedziałek looked intently at the young attorney sitting in front of him. He had known him back in college as a quiet and shy student who transformed beyond recognition as soon as he began acting as a lawyer. Whether he had to act as a prosecutor, judge or defense attorney, he was brave in it. He was particularly comfortable in his role as a lawyer because he had a great deal of compassion and a rare understanding.

This understanding was his greatest virtue and worst disadvantage, because like a double-edged sword it could cut both the attacker and the defender.

Kwiecień's case was a prime example.

He got it by assignment, but after reviewing the file, he decided to do whatever it took to free the accused because he believed him. Just like that. As if that wasn't enough, he convince the judge, most of his colleagues in the firm, and much of the public of his innocence. The fact that he was now sitting across from him as white as an Easter basket napkin was a blunt indication of how much he himself got in the process.

“Do journalists give you a hard time?”

“They don't know where I live, and I've turned my phone off, so no” Adam Lechoń answered quietly. “I want to inform you that before noon I will submit my termination notice to human resources....”

“I'd rather you not do that. As for Kwiecień's case, you don't have to take it. There are thousands of excuses, and we both know doctors who will certify you...”

“It's not that I want to avoid his case. I... I'm responsible...”

“Nonsense! The court assigned his first case to us, and we assigned it to you. It was your duty as an attorney to defend your client. Don't you remember that in Polish law a man is innocent until proven guilty? It was the prosecutor who failed to prepare adequate evidence. You were only capable enough to find all his mistakes.”

“And that cost someone their life! How can I...? I can't work with the idea that someone else will get hurt because I'm doing my job.”

“You're no more guilty than the prosecutor or the judge! We're only human, damn it! We can't know everything. We rely on evidence and testimony. If the evidence is unreliable, if the testimony is a lie, it's not our fault and we can't take the consequences for it.”

“And yet a fourteen-year-old boy lost his life. And I contributed to it. I did!”

“And I gave you this case. Adam, you didn't make a mistake. You didn't fabricate evidence. You didn't coerce false testimony. You didn't bribe a witness. I understand that you feel responsible, but at this point, it's not reason speaking through you, it's emotion. I know that this case has affected you particularly, so before you make any decision, you should go away somewhere for a month or two, for as long as you need. Go away to some quiet, peaceful place, away from journalists and courts. Then you will make your final decision.”

“But I am already decided.”

“I've known you nine years. I was your supervisor in college and I'm the one who brought you to our firm. I think I deserve this favor.”

The young man drew in air as if he wanted to say something. He held it in his lungs for a moment before releasing it with a long, quiet exhalation.

“If the job of a lawyer is to get murderers out of jail, I want nothing to do with it. But you're right that I owe you a lot. I'll do as you say.”

“Just don't disappear completely. I don't want to be forced to report you to the police as missing.”

Adam Lechoń nodded and sluggishly rose from his chair. Niedziałek looked at him, feeling an enormous weight in his heart. This boy was damnably capable, but too sensitive to deal with such drastic matters. He would skillfully, without any misconduct, see it through to the end, but if shit bubbled up along the way, Lechoń would drown in it. That's why he shouldn't get the case from the beginning. If from time to time he had to take a criminal case, let it be small thefts and fights ending with settlements. Kwiecień's case was too hard on him from the start.

The door to Niedziałek's office opened without a knock. Dariusz Hess, the other partner of their law firm slid through it like a cat.

“I saw Lechoń. He didn't look good” Hess informed. “Did you fire him?”

“I sent him on leave.”

Hess hissed, expressing his displeasure.

“This case will affect our law firm.”

They both knew what he meant. Serial killers had always been both an embarrassment and a subject of unhealthy interest. Anything that involved them was wildly media driven. A serial killer who commits another crime three days after his release was a phenomenon that would be talked about for decades. It would only take one article for the attorney who freed him to be labeled not just a devil's advocate, but Satan himself. Likewise, the company he represents.

“I'm not going to make him the scapegoat.”

“I know he's your favorite, but are you able, as a general partner, to carry that responsibility? You know how much we're gonna lose?”

“None, if we play this right.”

“Sorry, but you're not as media-savvy as Lechoń. And he doesn't look like he can even help himself.”

“I'll tell you exactly the same thing I told him-- the prosecutor has to prove the defendant guilty.”

“You want to put that on the prosecution? Do you?”

“If heads are gonna roll, it won't be any of my people.”

“I hope you know what you're doing. If I were you, I'd get him off the payroll as soon as possible.”

It was typical for Dariusz Hess, and not only for him, to throw out someone who was no longer profitable. Lechoń was good as long as he attracted clients with his talent and - this must also be admitted - his appearance. The company earned millions thanks to him. Kwiecień’s case itself, although controversial, drew on them the attention of two quite large economic empires with fat portfolios and many legal problems.

Niedziałek understood this line of thinking perfectly. He even shared it. If it had been anyone else, he himself would probably have been the first to remove him from the law firm. Here, however, Adam Lechoń, a favorite student who carried a dark, painful secret, came into play.

“Don't worry,” he replied Hess with a smile. “There is someone who will gladly take on the whole case and still bring us profit.”

“Joanna?” He guessed.

“Yes, Joanna.”

“I don't know. This woman, she's a razor, but she's on two fat cases already.”

“She'll make time. And if she doesn't take the case personally, she'll pass it on to one of her minions. After all, she's breeding them for something.”

Dariusz Hess nodded his head thoughtfully and smiled as if he was just working out a devilish plan in his head.

“Joanna, yeeeeeees, this can bring very interesting results to our company.”

***

Adam tried to get drunk, but alcohol had never been as disgusting as it was now. Having it in his mouth felt like he was about to return the entire contents of his stomach in a moment. Only when he was drunk could he stop thinking, shake off the heavy yoke of consciousness and the headache that was blowing up his skull. To drown and fall down, not to get up for a day, two, maybe a month. Maybe never again. To throw off that monster face he saw in the interrogation room.

When Adam decided to become a lawyer, he wanted to help all those who were too weak to fight false accusations or an evil system. Most people broke the law unknowingly, or in desperation seeing no other solution. It wasn't their fault, it was the circumstances in which they lived, a world that rejected their otherness or exploited their weakness.

The old ladies who were dragged into bedding for a few thousand, who were not able to pay back the debt they had incurred by buying it, the people of low intelligence and urgent needs who took loans from thieving loan companies, the youth who, wanting to draw attention to themselves from parents who ignored them, got into petty trouble with the law... It was for them that he became a lawyer, for all those not evil, but helpless in the face of the system and able to exploit it monsters.

For him, the weak and helpless was also Wojciech Kwiecień, a man who could not arrange his private life, but worked honestly for a living. As luck would have it, he lived in the serial killer's hunting territory and fit the profile drawn up by the criminal psychologist. Detained for questioning, he had no alibi. The police focused the entire investigation on him and obtained a confession. Yes, they also found evidence, circumstantial evidence that could mean anything. It only took one look at the case and at the arrestee himself to see him as a scapegoat. A serial killer had to be caught and punished and since they couldn't catch the real one, they would punish someone in his place.

That's how Adam saw it. And that’s why he was so devastated right at this moment…