«Her name is Abby. She has a degree in elementary education from Western Kentucky. We graduated one week and got married the next. For the past three years shes taught at a private kindergarten near Boston College.»
«And is the marriage -»
«Were very happy. Weve known each other since high school.»
«Mitch, our firm frowns on drinking and chasing women. We put business ahead of everything. We work very hard. And we make plenty of money,» Oliver Lambert said
«I can live with all that.»
«We reserve the right to test any member of the firm for drug use.»
«I dont use drugs.»
«Good. Whats your religious affiliation?»
«Methodist.»
«Good. Youll find a wide variety in our firm. Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians. Its really none of our business, but we like to know. We want stable families. Happy lawyers are productive lawyers. Thats why we ask these questions.» Mitch smiled and nodded. Hed heard this before. The three looked at each other, then at Mitch. This meant they had reached the point in the interview where the interviewee was supposed to ask one or two intelligent questions. Money, that was the big question, particularly how it compared to his other offers. If it isnt enough, thought Mitch, then it was nice to meet you fellas. If the pay is attractive, then we can discuss families and marriages and football and churches.
But, he knew, like all the other firms they had to shadowbox around the issue until things got awkward and it was apparent they had discussed everything in the world but money. So, hit them with a soft question first.
«What type of work will I do initially?» They nodded and approved of the question. Lambert and McKnight looked at Lamar. This answer was his.
«We have something similar to a two-year apprenticeship, although we dont call it that. Well send you all over the country to tax seminars. Your education is far from over. Youll spend two weeks next winter in Washington at the American Tax Institute. As far as practicing law, it wont be very exciting for the first two years. Youll do a lot of research and generally boring stuff. But youll be paid handsomely.»
«How much?»
Lamar looked at Royce McKnight, who eyed Mitch and said, «Well discuss the compensation and other benefits when you come to Memphis.»
«I want a ballpark figure or I may not come to Memphis.»
He smiled, arrogant but cordial. He spoke like a man with three job offers. The partners smiled at each other, and Mr. Lambert spoke first.
«Okay. A base salary of eighty thousand the first year, plus bonuses. Eighty-five the second year, plus bonuses. A low-interest mortgage so you can buy a home. Two country club memberships. And a new BMW. You pick the color, of course.»
He tried to conceal a smile, but it was impossible. He chuckled.
«Thats incredible», he mumbled. Eighty thousand in Memphis equalled a hundred and twenty thousand in New York.
Mitch thought about this for a second and figured by the time he was thirty he could be well over a hundred thousand, maybe close to two hundred thousand. At the age of thirty! They watched him carefully and knew exactly what he was calculating.
«Tell me about your firm.»
«Its an impressive firm, Mitch,» Oliver Lambert said, «and were very proud of it. Were small and we take care of each other. We dont have the cutthroat competition the big firms are famous for. Were very careful whom we hire, and our goal is for each new associate to become a partner as soon as possible. Toward that end we invest an enormous amount of time and money in ourselves, especially our new people. It is a rare, extremely rare occasion when a lawyer leaves our firm. It is simply unheard of. We go the extra mile to keep careers on track. We want our people happy. We think it is the most profitable way to operate.» «I have another impressive statistic,» Mr. McKnight added. «Last year, for firms our size or larger, the average turnover rate among associates was twenty-eight percent. At Bendini, Lambert & Locke, it was zero. Year before, zero. Its been a long time since a lawyer left our firm.» They watched him carefully to make sure all of this sank in. They explained as best they could, for now. Further explanation would come later.
2. Answer the following questions about the text, use the words and expressions from the Vocabulary list.
1. Why did the senior partner of the law firm in Memphis consider Mitchell Y.McDeere to be their best prospect for the year?
2. Why did ex CIA agents do investigating for the firm for no fee?
3. What did they find out about Mitch while investigating his background?
4. Why did Mitch think he could afford to be a little overconfident at the interview?
5. What did you learn from the text about Oliver Lamberts position in the firm?
6. What did Oliver Lambert think all interviewees went through when being interviewed for a job?
7. How did Royce McKnight, the managing partner explain to Mitch the difference between their firm and other law firms?
8. What activities was the firm involved in?
9. What questions was Mitch asked at the interview?
10. What did Mitch tell his interviewers about his educational background (his family, his wife, his religious affiliation)?
11. What type of work was Mitch to do initially if he joined the firm?
12. What compensation and benefits was Mitch offered?
13. Why was Mitch impressed by the offer?
14. What kind of clients did the firm deal with?
15. What career prospects did the firm offer Mitch?
16. Why did the firm invest a lot of time and money in their new people?
17. What did Mr. Lambert tell Mitch about the history of their firm?
Questions for Discussion
18. Do you think Mitch will accept the offer? Why?
19. Considering Mitchs behaviour during the interview, do you think he fancies such a job?
20. Could you trace how Mitchs attitude and behaviour changed during the interview?
21. Would you take up such a job offer if you were Mitch? Why/ why not?
3. Study the vocabulary list
frown intrans. не одобрять, высказывать неодобрение
Eg. critics frown at the idea
womanize волочиться за женщинами
womanizer пренебр. бабник
degree диплом (о высшем образовании), уровень владения специальностью
to hold a degree on получить степень по какой-либо специальности
Eg. Hes got a degree on accounting and securities.
степень, мера
to a (certain) degree в некоторой степени, в какой-то мере
E.g. different in degree, but not in kind
choice выбор
top choice лучший выбор
to have big/little/low choice иметь большой/небольшой выбор
to have no choice не иметь выбора
outfit зд. компания, организация, структура, подразделение
Eg. private intelligence outfit
снаряжение, экипировка, оборудование
fee гонорар, вознаграждение,
for no fee
tuition fee, admission fee
Eg.The fee is reasonable плата приемлемая
offer предложение, оферта
job offer предложение работы
to hold a job offer получить предложение работы
Eg. He turned down an offer to run the company.
demand спрос,
to be in demand пользоваться спросом
to be on demand по требованию, по запросу
cheat зд. cписывать, нарушать правила
Eg. He cheated on the exam and got D on it.
обманывать, обводить вокруг пальца
Eg. They asked 300 bucks to repair my plasma TV, and I suspected they cheated on me.