Daniel Kowan was a research associate at Clinton, Struck and Moss, a firm representing defendants in product liability cases. Clinton, Struck and Moss is based in The City. OK, not The City. San Jose.

Clinton, Struck and Moss has its offices in a 1920s mission style home near the Rose Garden. The old house, and its lawns and gardens, are nice enough. Parking is a pain in the ass, it’s hard for clients to find, and there’s nothing decent to eat in the neighborhood.

Daniel provides support to the firm’s attorneys defending corporations against claims of negligence in product design, manufacturing and packaging. Daniel, a self-identified liberal and champion of the common man, isn’t particularly conflicted by this. In fact, he takes a secret satisfaction representing “the enemy.” He enjoys the irony of being a double agent. When his university classmates were looking for internships in environmental law, intellectual property, and entertainment law, Daniel sought out firms that represented tobacco and oil companies.

Just last month, Daniel had been recognized for his work on a case in which a client had been accused of manufacturing an electric stapler with a tendency to spring open on its own and fire off a few dozen rounds of staples into the air when positioned at a certain angle. Daniel had found prior cases in other industries in which defendants were able to secure a dismissal by claiming users of dangerous devices have a safety obligation of their own, and manufacturers alone can not be expected to anticipate all the scenarios under which such a device might be used. Further, no deaths had occurred, and only three people received serious eye injuries, even though the company had shipped several hundred thousand staplers, which was well below acceptable rates for workplace injuries.

Daniel wasn’t thinking about electric staplers. He was thinking about the 19-year-old Goth chick behind the counter at ShittyMart. The name of the store was actually CityMart, which Daniel found too cosmopolitan, and he was fond of inventing his own names for things anyway.

He had a thing for Goth chicks. Had she given him more than a courtesy smile this morning as he stopped for breakfast? He was certain she was interested at some level. Most days he wore a suit to work, which he reasoned might be a barrier, her with her black jeans and t-shirt. He hadn’t said anything to her this morning, other than “thank you,” nor had he any other morning for nearly a year. Perhaps tomorrow would be the day he came up with something clever to say, though probably not.

The clock on the wall indicated something like 3:39. It was analog, making it nearly useless for displaying the precise time. Daniel decided he would leave at 4:42, the model number for a certain classic Oldsmobile. He believed that certain numbers brought with them good fortune.

Daniel looked at the clock on his computer, and at 4:40, he shut it down. He gathered his things, and walked slowly to the door, looking at the time on his phone, making sure to walk out at exactly 4:42.

Chapter 1 was published in a part of Craig’s List devoted to job postings, which meant that I had to pay $75 for the privilege of posting it. It also meant I ran the risk of making people feel deceived, or feeling that their time had been wasted.

Here were some of the responses:

1. please continue
2. Nice, is your posting an excerpt of a larger story?
3. Nicely written tale.  Kept my interest.  Why is this posted on Craigslist?  What happened to Daniel?  You keep referring to him the past tense.
4. I have no idea what this post was about, but it was AWESOME.

One person replied with their own continuation of the story, which, if I were a hiring manager, would have moved this candidate to the top of the list:

“Well would you believe it, and no one saw it coming?! Thank god someone awake at the firm – an attorney maybe – noticed Daniel has gone and realized the firm needs a replacement.  Hope someone tells HR to send him an immediate check with an accounting for holiday pay etc so the firm does not lose Daniel and mucho dollars.

To stem the tide perhaps you need a good business person to do some research; someone (not a clock watcher) who understands business from the inside out and who does not know “enemies” just people (with different positions) whose legitimate interests need zealously defending.  Perhaps such a Phoenix could raise from these ashes?

Should you think you need someone to cook or improve the parking – I suggest you look elsewhere, for the former I too look elsewhere, and for the latter I think of the walk as exercise.

Continue to Enjoy!”

There were a number of responses from people who took the posting to be a legitimate job opening, and why not? If I was looking for a job at a law firm I would have given it a shot as well.

Finally, one respondent informed me I was wrong about the Olds 442. I regret the error, which I have corrected.

Today I published the first chapter of my Craig’s List novella Evidence to the Contrary. I will write about one chapter a week, which will be posted somewhere on Craig’s List appropriate to the theme of that chapter. In Chapter 1, for example, we learn that Daniel Kowan is a research associate for Clinton, Struck and Moss, a firm representing defendants in product liability cases, so this chapter is posted under SF bay area craigslist > jobs > legal/paralegal jobs.

Chapter titles will be the same as the subject line for the Craig’s List post. The chapters will be posted on Craig’s List without explanation, as “ordinary” posts. Due to the ephemeral nature of Craig’s List (listings disappear after a certain period of time), I will also post chapters here, but not immediately.

I encourage your comments, criticisms and storyline suggestions. To leave a comment, click on the title of this post.