Herewith, the first weekly vignette in my new Thursday feature:
When I first started practicing in this field in the late 1980s, I enjoyed titillating glimpses into a lifestyle that I could not have imagined growing up in a small upstate town. One of our clients had a Renoir hanging over the toilet in the powder room. Another had a full-time silver polisher on his household staff. Yet another had an entire room filled with her shoes and someone who came in twice a week to clean and polish them. The very first client whose case I worked on as a young associate earned $20M per year -- and that was when twenty million dollars was still a lot of money! Despite the tens of millions of dollars of assets that changed hands in that case, the settlement came down to one lapis lazuli picture frame the parties had acquired at Aspreys. Neither party would budge -- each one wanted it. The solution? The lawyers, who were exhausted and exasperated after four years of litigation, ordered a duplicate from Aspreys and told each party that he/she had prevailed.
"They were new money, without a doubt: so new it shrieked. Their clothes looked as if they'd covered themselves in glue, then rolled around in hundred-dollar bills." Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin.
My husband's old boss (around the same time) used to say that you didn't have a lot of money unless you were worth $50M! I could manage with less.
Posted by: Laura | October 28, 2010 at 07:57 AM
Hi Laura: Yeah, I could just about squeak by with less... Ha!
Posted by: Karen | October 28, 2010 at 08:34 AM
Unfortunately, one can't buy common sense with money! Love the Atwood quote; so apt. A Renoir in the dunny? That's sacrilegious! :)
Posted by: Violet | October 28, 2010 at 10:03 AM
I once heard of a "settlement of the assets" as follows: Bride and Groom could not agree on distribution of a long numbered list of personal memorabilia, jewelry, household assets and the like. After much squabbling as to who gets what, the Judge solved the problem by announcing that the Groom would get the odd-numbered items, and the Bride would get the even-numbered items. Smart Judge. Cuts down on greed considerably.
Posted by: mytwocentsworth | October 28, 2010 at 10:50 AM
I have often thought of having a portrait of my ex husband in my powder room...along with a set of darts!
Then I think how it would be more fun to just run him down on the FDR Drive. Am I off point? Sorry.
Posted by: Martha Snow | October 28, 2010 at 11:02 AM
I love the story about the frame. But I didn't know lawyers could be dishonest...
Posted by: Thomas at My Porch | October 28, 2010 at 11:08 AM
That's some crazy business!!
Posted by: martina | October 28, 2010 at 11:11 AM
Love your new Thursday feature. I think I will look forward to this as much as I do "Seen on the Subway."
Posted by: Carol Roberts | October 28, 2010 at 11:41 AM
Hi Violet: Glad you like the quote -- it certainly "fit."
Hello MyTwoCentsWorth: Actually, that's a methodology we use all the time in our settled cases; I recently used it to divide the personal property in very fancy Upper East Side duplex. The process starts with a coin toss; the winner of the coin toss makes the first "pick," and then the other spouse takes a turn, and then it continues until all of the personal property has been divided between them. Works like a charm, and keeps the lawyers out of it (we all DETEST having to deal with that aspect of it).
Hello Martha: So . . . you're not bitter, is that what you're trying to say? LOL! Thanks for stopping by.
Thomas: "Dishonest"? I think you mean "creative" and "problem-solving." Yes, I'm sure that's what you meant.
Hi Martina: Yes, welcome to my world....
Hello Carol: So glad you found it amusing!
Posted by: Karen | October 28, 2010 at 11:55 AM
You know, there are some late Renoirs I've seen at the Barnes that are only appropriate for the W.C. Maybe it was from that period?
When the ex and I were splitting up first thing out of my mouth was "The Le Creusets are going with me."
Posted by: Christine | October 28, 2010 at 11:56 AM
Needless to say I am in an entirely different tax bracket than these folks. So people this rich really exist? It's an alien world to me...and here I am excited about getting a package in the mail with two books from The Book Depository! :)
Posted by: Danielle | October 28, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Hello Christine: Ah -- Le Creuset -- excellent choice.
Hi Danielle: Oh yes, people this rich really DO exist. Manhattan is full of them; and they form my client base. Rich people with bad personal lives. That's my business.
Posted by: Karen | October 28, 2010 at 02:49 PM
Love the post Karen. It sounds just like the Judith Krantz novels I used to devour when my eldest kids were babies and I was too tired to read anything more challenging!
Posted by: Liz F | October 29, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Hi LizF: Hmm... So THERE'S an idea....Perhaps I should try my hand at light fiction/romance novels -- I certainly have the material for it!
Posted by: Karen | October 29, 2010 at 11:36 AM
Another great topic from you. You are my glimpse into a world I really don't know at all - subways and the rich. I thought we all had Renoirs in our 'powder rooms.' Oh, I guess I have to have a powder room first. ;<)
Posted by: Nan | November 05, 2010 at 01:54 PM
Hi Nan: I think I would prefer Monet, or perhaps an Old Master . . . LOL!!
Posted by: Karen | November 06, 2010 at 01:41 PM