Free Web NovelChapter 396: Chapter 283: New Case! [Monthly Ticket Request]
Blue Shield Law Firm has officially changed hands, with the sign removed, and dozens of lawyers scattering. Even the founder, Sister Zhang, had to reluctantly leave Qingshi City.
You could say Blue Shield Law Firm is as dead as it can be!
The building is still quite good; the renovation is mostly intact. Only some computers were taken, but the basic facilities remain, such as the hotline for consultations.
"Do you have any commission?"
Xu Liang asked softly.
"Rest assured, our law firm is more professional and efficient than Blue Shield, with a robust team of lawyer resources!"
"Whatever Blue Shield can handle, we can handle, and what Blue Shield cannot handle, we can still handle!"
What is this phone call?
This is his first case in Qingshi City!
Whether he can achieve a successful start depends entirely on the other party!
But as the words fell, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Xu Liang was not in a hurry and patiently waited without urging.
Finally, the other party spoke:
"I... I’m in Zhengyang City... Can you come over for a face-to-face meeting?"
Zhengyang City?
Where is Zhengyang City?
Xu Liang paused immediately, and several place names flashed in his mind.
Qingshi City, Jiang City, Sunzhou, Hanhai City....
He knows every area in Lanshan Province like the back of his hand, but he couldn’t find a place called Zhengyang City.
Until Su Yu next to him spoke softly:
"It’s not in Lanshan Province, it’s in the neighboring Nanhai Province..."
Neighboring Nanhai...
With that hint, Xu Liang’s mind quickly spun, and before long, his mind conjured up information related to Zhengyang City in Nanhai Province.
Nanhai Province is still one of Eastern Country’s major provinces, with significant strategic value!
The province is rich in mineral resources. The type of mineral resources is diverse, with reserves among the top in the country. It also promotes agriculture, making it one of the major grain-producing areas in the country.
However, these two things can also lead to one situation emerging, which is...
Poverty!
Nanhai Province is relatively poor. Minerals and agriculture make the city unable to keep up with modernization, technology, information, or the financial sector, lagging behind some provinces, so it is often subconsciously considered ’poor’.
Of course.
Xu Liang doesn’t mind it at all; he only knows one thing.
The customer is king!
"Zhengyang City... okay, it’s not far from us."
"But can you specify your exact location and further elaborate on your personal requests?"
Xu Liang thought briefly and then replied.
Cases are usually discussed face-to-face, and the other party has made a very reasonable request.
What’s unreasonable is that, judging by the tone... they’re asking for the law firm’s lawyer to find them, rather than the other party proactively visiting the law firm!
But it’s actually fine.
After all, even if he came to Qingshi City, the case doesn’t belong to Qingshi City. After accepting the commission, they still have to take people back to Zhengyang City to litigate.
Going sooner or later is the same, unless after going there, cooperation isn’t achieved, making the time and effort and cost of the trip wasted.
So before going, it’s still necessary to clarify things first.
"I’m at Yangshan Gully in Zhengyang City, inside Run Dong Weaving Plant. My name is Zhang Shan!"
The voice on the other end sounded slightly agitated.
Then, as if trying to avoid something, he hurriedly lowered his voice.
Xu Liang asked again: "Mr. Zhang, may I ask what your commission is, or what difficult situation you’re facing?"
After a while, the other party lowered his voice and said:
"I... I... I can’t articulate."
He remained vague for quite some time but couldn’t explain his current predicament regardless.
Xu Liang pondered for a moment, vaguely detecting something.
’Economic dispute? If it’s an economic dispute, it’s hard to explain, but... why lower the voice?’
’Something’s a bit odd.’
Xu Liang pondered for a while, but regardless....
’It’s worth trying. A round-trip flight is merely four hours!’
"Alright, Zhengyang City, Yangshan Gully, inside Run Dong Weaving Plant, got it."
"I’ve noted it down, Mr. Zheng. I will probably lead the team over tomorrow afternoon to discuss the commission with you."
Upon hearing.
The person on the other end of the phone sighed in relief and somewhat awkwardly said:
"Thank you, after you arrive at the plant, just say you’re looking for Zhang...."
Before he finished speaking, in the next second, a ’beep beep’ sound suddenly echoed in his ear.
This is...
The call was disconnected!?
Xu Liang was slightly taken aback, then his face showed understanding.
"It could be the phone bill."
The other party probably used a landline, and these days only about 1 in 13 households in rural areas have a landline, with even fewer having mobile phones.
Typically, they have to borrow someone else’s phone to call, and if they can’t borrow, they can naturally go to a small shop and pay a certain amount of money to make a call.
"What do we do now?"
Yang Ruoxi asked skeptically.
"Let’s fly to Zhengyang City tomorrow." freewёbnoνel.com
Xu Liang placed the receiver back and spoke casually.
Upon hearing this.
Liu Xun and Zhang Cheng, who came with him, were slightly surprised, saying:
"Director Xu, are you really planning to take on this case?"
"Why not?" Xu Liang replied with a smile.
Zhang Cheng paused and hesitated, worrying that what he was about to say might upset Xu Liang. But after some thought, he still reminded him:
"The other party might not have the money to pay the commission..."
Unexpected phone disconnections are usually due to unpaid bills, or perhaps as Xu Liang guessed.
But either way... they often indirectly confirm the fact of being ’broke’ or ’poor’!
Otherwise, if it were an accident... theoretically, the other party should have paid or topped up their phone bill and then called back!
So, that guy named Zhang Shan most likely has no money!
"We might end up in a financial dispute with the client after completing the commission."
Zhang Cheng said, slowly explaining.
He’s a seasoned lawyer, speaking from personal experience.
Financial disputes + handling commissions, completing these two things might take half a year, hoping for a big payout, but chances are...
"It might not even involve much money," Liu Xun also explained.
"We might even incur losses just flying there!"
Which is to say, we might not even make enough to cover the plane ticket!
"No worries, the law firm will eventually need to expand its business beyond the province, and Zhengyang City might be an opportunity to experience the judicial system outside the province first."
Xu Liang said, not thinking there was anything excessive in what the others said.
Lawyers are human too. They need to eat and can’t spend energy helping someone for free. It’s good to be kind, but not too much.
The most important thing in a case for a lawyer is the commission fee!
Forcing someone to take a case on moral grounds... is no different from saying, ’Treat the company as your family, is that how you repay the company?’
In fact, the two of them daring to say these things to Xu Liang shows they don’t see Xu Liang and the others as outsiders.
The most crucial thing is...
"You know, every province has slight differences in their judicial systems, and business outside the province is inevitable. It’s better to understand early and make plans to avoid getting tripped up later."
Xu Liang slowly explained.
Hearing this, Zhang Cheng and Liu Xun thought for a moment and nodded.
Each province’s judicial environment is different.
Take the most straightforward example.
Upper City and Lanshan Province!
Fighting a lawsuit in these two areas requires considering and facing completely different challenges. If you recklessly take a case in Upper City using Lanshan Province’s methods... you’ll likely end up beaten and ridiculed as a fool!
Seeing no further objections, Xu Liang stopped discussing and said:
"By the way, have Xia Yao and the others come to Qingshi City, and wrap things up quickly in Hanhai City."
The provincial capital’s business value is always worth more than commissions in Hanhai City.
If you come one day late, you’ll earn one day less!
After arranging things,
they began familiarizing themselves with the new law firm’s building structure.
Ordinary law firms are similar to small companies, usually renting a floor in an office building, sometimes with only a few offices.
But the law firm right now is different.
This is a standalone building!
It has five floors, a reception hall, a lounge, and the office space is very impressive. Xu Liang even has his own office now!
Inside the top office.
Xu Liang sat in his chair, looking at the solid wood desk in front of him, with a look of emotion on his face.
"If I were to get rated, I’d start as a top-notch lawyer, yet I didn’t even have an office in the past... no one would believe it if I said it!"
As he spoke, a nostalgic look appeared on his face.
The law firm in Hanhai City only had a communal office hall and a few meeting rooms.
There wasn’t even an individual office!
In the past, when he took on cases, he was no different from Wang Feiyu and the others, waiting in the office hall for consultation calls, and if the commission looked good, he’d take the case...
But now, things are different.
This is the kind of treatment a law firm owner should enjoy!
"Hey Xiaoyang, why didn’t you reserve an office for yourself before?"
Xu Liang suddenly got interested, sat up straight, and looked curiously at Yang Ruoxi, who was glancing around in front of him.
In an instant, Yang Ruoxi’s expression froze.
"I... I uh... didn’t have much budget..."
Yang Ruoxi evaded and mumbled unclearly.
Not much budget?
"That can’t be right, that building belongs to your family, at most just the renovation cost, how come you didn’t have the funds!?" Xu Liang was surprised.
Yang Ruoxi’s face flushed slightly, her eyes darting around, but she still didn’t speak up.
Su Yu blinked and suddenly said, "Could it be that Sister Yang never expected the law firm to grow big, so she didn’t consider her working environment..."
Let’s not speculate whether the other party opened a law firm on a whim without considering this.
If I remember correctly.
Including the owner, Yang Ruoxi’s law firm only ever had four people until it folded.
In that case... it really wasn’t necessary to set up individual offices!
"What do you mean unnecessary!?"
Yang Ruoxi’s face flushed red as she spoke:
"I was clearly being considerate of my subordinates. Working in the same place with them helps with team cohesion!"
"Besides, for lawyers... how could it be said I didn’t consider things? It was precisely because I considered I was a lawyer that I didn’t need an office!"
Like Xu Liang, who usually only takes criminal cases, essentially requiring him to be out and about 24/7.
The office scarcely holds any benefit, only financial cases demand long periods seated in a chair!
So...
"How is it the same!?"
