Grassroots lawyers also have their day

Wang Chuan had used every conceivable piece of knowledge about mechanics he could think of. Towards the end, he didn't even know what he was saying anymore; his brain couldn't keep up with the speed of his mouth.

Back then, he had two choices: one was to study law through self-study, and the other was to study philosophy through self-study. These two majors had one thing in common: they didn't require math, physics, or chemistry. Ah... that's how great it was, no math, physics, or chemistry required!

There's nothing we can do about it; Wang Chuan wasn't good at math, physics, and chemistry back then.

The simple-looking middle-aged man opposite me clearly hadn't studied mechanics systematically, only having a vague understanding. He looked bewildered and said, "I understand, you mean the law of conservation of energy is at work."

"That's right! Your perpetual motion machine can't be a castle in the air. Even in the air, there is friction, which will definitely consume the power of the perpetual motion machine... If you want the theory of perpetual motion to work, you must first solve the law of conservation of energy and universal gravitation..."

To be honest, Wang Chuan didn't know if what he said was right or wrong, but as long as the contradiction was brought to the commonly known laws of mechanics, it would be fine.

If only I had a colleague who studied mechanics by my side, Wang Chuan thought. He glanced at Wei Ping beside him, but when he saw the beautiful Wei's bewildered eyes, he gave up on inviting her to join in the deception.

"Okay, okay, I understand. Having a goal gives me direction. I'll go do some research and refine my perpetual motion machine theory. I'll come back to ask you for advice when I make a breakthrough!" The simple-looking middle-aged man was beaming with excitement, as if he had struck gold in his own backyard.

Looking into the determined eyes of the simple, middle-aged man, Wang Chuan felt a pang of sadness, wondering if he had been right to try and fool him. Was this guy really going to spend the rest of his life trying to overturn the law of conservation of energy?

As Wang Chuan saw the simple-minded middle-aged man off from the law firm, Wei Ping looked at him with boundless admiration. She hadn't expected that her senior brother would actually have a background in mechanics; he was quite the smooth talker!

Wang Chuan successfully completed the mission. When he came out of Director Niu's office, Zheng Penzi and the others had already learned the details from Wei Ping.

"Wang Chuan! Senior Brother! I admire you so much, you are my idol!" Zheng clasped her hands together in front of her chest, looking like a little girl chasing after a star.

"Don't engage in personality cults, we don't do that!" Wang Chuan said with a bright smile.

Immediately afterward, Zheng's expression changed: "Pah! An idol... an object of vomiting!"

"Senior Brother, I envy you so much! You are so knowledgeable!" Pan Jinlian said with a grin before Wang Chuan could even react.

"See, Comrade Pan really knows how to talk!" Wang Chuan said smugly. Then he looked at Pan Jinlian and said in a low voice, "Don't envy me, I'm just a legend!"

"Pah! You big liar! I thought Zhang the Liar was already pretty good, but I didn't expect you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be even better at swindling." Pan Jinlian hurriedly laughed and scolded Zheng the troll before he was about to speak again. Everyone burst into laughter.

Zheng opened her mouth halfway and made two slurs, but ultimately couldn't say anything. Everyone laughed, interrupting her train of thought.

Hao Renyuan, acting like a mere errand boy, dusted off his senior brother's chair and then gestured for him to sit down: "Senior brother, you've worked hard. Please have a seat! The tea is ready!"

Wei Ping covered her mouth and giggled non-stop.

Wang Chuan shook his head, forcing a helpless smile. The morning passed in laughter!

At noon, Zheng Yi also joined the army of people who went to eat rice bowls a kilometer away.

He was just a salaried lawyer, living off his salary of a little over three thousand a month—not a lot, but not a little either. It was enough to get by in Beijing, just enough to rent a place. Of course, he tried to save money wherever possible in his daily life.

In reality, most lawyers live a rather frugal life, especially self-employed commission lawyers. Some are starving while others are drowning in wealth, and most of the time they are suffering and anxious while searching for cases!

Wang Chuan had just returned to the law firm after lunch when Mu Huaijin conscripted him into the force.

"Wang Chuan, a client is coming this afternoon. He was recommended by General Manager Hu, who came last time. Apparently, one of their employees had an accident at a construction site and is going to file a lawsuit. You and Attorney Zheng will receive him this afternoon," Mu Huaijin instructed.

Mu Huaijin is reluctant to handle labor dispute cases, mainly because they are not profitable. He only charges around five or ten thousand yuan per case, and in rare cases he can charge more, but he may not be able to handle even one such case in a year. However, there is a lot of work to be done.

More importantly, labor law is a type of social law, with complex content. In practice, the standards for its enforcement vary greatly, and the application of labor-related laws and regulations is adjusted in accordance with the development and changes in the social economy.

To put it bluntly, judges and labor arbitrators generally tend to favor the disadvantaged group of workers. Why? Because the Labor Law was drafted with a clear bias.

However, there are always exceptions. When the economy is in a downturn or development is sluggish, a large number of businesses face operational difficulties. In order to maintain economic stability, judges and labor arbitrators may, in accordance with the directives from higher authorities, be more inclined to favor the businesses.

Therefore, many lawyers feel that labor law is too complex, with countless administrative regulations, departmental rules, and local documents, and in practice, it is even more unpredictable and difficult to handle. In the same type of case, the worker might win this year, but next year they might pressure you to negotiate a settlement, or even rule against the worker.

Moreover, even within the same province and region, labor arbitration rulings can be overturned by the courts, and even judgments from the provincial high court can sometimes conflict with each other. This is a characteristic of labor law.

Since it doesn't make money and requires a lot of time and energy to research, Mu Huaijin is unwilling to do labor-related cases and tries to get rid of as many as possible.

However, salaried lawyers at law firms can do it, and they have to. They're paid by the firm, so even if they don't want to, they have to grit their teeth and do it.

Most lawyers have handled labor dispute cases, or at least one or two, but expertise in them is another matter. Zheng Yi was in this situation; he didn't want to do it, but he had no choice. Fortunately, Wang Chuan was there to help, so he could delegate most of the work he didn't want to do.

Before the client arrived, Zheng Yi called Wang Chuan into the meeting room under the pretext of discussing the case.

"Wang Chuan, would you like to do more cases?" Zheng Yi asked mysteriously.

Wang Chuan looked at him and nodded heavily, wondering what Zheng Yi was planning to do.

In Wang Chuan's opinion, Zheng Yi's question was completely pointless! What intern lawyer doesn't want to handle cases, or at least not many? Within their capabilities, of course, the more cases the better!

"What I mean is to handle cases independently, not by following a lawyer! Do you understand what I mean?" Zheng Yi explained again, afraid that Wang Chuan hadn't understood.