Grassroots lawyers also have their day

"Solo? But... the Bar Association doesn't allow us to handle cases solo! We need to appear in court with a lawyer!..." Wang Chuan immediately understood: "You mean... I'll handle the case, and then I'll bring you along to court, putting your name on the bill?"

The approach Wang Chuan described is very common among intern lawyers, especially those who are essentially "free-range" or "affiliated" with law firms. Specifically, intern lawyers are responsible for their own profits and losses; the law firm doesn't pay their salaries or actually manage them. The interns find cases themselves, then negotiate and sign contracts.

However, since trainee lawyers cannot practice independently and need to appear in court with a lawyer, there is an alternative way: after finding a case, the trainee lawyer discusses a profit-sharing ratio with the lawyer or mentor, and then writes the lawyer's name and his own name on the power of attorney to appear in court.

During court hearings, lawyers typically don't attend; they merely appear in court as legal representatives. If the judge asks, they simply make up an excuse, and usually no one cares. Lawyers who appear in court receive substantial kickbacks, while interns earn income from their cases and don't starve. It's a win-win situation for both sides.

Such practices are limited to civil and commercial cases and are absolutely prohibited in criminal cases.

In criminal trials, judges are strictly prohibited from allowing trainee lawyers to speak, because, in terms of their legal status, trainee lawyers are not considered lawyers. Trainee lawyers holding intern licenses are not allowed to meet with criminal suspects alone, as the police do not recognize their licenses.

Even in civil cases, judges consider trainee lawyers to be participating in court as natural persons, as evidenced by the judges' requirement for trainee lawyers to provide their ID card information.

This is similar to how soy sauce is labeled with the word "oil," but nobody actually uses it as cooking oil when cooking!

However, judicial reforms a few years later prohibited this deceptive practice by intern lawyers. Simply put, courts no longer allow intern lawyers to speak independently in court hearings, or even to file cases independently. Intern lawyers were reverted to their true apprenticeship status. (Regulations vary across the country; in some areas, intern lawyers are still allowed to speak in court hearings and file cases independently.)

This practice by the judiciary further squeezed the space for trainee lawyers to practice independently. However, things are always changing. As the regulations of the judiciary changed, the way trainee lawyers handled cases also changed in response to the changing circumstances.

For example, when appearing in court, the mentor or other lawyers would appear in person, and the trainee lawyers would accompany them. However, this practice directly led to a sharp decrease in the trainee lawyers' income. The lawyers who were nominally represented would have so-called "control" over the case and would take the majority of the legal fees. The poor trainee lawyers would work hard all day, and the money they received might only be enough for three meals.

Wang Chuan felt a surge of excitement upon seeing Zheng Yi nod, but then became worried again.

The reason for the excitement was that I could finally handle cases on my own, instead of just following my mentor and doing the work myself. I would personally take charge of cases and engage in a real battle of wits and arguments with the opposing side in court.

However, he was also worried about his limited abilities. Although he had participated in several cases, he had only been an assistant, and documents such as indictments, responses, and lists of evidence had all been reviewed and revised by Director Niu or Mu Huaijin. Could he take on a major responsibility? This was his concern.

Zheng Yi saw Wang Chuan's worry: "Don't be afraid, you'll have to take this step sooner or later. I won't give you complicated cases, I'll give you some labor dispute cases first, you can work on them first. I will review them in the end, but you will have to do all the work before that yourself."

"Will Director Niu and Attorney Mu...?" Wang Chuan raised another question.

After all, the case was assigned to Zheng Yi. If the intern lawyer Wang Chuan were to handle it all, who knows what problems might arise if it were discovered! Wang Chuan was timid and didn't want to offend the boss over this. If he were kicked out of the law firm, his intern lawyer's license would also be revoked, which would really be a loss for him!

"Don't worry about that. I'll tell them to have you assist me in handling the case. The firm won't care who prepared the specific case ideas and legal documents. They only care about the results, not the process."

On the other hand, they are happy for you to become independent as soon as possible, so that you can make money for the firm as soon as you get your lawyer's license, and they certainly won't have any objections.

"Besides, I'm here for you. I'm not completely abandoning you. I'll take responsibility for you, so what are you afraid of?" Zheng Yi advised.

Wang Chuan thought about it and realized that Zheng Yi was right. Even when working on cases with Director Niu or Attorney Mu, they would occasionally let him do some simple things on his own. If he could handle cases independently, it would only benefit the law firm and not harm it.

"Okay, I'll do it." After saying that, Wang Chuan felt a surge of barely suppressed excitement.

"If the client's case that comes in this afternoon can be signed, you'll be in charge of it. Don't worry, you'll get used to it with practice," Zheng Yi encouraged with a smile.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Wei Ping walked in.

"Attorney Zheng, the client has arrived," Wei Ping said.

The man who entered the conference room was in his forties. He had big eyes, a square face, a high nose, and large, thick earlobes. He looked very auspicious and had his hair parted in a 3/7 style.

"Hello Mr. Liu, I'm Attorney Zheng, and this is my assistant, Wang Chuan." After they were seated, Zheng Yi said, "Please introduce the case first, and we'll analyze it."

"Okay. Actually, our company's case isn't complicated."

Our company is a small landscaping company. At the beginning of the year, we contracted a landscaping project in Shijiazhuang. One of our employees injured his foot during construction, and the company helped him apply for workers' compensation. It was eventually classified as a level 10 workers' injury, and we paid all the compensation due.

An employee injured his foot and couldn't work, so we let him rest in the dormitory. However, last month he suddenly fainted in the dormitory and was later rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, but fortunately, he was saved in time.

The person has been discharged from the hospital, but his family is unhappy and is demanding compensation from the company. They insist it's a work-related injury, but the two sides couldn't reach an agreement. The employee then applied for work-related injury compensation himself at the labor bureau, but the application was rejected by the labor department, which determined it didn't qualify as a work-related injury.

Later, the employee, dissatisfied, filed for labor arbitration with the company. That's the gist of the matter," General Manager Liu briefly explained the case.

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "If the labor department determines that it is not a work-related injury, they should have no problem filing a lawsuit in labor arbitration."

The employee did not fall ill while on duty, and since he did not die within 48 hours, it should not be considered a work-related injury, and the company should not compensate him.

"Yes, that's what they say, but the other party has filed for labor arbitration against our company. We're thinking of hiring a lawyer to handle it. What do you think..." General Manager Liu looked at Zheng Yi.