Grassroots lawyers also have their day

Wang Chuan spoke for a full ten minutes, reciting his self-introduction, which he had prepared over the past few weeks. This time, he learned from his previous interview experience and didn't mention anything about being a "jack-of-all-trades" lawyer.

As for his claim of working as a legal counsel at a company, he actually only worked at a small shop owned by a distant relative in his hometown county. The shop mainly sold musical instruments, such as hulusi, acoustic guitars, and electronic keyboards. He also did things like tuning and repairing instruments. There were only three people in the shop: the owner, himself, and... the owner's fiancée.

He could choose to be the general manager or the legal counsel, but he was the only one actually doing the work. His monthly salary was 800 yuan, slightly higher than the local minimum wage, but fortunately, it included room and board, which saved him a lot of money. After saving some money at the end of last year, he finally had the confidence to resign and come to Beijing to work as an intern lawyer.

"Well, our place is a bit basic right now. The law firm was just approved by the Bureau of Justice before the Spring Festival. There are three partners in the firm. I am the director of the law firm."

The firm has two offices, a meeting room, and a finance office. Renovations have just been completed, and the office furniture isn't fully furnished yet. There are eight workstations outside. This is the basic situation of the law firm.

We just posted the job ad online yesterday, and you're the first one to interview for an intern lawyer position. To be honest, while your academic background isn't the best, we can accept you with a monthly living allowance of 500 yuan. There's no salary or social security.

"If you're interested, you can come over tomorrow to complete the onboarding process," Attorney Niu said with a smile.

The law firm had just been registered and was short-staffed. The intern lawyers in the firm had no salary, no social security, and no housing provident fund (in fact, most law firms do not have social security and housing provident fund), so they were considered to be "three-no" personnel, making it difficult to recruit people. Seeing that Wang Chuan's conditions were acceptable in all aspects, Director Niu made the decision on the spot.

"Um... I wanted to ask, what kind of cases does your firm mainly handle? Can you process intern lawyer applications?" Wang Chuan asked cautiously.

"Sure! Once you arrive, you can register under my name (the Judicial Bureau stipulates that trainee lawyers must register under a lawyer with more than five years of experience for a 12-month internship). You can work on cases with the lawyers in the firm. The internship application process is no problem. However, you'll have to handle the paperwork yourself. Just contact me if you need any stamps or signatures."

We mainly handle civil, commercial, and criminal cases. Mostly cases involving our partners, and we'll be promoting them online soon. Don't worry about cases, we have plenty," Attorney Niu said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you. I'll come back tomorrow to complete the formalities," Wang Chuan said with a smile. He hadn't expected the interview to go so smoothly and was very excited.

Wang Chuan's immediate priority is to obtain his intern lawyer's certificate as soon as possible and begin his twelve-month internship. Although his accommodation is a bit far from the law firm, he can find a place to live nearby later to solve the commuting problem.

Five hundred yuan a month is far too little. Without any other income, after paying the rent, he'll probably be left with nothing but poverty and poverty. His meager savings, after paying the rent and deposit, will only last him three or four months. This is Wang Chuan's only worry right now.

Fortunately, unlike a few years later, the Bar Association no longer requires interns to submit proof of twelve months of social security contributions during their probationary period interview.

If that's really the case, Wang Chuan will probably be devastated. He'll have trouble even eating, and his internship at the law firm won't pay him. He'll have no choice but to sell his blood to pay for social security.

In fact, the Bar Association requires trainee lawyers to submit proof of twelve months of social security contributions in order to require law firms to pay social security for trainee lawyers, so that prospective lawyers have some protection.

But the Chinese are always clever. Most small law firms think: You want me to pay social security for intern lawyers? Fine! I can pay, but the intern lawyers have to bear the cost themselves. The law firm won't spend a penny on its junior staff.

The saying "where you sit determines where you think" is absolutely true, unparalleled true!

Most small law firm managers think like this: "I paid for these cases with marketing costs, and you're using them to practice? I'm teaching you case-handling techniques, and if anything goes wrong, I have to clean up your mess (of course, I'll blame it on the temporary assistant). And you're asking for a salary? Getting living expenses or case commission is already a blessing. I'm being merciful by not charging you tuition!"

If you dare to mess with me, I'll make sure I don't stamp your application, don't let your supervisor sign it, and prevent you from getting a full-time position after your internship and from obtaining your lawyer's license.

The reason for this is that the head of the department doesn't get cases easily, and he always feels he hasn't squeezed any money out of his junior apprentices, so he's unhappy seeing money being spent unnecessarily. His attitude towards his junior apprentices can be described in one word… greedy and domineering!

Of course, some law firms that are willing to pay their junior apprentices won't be stingy with that little bit of social security money. Because they feel that the odd jobs done by these junior apprentices (who are essentially being used like donkeys) are valuable, and the law firm could easily earn more than that by just casually doing menial tasks, so they think it's worth it! In short, they are rich and domineering.

Of course, getting into such a prestigious law firm is not easy. Whether you are a master's or doctoral student, your first degree is very important. Your first degree is the key to setting yourself apart and is also an important stepping stone.

See? That's reality! That's cruel! That's how the legal profession is.

Whether they are trainee lawyers or lawyers, they are under pressure from above and have to cater to their clients. Every lawyer is walking on thin ice, and they have too much helplessness in their hearts!

A few years later, the Bar Association required intern lawyers to pay social security contributions for twelve months. For most of these "freelance" intern lawyers (those who were merely nominally employed and not actually managed by the law firm, similar to commission-based lawyers), this was like adding insult to injury. They couldn't even afford to eat, let alone pay for social security. This may sound surprising, but it is the truth.

The next day, Wang Chuan arrived at the law firm early in the morning and, with the help of the administrative staff, completed the onboarding procedures.

In the eyes of the administrative staff, although his academic qualifications weren't particularly impressive, he looked remarkably like Leslie Cheung, had a uniquely magnetic voice that was highly recognizable, and spoke in a pleasant manner. At 1.78 meters tall, his well-proportioned physique exuded vitality, clearly indicating he worked out regularly. He was definitely a heartthrob!

The administrative assistant guessed correctly. Wang Chuan likes sports, but his family is poor. His parents are farmers, and his father does some small business to supplement the family income.

He usually only does free fitness exercises, such as pull-ups, running, push-ups, squats, etc. After years of persistence, his muscles are not as bulging as those built in the gym, but they are well-shaped, full of strength, with a slim waist and strong back, which makes people feel comfortable and handsome!