Grassroots lawyers also have their day

"Your spouse was injured in a fall at the restaurant, and the restaurant is liable. There are many specific items for compensation."

According to Article 17 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases, the person liable for compensation shall compensate the victim for all expenses incurred for medical treatment and lost income due to missed work, including medical expenses, lost wages, nursing expenses, transportation expenses, accommodation expenses, hospital meal allowances, and necessary nutritional expenses.

Besides the expenses that have already been incurred, you can check these items to see if there are any other expenses that have been paid. To make it easier for you to compare, I have already copied down all the relevant items for you.” As he spoke, Wang Chuan handed an A4 sheet of paper to the man with glasses.

"You're amazing! As soon as we mentioned compensation, you immediately found the relevant legal provisions. You guys are so professional! Do your lawyers memorize all the legal articles? Amazing!" The bespectacled man praised Wang Chuan while taking the A4 paper he was handed over.

Zheng Yi smiled and nodded at Wang Chuan in praise.

Wang Chuan looked embarrassed and didn't answer the bespectacled man. He couldn't very well say that he had just found out this morning!

There has long been a misconception among the general public about lawyers. They believe that lawyers must have an exceptional memory, like Doraemon in the anime, who can readily recall various legal provisions and regulations to support clients whenever needed.

Actually, lawyers are human too. Their brains are no different from yours and mine. If there is any difference, it might be that they specialize in a particular field!

Although law students have to learn a lot of laws and regulations and take many exams to graduate, the real "first hurdle" they face is the bar exam (which was changed to the legal professional qualification exam in 2018, and the registration requirements and exam methods have also changed accordingly).

Just like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, only those who pass the bar exam are qualified to become lawyers. Please note that this means qualified, not guaranteed to become a lawyer.

Before becoming a lawyer, students who have passed the bar exam need to train under a mentor for twelve months. These twelve months are neither a period of seclusion nor an opportunity for seclusion! To put it more abstractly, trainee lawyers are cultivating the ways of the world, which means professional skills and the ability to communicate with clients.

Only after completing the necessary training are you qualified to apply to become a licensed lawyer. As for whether you'll have business after becoming a lawyer, whether you can make a fortune, or whether you'll starve or have to change careers, only the founders know!

Why do I say that? Because no one will bail out a lawyer; you can only rely on yourself! Unless you become a salaried lawyer.

In this respect, lawyers are actually quite similar to many freelancers or entrepreneurs. They can make a living today, but what about tomorrow? Who knows if they'll get any work (cases or projects) and earn money! Moreover, every year many lawyers die from overwork, either on their way to court or in the courtroom. Who the hell knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident! I guess even the founding fathers of the law never thought about this problem.

So who is the patriarch of lawyers?

Speaking of the founding father of lawyers, this guy was quite an eccentric figure!

Everyone knows that Lu Ban is the patron saint of carpenters, Confucius, the great educator from Shandong Province, is the patron saint of educators, and Sun Bin is said to be the patron saint of shoemakers.

There has been debate within the legal profession about who should be considered the patriarch of lawyers. Some have suggested Su Qin and Zhang Yi, but this is likely because these two men have a less-than-stellar reputation, often giving clients bad advice and unorthodox ideas, resulting in a poor image. Therefore, most lawyers do not recognize them as patriarchs.

Nevertheless, some lawyers idolize these two. If you encounter such a lawyer, be careful; try to discard the dross and retain the essence—you might be pleasantly surprised. As for what constitutes the dross and what constitutes the essence, only the client can judge for themselves.

Some have suggested that Mencius was the patriarch of lawyers because he was skilled at cultivating "the vast and righteous spirit." In Mencius's own words, "I am good at cultivating this vast and righteous spirit."

If you ask him what the spirit of righteousness is?

Mencius would tell you: "It is difficult to express." This can be understood as: it can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words. Then he would launch into a long explanation. The general idea is that the spirit of righteousness is a kind of energy cultivated through justice.

From this perspective, Mencius, with his eloquence and integrity, is the most suitable patriarch of lawyers. A lawyer who is both eloquent and upright perfectly matches the image of a lawyer in the minds of most people.

However, the universally acknowledged patriarch of the legal profession is not Mencius. It's someone else entirely, a guy named Deng Xi. Just listen to his name, Deng Xi, the "Xi" in "analysis"—you can tell he's got a sharp mind, otherwise he couldn't be doing analysis!

Master Deng was a native of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period, a high-ranking official in Zheng (present-day Xinzheng, Henan). He was a renowned thinker, jurist, pioneer of Chinese civil rights law, and initiator of the theory of names and arguments. Just how remarkable was this man?

It's said that in court, Deng Xi could use his silver tongue to "make wrong right and right wrong," that is, to call black white and white black, and he wasn't just being unreasonable; every word he said had a legal basis. It's said that he won every case he handled. Impressive, right? Does this sound familiar?

The Lüshi Chunqiu records: "There was an agreement with the people who had lawsuits: for major cases, one piece of clothing; for minor cases, a pair of shorts and trousers. Countless people offered their clothes and learned how to litigate."

This means that Deng Xi charged fees for his legal services. How did he charge? He'd charge a jacket for big cases and a pair of shorts for small ones. At the time, many people in Zheng State came to him with jackets and shorts to represent them in court, and he quickly rose to fame, becoming very well-known in the legal community.

Many people found that Deng Xigan's line of work was quite profitable, so they followed him and learned from him, which is called "learning litigation". This shows that the legal awareness of the people was still very strong at that time!

I just don't know what this guy is doing collecting so many clothes. Does he have a hobby of collecting clothes, or is he dealing in clothing as a side business? We'll never know!

Moreover, it's said that seeing her husband's business booming and attracting huge customers, his wife opened a shop specifically to handle Deng Xi's business, which could be roughly defined as an early form of law firm. This shows that his wife has a keen business sense.

A prominent figure in Beijing's legal circle once said: "Lawyers do not represent justice, nor do they represent evil; they only represent the interests of their clients."

It should be said that what this big shot said was quite realistic, and it was very similar to the style of Master Deng. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people in modern society who criticize lawyers and hire lawyers.

After completing the signing procedures for their client, Wang Chuan and Zheng Yi saw the couple out of the law firm.