Grassroots lawyers also have their day

Chapter 89 You have such a rich imagination!

"So... how much does labor arbitration cost?" Li Laifu asked with concern, craning his neck.

"Applying for labor arbitration is free. If you disagree with the arbitration ruling, you can file a lawsuit in court. The court fee is ten yuan, so the cost is not high, but the time cost is relatively high."

"In principle, labor arbitration should be completed within 45 days, and court summary proceedings should be completed within three months. However, these are theoretical timeframes, and the actual timeframe is often longer because there may be mediation proceedings in the early stages," Wang Chuan said.

"Oh! Is that so? Then I can afford the cost, no problem. You do it for me!" Li Laifu said with a big grin.

"Uh... Brother Laifu, what I just told you were the fees charged by the labor arbitration and the court. I am currently an intern lawyer and cannot handle cases independently; I can only appear in court with other lawyers."

If I get my lawyer's license, I can represent you for free, no problem. But right now, your case can only be represented by lawyers from our firm, and I can appear in court with the lawyers.

"But if a lawyer from the firm represents your case, you'll need to pay for the service. Don't misunderstand! This money goes to the firm, and they collect the fees uniformly. It has nothing to do with me," Wang Chuan explained.

Wang Chuan's feelings were complicated: they were not related, and although they were from the same village, they had only met a few times and spoken very little. Their families were also extremely distant. Considering they both worked in the capital, he felt he had already done his best to help. He couldn't very well pay for Li Laifu to recover his wages! At most, he could write a labor arbitration application for him free of charge and offer some guidance on what to say in court. His abilities were limited, and that was all he could do.

"Oh, is that so? Then... how much does your office charge for my case?" After Wang Chuan finished speaking, Li Laifu's eyes changed several times.

"Generally speaking, the legal fee for labor arbitration on behalf of an employee in labor dispute cases is five thousand yuan. I can apply to the firm to try and get you a discounted price," Wang Chuan said.

"How much of a discount can we get?" Li Laifu asked immediately.

"Around three thousand, I guess!" Wang Chuan thought for a moment.

"Well... alright then!" Li Laifu said hesitantly.

Seeing his reluctance, Wang Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I have another way, you don't need to pay lawyer fees. But it's more troublesome."

Li Laifu's eyes lit up: "What method?"

"You can apply for legal aid. The government will cover your expenses, so you won't have to pay a single penny," Wang Chuan said.

"I went! But they said I didn't meet the requirements. They wouldn't process it!" Li Laifu said with a bitter face, "Brother, do you have any other free methods? It's not easy for us to earn money working away from home!"

"How about this, if you don't mind the trouble, I'll write a labor arbitration application for you, and you can apply for labor arbitration yourself. That way, you won't have to spend a penny!" Wang Chuan said, looking at Li Laifu.

"Okay, I think it's feasible! Then help me write a labor arbitration application. You're an expert, so teach me how to say it, and I'll go myself..." Li Laifu immediately perked up after hearing Wang Chuan's words.

Wang Chuan nodded and, following Li Laifu's instructions, wrote down all the amounts he could and couldn't claim on the labor arbitration application.

"Brother Laifu, let me tell you, many of these expenses may not be supported, and you have no evidence of your overtime pay. I suggest you go back and look for more evidence, or have your boss admit that you worked overtime. It's better than having no evidence at all," Wang Chuan said earnestly.

"Don't worry! Even if it's not supported, I won't blame you!" Li Laifu looked at the amount on the arbitration application and beamed with joy. When he walked out of the law firm, he had long forgotten Wang Chuan's words.

Seeing Wang Chuan walk out of the conference room, Zheng Penzi approached him: "Senior Brother, how was it?"

"What? How is it?" Wang Chuan looked completely bewildered.

"Did that consultant charge a consultation fee?" Zheng the troll asked, gesturing towards the conference room.

Wang Chuan shook his head.

"What, you've run into another freeloader? Call me, I'll go in and beat him to a pulp! If he doesn't pay, I'll break his legs!" Zheng the troll said, feigning righteous indignation.

Wang Chuan quickly grabbed her, afraid she would say something unreliable again: "Great Immortal, please calm down! Please calm down! The person who just came is my fellow villager, an older brother from my village."

Zheng, the troll, looked embarrassed upon hearing Wang Chuan's words: "Oh, I see!..."

At this moment, Pan Jinlian suddenly burst into laughter.

"Second Senior Brother Pan, what are you laughing at?" Zheng, feeling a bit embarrassed, shouted.

"It's nothing. I just felt that the scene where the eldest brother stopped you from speaking just now was very similar to the scene in Journey to the West where Taibai Jinxing descended to earth to persuade Sun Wukong to go back to heaven to serve as an official."

Especially the lines spoken by the eldest brother... they're so classic!" After saying that, Pan Jinlian burst into laughter again.

Zheng was frustrated because she didn't know how to respond to the other party. In the end, she could only glare at Pan Jinlian and pretend to go to the bathroom.

After hesitating for a while, Wang Chuan gave a thumbs-up: "Little Pan! ...You have such a vivid imagination!"

Pan Jinlian looked at Wang Chuan smugly, as if to say: So what! I'm just that rich!

Zheng Yi and Fatty Wan, who had been watching the commotion, went downstairs with chuckles. Wei Ping, seeing Pan Jinlian making fun of Wang Chuan and Zheng the troll, felt a little helpless: Pan Jinlian is such a clown!

Starting in mid-August, Zhengyang Law Firm saw a significant increase in business, with a constant stream of clients coming and going every day.

With a larger client base, there are more opportunities to close deals; we close two or three cases almost every day or two. Although the amounts involved in the cases are not large and the legal fees are not high, the sheer volume of cases has led to a significant increase in the law firm's revenue.

There are only a handful of lawyers, and when there are too many cases, Old Niu is worried! When he has no business, he worries about finding clients; when he has clients, he worries about finding lawyers to handle them. Sigh! It's tough!

To secure more business, Director Niu hired two more lawyers: one male and one female.

The male lawyer's surname was Sun, and his given name was Sun Changli. He was thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, tall and thin, with a long face and a pair of eyebrows shaped like the character "八" (eight). He always had a smile on his face.

It's said that he used to work as a salaried lawyer at a large law firm. Wang Chuan couldn't understand why Attorney Sun, who had worked at a large firm for so many years, would go to work as a salaried lawyer at a small firm like Zhengyang Law Firm. In short, Attorney Sun was an enigmatic man to everyone, but the mystery would soon be solved.

The female lawyer's name was Wang Lirong. She was in her forties. She used to be a political teacher at a middle school. She had been working for 40 years and had elderly parents and young children to support. She just wanted a stable job with a guaranteed income, and to live a peaceful life at home.

But the financial burden was immense, as her child was entering middle school and required substantial funds for tutoring. Being a teacher didn't pay much, and she couldn't earn money by running her own tutoring classes (political subject tutoring? What a joke, who would sign up for that?). So she took the bar exam and became a lawyer.

(End of this chapter)