Rebirth: Starting from a Trainee Teacher

Chapter 87 Lawyer Chen

On October 10, Zhou Jing went to the hotel to find Chen Jiaqian at around eight o'clock in the morning. After entering the door, his eyes lit up.

Chen Jiaqian has changed into formal clothes, a white shirt, a well-fitting black suit, and a pair of high heels. The black color makes her look calm and capable. The shirt is a casual style, and she is not wearing a tie, which makes her look less serious in her calmness.

Zhou Jing had seen Chen Jiaqian wearing formal clothes at school. Now the girl had long hair and looked more mature and stable than before.

"If I have a lawsuit in the future, Lawyer Chen will help me."

Zhou Jing moved his gaze from her body to her face and smiled.

"I hope you will never need a lawyer." Chen Jiaqian fixed her hair in the mirror and drew her eyebrows. She turned her back to Zhou Jing and said, "I am not a lawyer yet. I am just a paralegal. Today, I will try to get the two parties to mediate. If mediation fails, the client can only sue."

"The facts of the case are clear. If we sue, there is no possibility that the client will lose the case, right?"

Zhou Jing sat on the bed and looked through Chen Jiaqian's information. There was a power of attorney and the mediation agreement had been prepared. The power of attorney had the client's signature and fingerprint on it, and the lawyer's fees were stated on it.

The fee for a successful mediation is RMB 6,000, and the cost of litigation will be calculated separately.

"It's hard to say. The law doesn't clearly stipulate depreciation expenses. It seems simple, but it would be troublesome if you sue, so it's best to resolve it through negotiation."

Chen Jiaqian hopes that she can successfully solve the case as she is working alone on her first business trip.

"The most difficult thing to deal with is legal ignorance. Can the situation of rural private loans where the other party does not repay the money be easily resolved through legal means?"

There are a lot of private loans in Zhou Jing's grandfather's village. Several years ago, his grandfather lent 2,000 yuan to a young man in the village. Until now, he has not recovered a single cent of the principal and interest. The young man has been away from home for many years and no one has seen him outside.

"Private loans are quite troublesome. What are the specific circumstances?"

Chen Jiaqian's family is also from the countryside. People in the village know that she studies law and often come to consult her. The matter is not big but very troublesome.

"It was probably in 99 or . My grandfather loaned yuan to a man in the village. That man was away from home for years and we couldn't get in touch with him. His parents in the village also said they couldn't get in touch with him and he had no money to pay back. My grandfather had a good relationship with the guarantor and was embarrassed to make things difficult for him."

"How much is the interest? Is there a promissory note or contract?"

Chen Jiaqian listened patiently.

"The interest is one and a half percent. There is a contract, but the contract is not very standard. Can it serve as evidence?"

"As long as you can prove that it was signed by your grandfather, the lender, and the guarantor, it will be fine. If the other party insists on not paying it back, you can only sue."

As a law student, Chen Jiaqian feels helpless when it comes to this kind of civil dispute. Talking about the law to some people in the rural area is like talking to a cow. No matter how much the lawyer says, the other party may just respond with "I have no money" or "Go ahead and sue me."

"It's useless to sue. That family is really poor. The man who borrowed money from my grandfather is almost 40 and still single. His brother divorced early and left his child with the old man and his wife to raise. He stayed away from home for years and only took the 11 or 12-year-old child away two years ago. My grandfather had already given up."

When encountering such a thing, Zhou Jing's grandfather can only consider himself unlucky. The other party has no money and it is useless even if he comes. He can't learn from the underworld and use folk means to collect debts.

"Two thousand yuan was a lot of money back then, and there's little point in suing now. You have to be careful when lending money or making loans to others."

Law firms generally do not take on this type of rural dispute, as the trouble is not worth much in return.

After going out for some breakfast, at around nine in the morning, Zhou Jing took Chen Jiaqian to the coffee shop where he had an appointment with the client. It was called the Isle of Man Coffee in the Economic Development Zone. Zhou Jing didn't know the exact address, so he asked the taxi driver to lead the way.

The client’s surname is Li, and he was waiting outside the cafe in advance.

"Hello, Lawyer Chen. Can you please come over during your holiday?"

After arriving at the location and confirming by phone, Mr. Li, who looked to be around 30 years old, greeted me warmly and extended his hand.

"You're welcome, Mr. Li. This is a classmate of mine, his last name is Zhou. I'm not familiar with this place, please lead the way."

Chen Jiaqian politely shook hands with the other party and introduced herself.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhou."

Mr. Li then shook hands with Zhou Jing. "You're welcome."

"please."

Mr. Li took the two into the coffee shop and ordered three cups of coffee.

Zhou Jing did not disturb them from discussing the case and sat at the table next to them drinking coffee.

"All the information Lawyer Chen mentioned is here."

Mr. Li placed all the information on the table.

Chen Jiaqian first found the accident identification certificate, looked at it carefully and said, "Mr. Li, are you sure there is no problem with the parking location? Is it in a parking location that complies with traffic regulations?"

Although the other party is found to be fully responsible in the accident identification certificate, the client will be in a passive position if the trick is exposed.

"No problem. The car is parked completely within the lines marked on the parking space."

"That's good."

The accident identification certificate was fine, and Chen Jiaqian checked other information.

Including proof of vehicle purchase, vehicle mileage data, third-party appraisal, etc.

All of this was completed by the car owner under the guidance of Chen Jiaqian.

The new car was bought for more than 190,000 yuan, but was driven for less than a month and had a mileage of less than 500 kilometers. Because it was classified as an accident car, it is now estimated to be worth more than 150,000 yuan, with a lot of damage. I wonder if Mr. Li deliberately lowered the price.

There was no problem with the information, so Chen Jiaqian asked Mr. Li to contact the other car owner to see if they could arrange a time to talk in person.

With the legal advisor, Mr. Li spoke much more confidently. When he called, he said directly that his lawyer wanted to know something about the situation.

The other car owner, Mr. Wang, was a little confused for a moment. Why did a lawyer come? Was he really going to sue?

Mr. Wang, who had never experienced such a thing, did not dare to be negligent. He originally wanted to play rogue, but when he heard that the other party had really hired a lawyer, he became a little uneasy. After learning the address, he drove there as soon as possible.

If NMD had been so positive earlier, I wouldn't have had to hire a lawyer.

Worried that local lawyers were unreliable, Mr. Li went to the provincial capital to hire a big law firm. Since the matter had come to this, he was willing to spend a little more money and fight for even that little bit of compensation.

"Because the law does not clearly stipulate the depreciation of the accident car, and the condition of the car before the rear-end collision cannot be specifically proved, even if you sue, you may not win, so try to resolve it through negotiation."

Chen Jiaqian's implication was that mediation could be reached if the compensation was approximately the same.

"Okay, I understand. So what do you think is reasonable, Lawyer Chen?"

Although Mr. Li was unwilling, there was nothing he could do. When a person is unlucky, even drinking cold water can get a tooth stuck.

“I try to get as much as I can.”

Chen Jiaqian did not say a specific number, but wrote a range on the paper.

At the next table, Zhou Jing looked at Chen Jiaqian. The girl had only been interning for two months, but now she was in good working order, calm, capable, and spoke clearly.

After drinking a cup of coffee, Mr. Wang came to the coffee shop. He tried his best to remain calm, but coming in such a hurry had exposed his inner panic. Otherwise, he could have made an appointment for another time.

Zhou Jing looked at him carefully. Mr. Wang was not very old, about 31 or 32 years old. He could rear-end a parked car on the main road, so it was obvious that he was a novice.

"This is Lawyer Chen, please talk to her!"

Mr. Li was already upset because his new car was hit, and the other party's delay in paying compensation made him even angrier. He no longer showed any good face to the other party when they met.

(End of this chapter)