Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 144 - 143: The Cigar Company Case, Cutting Off a Piece of Flesh?

Chapter 144: Chapter 143: The Cigar Company Case, Cutting Off a Piece of Flesh?

On Friday evening, Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue had dinner together, deepening their relationship.

Unfortunately, Simple-minded person was once again called away by a phone call from the major case unit, leaving Zhang Wei feeling a bit helpless.

The major case unit was indeed too busy!

Zhang Wei agreed with his in-laws’ decision.

It was not suitable for Xia Qianyue, a young woman, to be involved in such work every day, deprived of even her free time.

Zhang Wei had no choice but to return to Lin Mansion alone, feeling lonely.

On Saturday, all day long.

Zhang Wei stayed home alone; Zhao Xiaoxiao had disappeared to who knows where.

With the eldest daughter busy with work and the second daughter missing, Zhang Wei could only busy himself with work matters at home.

However, he had no case at hand, and the nearest one was the cigar company case handled by his apprentice Lin Yumeng.

This case was, frankly, straightforward.

They stood on the plaintiff’s side, and the defendant was an international mega-corporation with assets over a hundred billion - Harper Cigars.

The opponent’s main business started from manufacturing and selling cigars and other tobacco products, but now it includes maritime trade and international transportation, firmly established as a behemoth in international trade.

Their only advantage might be that they had the home-field advantage.

"Harper Cigars’ main business is maritime transport and international tobacco trade; their headquarters is on the other end of Blue Star in Dongfang Capital. They do have an office in Dragon Country, but it’s just as tricky!"

The big company’s advantage lay in its resources; they had heaps of money to hire the most formidable lawyers.

With assets in the hundreds of billions, the company could spend hundreds of millions or even billions each year on legal consultancy fees alone, enough to employ an army of lawyers.

On Zhang Wei’s side, they were just four people at best, all from the criminal division.

What was this, using a slingshot to fight a tank?

"Ultimately, it’s about an old lady who smoked cigars all the time and ended up dying from a serious illness. To get compensation from the cigar company is indeed going to be tricky..."

The situation was just that; their client was the deceased old lady’s husband, who wanted to sue the cigar company for killing his wife, a rationale that even Zhang Wei felt was a tall order.

After all, he had been in contact with cigars in his previous life.

Although he had hardly smoked them, clients often gave them as gifts, and he couldn’t bother to refuse, so he let those cigars gather dust in the basement.

"Cigars are pure natural tobacco products made from tobacco leaves that have been air-dried, fermented, and aged. The harmful effects are similar to tobacco; cigars also contain nicotine. This suggests that the plaintiff’s wife’s illness could potentially have been caused by the cigars..."

"But how to prove it? Does the plaintiff have all the medical records of his wife?"

"Moreover, the habits of smoking cigarettes and cigars are quite different. A person might smoke a pack or two of cigarettes a day, but most cigar smokers don’t smoke every day. How to establish a link between the deceased’s illness and cigar smoking, that’s a difficulty."

"Even if we could prove it, we’d have to be wary of the counter-evidence from the other side; Harper Cigars may lack other things, but not money. They can hire several, or even a dozen expert witnesses to testify that their cigars have minimal health risks. Once the jury believes the expert witnesses, it would be extremely disadvantageous for us."

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Wei suddenly remembered something.

"That’s right, do we have the means to hire expert witnesses? This time we are the plaintiff and need to pay the litigation costs, and we need to find experts to prove our case, all of which are expenses."

So the question is, does the criminal division have money?

Or rather, can the criminal division afford the costs of this civil lawsuit and hire expert witnesses to fight the case for us?

"I’ll have to ask Old Tie about these issues tomorrow!"

With such doubts in his mind, Zhang Wei drifted off to sleep.

...

Sunday, overtime day.

Zhang Wei got up early, ready for work.

"Little Zhang, where are you off to, all dressed up on the weekend? Working overtime?"

In the neighbor Zhao Mansion’s yard, Zhao Qingyan began his daily task of watering the flowers.

It was now mid-March, winter had passed, and spring had arrived, the perfect time when flowers were about to bloom. Zhao Qingyan had brought the flowers out too.

"Yes, I’m working overtime today. Uncle Zhao, have you been getting less busy lately?"

"Hahaha, all the beginning-of-the-year stuff is sorted, and there are no big projects on my hands, so of course, I can rest. The company’s strategic and planning departments are busy with this year’s plan and advertising, and once they get the ads out, then it’s the business department’s turn to take the stage. Our R&D can still rest a few more days!"

"Right, what about you? What cases have you been busy with lately? Didn’t you just close a case a few days ago?"

"I’m currently involved in a big case. I’m representing a client in a lawsuit against Harper Cigars, claiming that his wife died from serious illness due to smoking their cigars for decades."

"This..."

Although Zhang Wei spoke seriously, Zhao Qingyan was still somewhat speechless upon hearing about the case.

In Dragon Country, there were so many old people who smoked; after they died, did you really expect their families to sue the tobacco companies?

Was that reasonable?

Obviously not!

"Xiao Zhang, to take on a case so... deviant from conventional knowledge, do you really accept it?"

Zhao Qingyan had almost blurted out the words "ridiculous," but he managed to phrase it in a more emotionally intelligent manner.

"Uncle Zhao, don’t worry about me. If you want to say this case is ridiculous, I can accept that. After all, I also thought it was quite ridiculous at first!"

"Well, then..."

Zhao Qingyan thought for a moment, then decided to speak honestly, "Are you sure you want to fight such an absurd case?"

"The defendant, Harper Cigars, is a multinational trading enterprise. Given their vast scale, they can hire top-notch barristers. As a criminal lawyer, if you handle a civil lawsuit..."

"Uncle Zhao, you’ve got to have confidence in me!"

Zhang Wei waved his hand, indicating for Zhao Qingyan to relax, "Besides, who says that winning a case must always be settled in court?"

"You mean... a settlement, you want to get a settlement fee for your client?" Zhao Qingyan was not slow-witted and immediately guessed someone’s plan.

"Isn’t that obvious? The likelihood of winning this case is slim to begin with, the only point of contention is the settlement fee. I can only strive to satisfy the client!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei bid farewell to Zhao Qingyan, "Then Uncle Zhao, I’m off to work~"

"Take it slow, Xiao Zhang."

Zhao Qingyan naturally waved goodbye, watching Zhang Wei leave with a peculiar expression on his face.

...

Jincheng Law Firm.

Zhang Wei arrived early in the morning only to find that, once again, he was the first one there.

"Forget it, today counts as overtime anyway, it doesn’t matter how early they come."

Zhang Wei muttered to himself as he pondered at his desk.

"Master, I’m here~" Soon, the obedient little apprentice showed up.

On Thursday, Zhang Wei had hinted for Lin Yumeng to lead the case as the chief lawyer.

So for the sake of the case, even on a weekend, the little apprentice didn’t sleep in but instead got up early.

After a while, Old Tie, who was yawning, also arrived.

"Ah, working overtime on the weekend again, it’s certainly making me sleepy!"

Tie Ruyun grumbled and upon confirming that both Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng were present, quickly asked, "When is the client meeting us?"

"Oh, let me check again!"

Lin Yumeng hurried to her desk and started dialing the number.

Before long, the call got through.

"Mhm, okay, got it, Grandpa He!"

"We will head over now; where will you be exactly, uh-huh, alright, let me take notes..."

After ending the call, Lin Yumeng quickly checked the notes on her notebook and reported to Zhang Wei.

"Grandpa He will be visiting Section C of the Cemetery, row 2, grave number 49 to pay tribute. We can head there now and meet him just in time!"

"Alright, let’s go then!"

"You’re the chief lawyer, so you decide. Let’s go meet the client."

Old Tie had no objections, and since Zhang Wei was only assisting this time, he had no preference either.

Li Yueqin was not involved in this case, so she had no overtime on the weekend and there was no need to wait for her.

The trio set off immediately, and after getting into Tie Ruyun’s car, they headed towards the West Suburb Cemetery.

West Suburb Cemetery was located in the western district of the city. Considering the traffic in the city center, the drive would take close to 1 hour.

The West Suburb, with "suburb" in its name, was naturally close to the outskirts, and being a cemetery, it meant there weren’t many people around.

The road wasn’t congested, and they arrived about 7-8 minutes earlier than expected.

After asking the cemetery manager, they quickly located Section C of the Cemetery and at plot 2 row 49, they found their client.

Grandpa He, full name He Qingnian, was in his sixties or seventies, thin, and was sitting in front of a grave, hunched over with his head bowed.

"Dear, they have arrived!"

As Zhang Wei and the others approached, the man seemed to sense their presence and turned to look at them.

Zhang Wei could also see the man’s expression, which was filled with despondence, weakness, and an indescribable negativity...

"Grandpa He, I am Lin Yumeng, who has been talking to you on the phone. We are lawyers from Jincheng Law Firm!"

Lin Yumeng hurriedly handed over Tie Ruyun’s business card, "This is our team leader’s card; my name and contact information are written on the back."

"Ah, so you’re the young girl who has been calling me," said Grandpa He, taking a glance at Lin Yumeng and nodding.

At that moment, Zhang Wei stepped forward and asked, "Is this your wife’s grave?"

"Yeah, my better half rests here, and that one in front is my father. We never got along since I was young. Every time I come here, I only visit my wife. I have never swept the grave for that old man!"

"Alright..."

Hearing this "filial" statement, Zhang Wei felt there was no appropriate way to respond.

He looked at the tombstone, which bore the name "Fan Xueqin"—that would be Madame He’s name.

"So tell me, since you have sought out this old man, you must have a plan for my case. How are you going to help me fight the other side?"

"Grandpa He, our plan is to get a compensation from Harper Cigar..."

Just as Lin Yumeng started to answer, Zhang Wei grabbed her and interjected, "We are planning to hit them hard and overpower them with our presence!"

This response seemed to ignite a sparkle in He Qingnian’s eyes, "Oh, how do you plan on hitting them hard?"

"It’s simple. In civil litigation, all cases are resolved with money. Harper Cigar has deep pockets, but even such a large corporation is stingy. We are going to slice a hefty chunk off them!"

Zhang Wei said, making a slashing gesture with his hand.

"Slice off a chunk, huh? That’s a very spirited answer!"

The brightness in He Qingnian’s eyes became more pronounced after hearing Zhang Wei’s response.

"Do you know, I was planning to refuse your services today, but after hearing this young man’s reply, I changed my mind. I’ve decided to hire you as my lawyers. However, I really can’t afford the legal fees, and I hope you can understand my family’s difficulty. To treat my wife’s illness, we really have run out of money."

"Ah, Grandpa He, you..."

"No worries, Grandpa He. We can sign a contingency fee agreement. We won’t charge you any lawyer’s fees, but after winning the lawsuit, we’ll take 50% of the settlement fee!"

Lin Yumeng was about to speak up but was once again interrupted by Zhang Wei.

"That’s fine, I understand..."

He Qingnian raised his head and glanced at the sky, "The weather is nice today. I still want to talk to my wife. Let’s talk about the case tomorrow."

"No problem, we won’t disturb you further!"

Zhang Wei gave a slight smile and gestured for Lin Yumeng to take their leave.

Tie Ruyun had been silent the entire time. Seeing that Zhang Wei was about to leave, he naturally followed.

When the three of them left Section C of the Cemetery, Tie Ruyun couldn’t hold back, "How did you know the client was thinking of giving up?"

"Yeah, Master, why did you interrupt me? Didn’t you say I should be the lead lawyer? Isn’t it my job to discuss with the client?"

"You two really get into it!"

Zhang Wei rubbed his forehead somewhat helplessly and explained, "To read a person, you look at their aura. This Grandpa He exudes a negative vibe throughout, clearly indicating he was about to give up."

"If you started to speak, he probably wouldn’t even want to listen. At that moment, what he needed wasn’t any persuasion or comfort, but someone to stir up the emotions inside him with some words!"

Tie Ruyun and Lin Yumeng exchanged glances and quickly asked, "So, that’s why you said what you did?"

"Exactly. All his pain comes from Harper Cigar. So all I needed to do was show the same anger he felt. However, that’s not what we should be focusing on. We need to find out why he was contemplating dropping the lawsuit."

"Old Tie, when you get back, investigate Grandpa He’s family members to see if he’s been mistreated by the younger generation. My guess is that only family matters could make such an old man so dispirited!"

"Alright, I’ll look into it..."

Zhang Wei instructed, then suddenly thought of something else.

"Old Tie, there’s one more thing I need to get to the bottom of!"

"What is it?" Tie Ruyun became solemn seeing Zhang Wei’s serious demeanor.

"Then there’s the cost of litigation, how much can the firm support?"

"This..."

I had thought Zhang Wei was going to ask some serious question, but it turned out this kid was actually asking about money.

"As for the trial, the firm is supportive, rest assured on that!"

"Old Tie, are you joking? If a lawsuit is just about going to court, what do you expect us to do, especially in a case fighting against a big company? We need to present compelling evidence, don’t we?"

"You mean..."

"We need to hire expert witnesses, and does our company have any investigators? Hire investigators to check out Harper Cigar, see if they’ve been engaging in any illegal tax evasion or something, these are all key points to hitting our opponent!"

"That... we don’t have that..."

Tie Ruyun didn’t know how to respond because the firm seemed unlikely to offer that kind of support.

After all, this case wasn’t assigned to the Criminal Division but to the Civil Division, yet even the Civil Division had given up on it, it was strange for the firm to offer support.

Yes, Jincheng was wealthy and backed by Jincheng Group, the firm wasn’t short on money.

But the firm wasn’t a charity, even if the big boss always claimed himself to be a philanthropist, he would not invest money in a lawsuit he knew was going to lose.

And a lawsuit can be very expensive, especially when you have to hire expert witnesses whose fees are higher than the next.

Tie Ruyun had fought lawsuits and had hired some expert witnesses before.

Can you imagine, they go on stage for less than 10 minutes, perhaps only say a few words, and can get tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands in fees?

"Old Tie, can I apply for funding? I remember the firm has a policy where we can apply for funding from the leadership?"

"It’s possible, but Boss Shen might not agree."

"How can you know if you don’t try?"

Seeing Tie Ruyun’s response, Zhang Wei almost couldn’t hold back.

He admitted that if it weren’t because the other person was a leader, he might really have slapped him across the face.

You say I just want to fight a good lawsuit, why do you keep letting me down?

"Alright then, let’s each go home today, and we’ll talk to the client in detail about the case tomorrow!"

Zhang Wei and his two companions got back into the car, and then Tie Ruyun dropped them off at the designated places before they all went their separate ways.

Zhang Wei returned to Lin Mansion, Lin Yumeng went back to her house in Dongjiang, and Tie Ruyun also returned to his residence.

Upon returning to Lin Mansion, Zhang Wei directly headed for the second floor.

Knock, knock, knock!

He lowered his strength and gently knocked on the room door.

"Second Miss, are you there?"

With a creak, the room door opened a crack.

"What is it now, be quick, I still need to catch up on some sleep."

Behind the door stood Zhao Xiaoxiao with an unhappy expression on her face.

"How did you know I needed something?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. If you had nothing to ask, you would have knocked hard and the sound would have been ’thump, thump, thump,’ not ’knock, knock, knock.’ You definitely need a favor from me!"

Seeing Zhao Xiaoxiao put on a "you can’t fool me" expression, Zhang Wei felt a drop of sweat roll down his forehead.

Good Lord, true to her reputation as daddy’s little padded jacket, she’d seen right through me.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoxiao’s expression turn even unhappier and her mouth beginning to pout, Zhang Wei quickly pushed a piece of paper through the opening.

"Investigate He Qingnian and his wife Fan Xueqin and He Qingnian’s family members. Also, check their recent financial records, if possible!"

"Oh, got it!"

As she took the paper, the room door slammed shut.

But Zhang Wei sighed in relief; Zhao Xiaoxiao had taken the paper note, so she would undoubtedly handle it.

"I was originally hoping Old Tie would do the investigation, but given his attitude, clearly he can’t be trusted. It’s better to rely on oneself than others, my dear second sister here is far more reliable than those outside investigators!"

Zhang Wei muttered to himself and started to prepare lunch.

This time, it seemed like it was going to be a tough battle again, and without a full stomach, he’d have no way to confront the opponent!