Chapter 163 - 105: Selecting Classic Cases! Newspaper

"I think you have a pretty good shot."

Huang Shi spoke up, "Both the severity and the social impact meet the criteria."

"The No. 18 Middle School case will most likely make the cutoff for consideration."

"With two major cases under your belt, there’s no reason you can’t snatch the ’Classic Case’ award!"

Xu De gave a helpless smile and pointed to himself.

"Me?"

"Are you sure?"

’Since October, I’ve only handled these two cases. Sure, they generated a lot of public buzz...’

’But over the course of an entire year, other cities must have had similar cases.’

"Don’t sell yourself short."

Huang Shi, however, was nonchalant. He said,

"What if?"

"We’re talking about a Classic Case! Countless lawyers and firms wouldn’t even dare to dream of it. It’s what they yearn for, and even in their dreams, they’d only dare hope for a Classic Case award for a civil suit."

"Are you telling me you’re not tempted at all!?"

He was.

To be honest, he was definitely tempted.

But the difficulty was plain to see. The selection process for criminal cases was the strictest, most complicated, and most cautious—so cautious, in fact, that of the eight cases selected in ’02, only two were criminal cases.

’If I really could be selected...’

Then, even though Houde Law Firm only had three people, the moment the announcement was made, countless cases would come flooding into the firm!

"When is the deadline?" Xu De asked.

Huang Shi replied, "In past years, it’s been the end of January. This year looks to be around the same time, early February at the latest."

’So...’

’It could happen any day now?’

Xu De pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for it."

’A Provincial High Court Classic Case... Maybe it’s worth a shot.’

Huang Shi nodded.

After Xu De left, Huang Shi finally picked up his boxed meal, grabbed a bite with his chopsticks, and shoved it in his mouth. But that one bite... made him freeze.

He looked down at the now-cold meal, a chill emanating from the box. The corner of his mouth twitched.

’Great.’

’After a full day of work, I was actually hoping to get a hot meal...’

’Come to think of it, I don’t think Hu Guang got to eat either. Don’t tell me that kid came to find me just now on purpose...’

Huang Shi wondered suspiciously.

’Considering his reputation...’

’This really could be his twisted sense of humor!’

As for why Huang Shi was willing to believe such an absurd prank... it all came down to the man’s already bankrupt credibility.

’With his credit, he won’t even be able to rent a shared bike in the future!!!’

...

「At the same time.」

After leaving the courthouse, Xu De ran into the construction foreman, Sun Zhigang, and Zhang Hu.

Upon hearing the verdict, the foreman’s face showed the sweet satisfaction of vengeance. Zhang Hu was so shocked he was left speechless, finding the outcome utterly terrifying.

The contract was fulfilled perfectly.

Sun Zhigang immediately decided to transfer 300,000, but Xu De insisted on sticking to the contract to avoid being exploited by those with ulterior motives, accepting the contracted fee of 200,000.

As for Yang Huan... Sun Zhigang decided to have him live at his home, taking him in and acting as his uncle.

This way, with vengeance achieved and a ’relative’ to look after him, Yang Huan would at least be able to get through the New Year.

After taking care of all this,

Xu De’s current debts were finally paid off.

After deducting case expenses and the law firm’s operating costs, he had earned at least 150,000 from this one case.

150,000 in the year 2002!

And so, at eight in the evening, the three lawyers, their excitement and elation finally fading, had dinner, then went their separate ways to head home and rest.

As soon as Lin Yue and Wang Chao got home, they collapsed into bed. The past ten days had been an exhausting ordeal—traveling 4,000 kilometers back and forth, hiking all over Your Province, and formulating the trial indictment. They were utterly miserable...

’Whoever heard of lawyers needing to pass a physical fitness test!’

However... just because they were resting didn’t mean the rest of the world was.

「At that same moment.」

Ten o’clock at night.

As night fell, lights went out in one area after another across Lusen City, but...

the major newspapers were racing against the clock, working overtime to churn out story after story!

...

...

「The next day.」

January 5, 2003.

Weather: Sunny.

Temperature: 2°C

8:30 AM.

The winter wind was sharp, but the sun managed to drive away a little of the chill.

Lusen City.

Lawyer Zhong of Lu De Law Firm, having finished his breakfast, was now heading toward the firm’s office.

Lawyer Zhong was thirty-four years old.

He wasn’t a Gold Medal Lawyer, but he was just one step away—a top-tier senior attorney.

But while it seemed like a small gap, in reality, it meant that while his legal theory and skill level were on par with a Gold Medal Lawyer, true promotion... still required winning a major case!

Only by taking on a major case, with the firm pouring all its resources behind him, could a victory secure his promotion, allowing him to legitimately become the firm’s sixth Gold Medal Lawyer and receive the subsequent publicity.

’But...’

"It’s tough. The cases in the last two years have been ridiculously hard to win, and small cases are useless."

At nine in the morning, Lawyer Zhong arrived at Lu De Law Firm. He closed the main door behind him, enjoying the warmth, and thought back on the past year with a look of utter helplessness.

"The only two cases in Lusen City that could lead to a promotion... were the Li Family Village case and the No. 18 Middle School case."

"If I could win either of those cases... I’d have enough clout to jump ship straight to a firm in Yanjing!"

Looking back on all of 2002,

Lawyer Zhong couldn’t help but feel a wave of bitterness.

’02 was just bizarre. It was either minor cases or cases that were absurdly huge!’

The small cases weren’t enough to get promoted to Gold Medal Lawyer, but the major ones... It was like trying to rank up from the lowest tier in a video game, but the requirement was to dominate a match against grandmasters by spawn-camping their base.

It was just too ridiculous!

Never mind a senior lawyer taking it on; even an established Gold Medal Lawyer would be stunned speechless by a case like that!

"Speaking of which."

"Wasn’t yesterday the third hearing?"

Lawyer Zhong was about to head to the conference room, but a sudden thought made him stop in his tracks, his brow twitching.