Chapter 168 - 107: High Praise from the Bureau of Justice

Zhang Jianguo was surprised.

He truly hadn’t expected that the overall satisfaction with the judicial environment could be connected to a single lawyer.

Although he had heard of the man from time to time, they were ultimately not part of the same system.

The Justice Bureau managed more than just lawyers, so a director like him naturally wouldn’t pay attention to such a minor matter.

And yet...

It was this very "minor matter" that had caused the overall satisfaction rating to soar!

"Are you certain?!"

Yang Guotao couldn’t help but ask again.

"Yes, we are."

Several of the subordinate Justice Bureau directors nodded in agreement.

"It’s written clearly on the ballots, and the neighborhood administration offices have said the same."

Upon hearing this, Yang Guotao felt a surge of elation.

It was true he had convinced Xu De to stay.

Back then, he had thought of it as a long-term investment, hoping it would improve the judicial environment in Lusen City over two or three years.

But he had never expected...

How long had it been?

Two months?

In just two months, the Lusen City residents’ overall opinion of the judicial environment had improved so dramatically!

Thinking it over, it made sense. The perspective of ordinary people was simple: if you do a good job, you deserve praise; if you do a bad job, you deserve criticism.

Xu De, returning the favor, had claimed he only stayed because Director Yang Guotao of the Lusen City Justice Bureau had personally persuaded him.

The residents would naturally wonder, ’What would have happened if Director Yang hadn’t convinced him to stay?’

If he hadn’t stayed, the No. 18 Middle School case would have still happened.

Just imagine.

What if Xu De had gone to another city and someone else had taken the case? What would the outcome have been?

Liu Jingqi would have, with 100% certainty, been sentenced to 15 years at most. The deceased would not be able to rest in peace, the victim’s family would have no closure, and society would be outraged!

But...

Because Director Yang of the Justice Bureau convinced him to stay, the outcome was rewritten.

This was the impact of the Justice Bureau!

For any ordinary citizen, upon hearing this news, what reason would they have to complain? After all, the Justice Bureau was actually getting things done!

"Director Zhang, if it’s because of that case..."

"Then there shouldn’t be any problem with these ballots!"

As Yang Guotao figured it out, he was overcome with excitement and felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Xu De.

’I just gave him a green light and fast-tracked his application back then.’

’I never thought... ’

’...that Xu De would return the favor so generously, claiming that he had wanted to leave and I had gone to great lengths to make him stay, after which he took the case... ’

’What do you call this?’

’Political achievement!’

’A rock-solid political achievement!!!’

"So there’s no problem with the ballots..."

Zhang Jianguo’s spirits began to rise as well.

The Justice Bureau’s achievements were his achievements. The city’s evaluation assembly was about to begin, which meant he...

"What’s that lawyer’s name?"

Zhang Jianguo suddenly asked again.

"Xu De."

Yang Guotao replied.

"Good... very good... Director Yang, you’ve also done a fine job."

Zhang Jianguo was very pleased. He rarely gave such direct praise.

If the overall satisfaction had increased but there was a problem with the ballots... Zhang Jianguo would have been furious.

But if there was no problem...

Then he would actually hope someone at the assembly dared to question him!

"Meeting adjourned!"

Zhang Jianguo didn’t even bother with the proper procedure and immediately announced:

"Li, gather all the ballots. We’re getting ready for the city’s evaluation assembly."

"Right."

Li hurriedly nodded and began collecting the ballots.

Everyone in the conference room relaxed, and relieved smiles appeared on their faces.

In past years, the Justice Bureau was lucky if it didn’t get chewed out, let alone get any recognition. But this year... they were finally going to be in the spotlight!

Just as the meeting was breaking up,

Zhang Jianguo, with his chest puffed out and back straight, was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He quickly turned back and said:

"Director Yang, about that lawyer..."

"Yes. Our Justice Bureau has always given preferential treatment to exceptional talents like him."

"You see to it that arrangements are made!"

With that said, Zhang Jianguo strode away with the bearing of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, his excellent mood clearly visible.

"Understood."

Yang Guotao agreed, feeling as if he’d eaten honeyed fruit; he couldn’t suppress the smile on his face.

He clasped his hands behind his back and walked out, feeling absolutely wonderful.

What did it mean to be on cloud nine?

This was it!

Just by lowering his stance and taking the initiative to invest in him, he had reaped such an ’overwhelming political achievement’!

To put it another way, with the positive public opinion generated by this wave of news about Xu De, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone else in the entire Qingwu Province with a stronger political achievement this year!

Not to mention, the fact that the Justice Bureau’s overall satisfaction rating had increased because of this was another rock-solid political achievement.

’It seems... ’

’...choosing to recruit him back then was absolutely the right decision!’

"Haha, Han Jun from Jinmao Law Firm is quite a character himself,"

Yang Guotao couldn’t stop smiling as he walked toward his office.

"To get his hands on someone like that and still manage to drive him away... delivering him right into my hands, letting me fast-track his application... Sigh, in a way, I owe Han Jun a favor."

Director Han ’forcing Xu De out’ led to Xu De establishing his own firm, which in turn led to Yang Guotao fast-tracking the process for him.

And it was precisely because of this fast-tracking that Xu De was qualified to take on the No. 18 Middle School case in such a short amount of time.

It was all thanks to Director Han’s ’selfless dedication’!

CREAK~

The office door was pushed open.

Yang Guotao walked over to his chair and leaned back comfortably, feeling more relaxed than he had in years.

After a long while,

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~

there was a sudden knock on the office door.

Yang Guotao composed his expression, straightened his posture, and said, "Come in."

CREAK~

The office door opened.

A staff member holding several files walked in. He stood before the desk, placed the documents on it, and said:

"Director Yang, this year’s law firm assessments for Lusen City require your review and signature."

This world was full of assessments.

The Justice Bureau had to be assessed, and law firms had to be assessed too!

That’s right.

Law firms had to undergo assessment by the Justice Bureau!

Law firms were assessed by the Justice Bureau on six major criteria: team building, business operations, professional ethics, internal management, social responsibility, and disciplinary self-regulation!

If they didn’t pass the assessment...

The law firm could be hit with a six-month suspension for rectification!

Of course, passing the assessment also came with a series of benefits.

"Oh, by the way,"

the staff member added, having remembered something:

"Director Yang, about Huquan Law Firm... they’re hoping to secure more slots for intern lawyers this year."

’Slots for intern lawyers?’

Yang Guotao hesitated, frowning and clicking his tongue. "Slots, huh? That’s not easy to arrange."

There were limits on how many people a law firm could hire.

The number of intern lawyer slots had to be allocated by the Justice Bureau. Generally speaking, if you had ten practicing lawyers, the Justice Bureau would allocate you between 10 and 20 slots.

"The slots in Lusen City are tight, and there are so many law firms. Huquan already has 15 slots; the bureau can’t spare any more for them."

Yang Guotao said.

The staff member nodded without refuting.

Then, just as Yang Guotao was about to sign,

he suddenly remembered something else and asked:

"That... what about Houde Law Firm’s assessment?"

The staff member replied:

"Houde Law Firm... they were established in November."

"They aren’t included in this year’s annual assessment, but... their routine evaluation doesn’t look very good. If they continue on this track,"

"they might not pass next year’s assessment."

’They might not pass next year’s assessment!?’

Yang Guotao’s expression turned serious. "What’s going on?"

The staff member explained, "First, the legal aid cases. They haven’t taken a single one in two months, so they aren’t fulfilling enough of their social responsibility."

"Their personnel and management are good, but the numbers are so small they’re almost negligible in the assessment..."

Before he could finish,

Yang Guotao cut him off, clearly displeased.

"Sigh, we are here to serve the people. We can’t just rigidly follow the regulations!"

"Houde Law Firm might not meet the standards in some respects, but the quality of their work is high! Social responsibility... the judicial environment has improved because of them. Isn’t that fulfilling their social responsibility perfectly?"

"In my opinion, they’ve completed their assessment exceptionally well."

The staff member was stunned.

"So, for this year..."

"They can be included."

Yang Guotao said, "The reason firms established in November or December aren’t included is to give smaller firms a break."

"But ’Houde Law Firm’ has clearly fulfilled the assessment requirements!"

"So naturally, they can be included."

"And if their assessment results are good, I’d say they’re a shoo-in for ’Model Firm’ of the year."

"When you’re finalizing the firm ratings, you can get Director Zhang’s signature."

The staff member looked like he wanted to say something but held back. After a moment of silence, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Then I’ll... I’ll take it back and revise it."

What the director said was right. According to the rules, Houde could indeed be included in the assessment. Revising it wouldn’t be a problem.

"Go on."

Yang Guotao nodded in satisfaction.

After the staff member left, he thought it over for a moment before finally pulling out his phone again.

BEEP BEEP BEEP~

The dialing tone sounded.

A moment later, the call connected.

Yang Guotao laughed heartily. "Lawyer Xu, it’s me, Yang Guotao."

"Here’s the thing, regarding the intern lawyer slots from the Justice Bureau..."

"Yes, yes, that’s right. Things are quite relaxed this year. Hardly any firms want the slots, so we have a whole bunch left over."

"How many does Houde Law Firm want?"