Chapter 19 How Much Are the Lawyer's Fees, To Be So Desperate

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The public interest litigation from the Consumer Association, this is not something you can just take on because you want to, since the association itself has a legal department and it generally wouldn't spend money to hire lawyers.

So how did this young man manage it?

Tang Fangjing didn't care what Old Song was thinking, what needed to be done now was to complete the procedure, just sign a contract with the firm for now, since he couldn't get his internship certificate yet—it would have to wait.

The main thing was to quickly get the contract with the Consumer Association sorted out.

He was not at all worried that the other side would ignore him and sue on their own, joking right, you're the Consumer Association, you're there to help consumers.

Now here I am, having worked so hard to diligently collect evidence, and you've agreed to let me handle this case, only to turn around and sue on your own, if this gets out on the internet, the already heavily criticized Consumer Association would definitely catch even more heat…

By the time everything at the firm was settled, it was already noon, they went downstairs for a quick bite to eat, and then headed straight for the Consumer Association.

Tang Fangjing didn't know that at that moment, in the Consumer Association office, Old Fang was chatting with a staff member from the legal department.

"Director Fang, are you sure all this evidence was gathered by that Tang Fangjing himself? The problem now is, our association's cases, hiring a lawyer to fight, we'll need to prepare funds for that, draft contracts, it's all troublesome…"

"Moreover, even if we hire a lawyer to represent us, typically shouldn't public interest litigation go through legal aid channels? Why pay like it's a normal representation?"

Old Fang looked at the man in front of him and shook his head, "I've already reported to the leadership, and they've agreed, there are no issues with the funds, there's no need for the legal department to worry about this."

You could say, where there are people there are rivers and lakes, but of course, it's mainly because this case is too special.

The evidence is all perfectly prepared, even leading a dog… in short, anyone would win easily.

Thus, under such circumstances, naturally, no one would want to miss out, just need to appease the one who gathered the evidence.

"Enough, I know what the legal department means, your director sent you, didn't he? Drop it, don't you know what kind of person he is by now? He's an idealist!"

"For his ideals, he could go to extremes gathering this evidence; now tell me, if we cross him, what would he do, don't you ever think about it, your eyes only see the benefits, right?"

The man was immediately at a loss for words.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Old Fang looked up, immediately smiling, "Hey, Little Tang is here!"

He had genuine respect for Lawyer Tang, idealists were never in short supply in this society.

Just like the reporter who covered the black-market medicine, did he work so hard just for that little bit of salary?

"Little Tang, you're here to sign the contract, right? We've already reviewed it on our side, just sign the contract and you can sue anytime!"

Tang Fangjing glanced at the man beside him and nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. Oh and Old Fang, this is Old Song from the firm, my master. Let's go ahead and sign the contract."

Old Fang was about to speak when the staff member from the legal department intervened, "Lawyer Tang, right? And Lawyer Song, I'm from the Consumer Association's legal department, and I was wondering if we could take over this case... or at least get involved."

He still hadn't given up; he knew that this case would make a big splash. The director had already said, if they didn't get involved, the subsequent impact wouldn't be good, it would seem like they hadn't done anything…

But he stopped halfway, noticing Tang Fangjing's expression was off, and quickly corrected himself.

Having anticipated someone would say this, Tang Fangjing smiled and said, "We've got enough people with me and Old Song here, the situation is quite clear, so we'll not trouble you, thanks."

"If the Consumer Association doesn't have the time, then we can just go to the Prosecutor's Office, let them initiate the public interest litigation, and we'll organize those who were deceived to sue separately, no problem."

At this, the staff member across hastily said, "No need, no need, there's no problem on the Consumer Association's side..."

He did indeed have his own plans; for consumer class public interest litigation, the only domestic organization that has the qualifications is indeed just the Consumer Association…

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It was just unexpected that the other party would be so resolute, announcing from the outset, "If it won't work, we'll turn to the prosecutor's office, then organize the lawsuit separately."

The significance of a public interest litigation lies in that, as long as one wins, the victory automatically benefits all related individuals.

For example, Ban Xi Xi's "Slash-a-Deal" actually infringes on everyone's right to know, but few individuals would file a lawsuit because it's not cost-effective.

After all the effort and spending quite a bit of money, one might only win four hundred yuan.

However, if the Consumer Association initiates a public interest litigation and wins, then you won't have to provide proof when you sue for the same issue.

That was Tang Fangjing's idea—to win the public interest litigation, then let those students who wanted to sue go ahead and do so. After all, it was just a matter of filing a complaint, and they could get whatever money they could, also adding to his own achievements...

As for the person in front of him, he didn't plan to pay him any mind. The guy hadn't lifted a finger but wanted to reap the fruits of his labor, wishful thinking.

The contract for representation by the Consumer Association was signed, and the legal fees and court costs for the first trial would be in the account today.

It wouldn't have been so quick, but Old Fang had helped urge them along. If others couldn't help with such matters, at least they shouldn't hold things back.

Tang Fangjing took all the evidence back and turned to say, "Let's go, Old Song, it's not even four o'clock yet. We'll head back to the office to get the stamp and then go straight to the court to submit the materials, hurry up!"

Old Song wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had just casually learned about the case his little bro was working on and was immediately in awe. So, this was how you got so many cases!

And now, without even taking a break after all that hustling, he wanted to rush off to court. Was there such a hurry?

But on further thought, considering the case was filed under his own name, if they won, Old Song would at least get a chance to show his face!

Clutching the pile of evidence, Old Song felt a surge of strength throughout his body. As for the earlier "just lending my name"... he had already forgotten that. Now, he wanted to be in the spotlight!

At 5:20 PM, the staff at Jingzhou City Intermediate People's Court's case filing office were stretching their necks, already tired. The case filing office at the Ministry of Justice was never that busy—it was the grassroots that were the true workhorses...

It's said that Bright District has been working non-stop recently, poor souls...

At that very moment, the computer in front gave a prompt that someone was calling to file a case.

Looking up, he saw two people standing before him, one with a square face looking very serious, the other pale and very young—not the focus here. The focus was the giant briefcase the square-faced man was carrying!

"Hello, comrade, I am a lawyer from Tengda Law Firm, authorized by the Handong Province Consumer Association to initiate this public interest litigation. Here's the case material for your review."

Looking at the giant package, the staff member's vision darkened. This would take until the year of the monkey...

And soon enough, the staff member realized that it was the young man who had collected all this evidence.

Wait, wasn't the amount you were paid for attorney fees small? Was it worth it for you to go to such lengths?

......

Unbeknownst to many, twenty-eight intermediary agencies in Jingzhou City, as well as six platforms, had already made it onto the market regulatory department's list, and Jingzhou City's court, after review, had also accepted the filing.

The six platforms were named as third parties without independent claim rights.

Of course, this was all undercurrents. On the surface, Jingzhou City remained harmonious, with major intermediary agencies still enjoying the last wave of profits from the graduation season.

Naturally, some agencies had heard rumors that someone was collecting evidence of their fake housing listings and pricing, but no one paid it any mind.

If everyone else was doing it and I didn't, what would happen to my performance...

In such an atmosphere, Guo Qifeng received a phone call.