Are You Crazy? He's only an Intern Lawyer?-Chapter 72 - 71 The Law Firm Despises the Chain, Business as Usual for the Li Family

I remember that the professors there would write recommendation letters for every graduating student, right?”

“Yeah, but the recommendation letter Professor Zheng wrote for me was for an internship at a legal clinic…”

“A legal clinic?” Li Qinghe is slightly taken aback by Zhang Wei’s response.

In the bustling Dongfang Capital, there are many law firms.

As the largest city in the southern part of Dragon Country, which also has the highest number of emerging enterprises, it’s a mega-modern city with a permanent population of over 20 million.

There are even more legal clinics.

Within the Dongfang Capital lawyer circle, law firms also have a professional grading system.

Law firms are categorized into small, medium, large, and top-tier firms based on factors such as the number of practicing lawyers, the win rate of lawsuits, client approval ratings, and the rate of acceptance of public welfare cases, with the scores given by the Judicial Supervisory Committee as the assessment criteria.

Of course, apart from these four levels, there are also individual offices and legal clinics.

Individual offices, as the name suggests, are established by a single lawyer, and clients are generally served on a one-to-one basis.

Lawyers working independently can only serve a limited number of clients and provide limited services, but those who venture out on their own generally have confidence and a source of cases.

They are often from large law firms, branching out on their own with their most familiar clients.

Besides individual offices, there are legal clinics specifically dedicated to taking on public welfare cases and providing free legal advice.

Such clinics typically attract lawyers who have been sifted out of law firms or couldn’t get into the large firms to begin with, as well as recent law school graduates or even current law students.

The clinics aim to help clients with minor cases and barely make a profit, surviving on subsidies provided by the committee.

The highest compensation amount for any single lawsuit in a legal clinic doesn’t exceed 50,000, and the percentage they can take is similarly low.

The number of practicing lawyers in a legal clinic is usually not too large, around 2 to 5, and their level of litigation is not high.

Their daily work typically consists of providing free legal consultations or serving as defense counsel for lesser crimes, dealing with simple personal matters.

Beyond individual offices and legal clinics, once the number of practicing lawyers reaches a certain scale, it can be called a law firm.

Those with fewer than 50 lawyers are collectively called small law firms, and some don’t even have 50 people when counting all employees.

Medium-sized law firms have more than 50 practicing lawyers, and including other employees, the total number of people may exceed 100.

The aforementioned employees, in addition to practicing lawyers, include administrative assistants, case investigators, special online teams, operation teams, and so on.

Large law firms, on the other hand, must have over 100 practicing lawyers, with some firms reaching scales of 500 lawyers.

Including employees, the number of people in these firms is truly formidable.

Large law firms are the aspiration for all law firms in Dongfang Capital, with many smaller ones striving to expand and reach this level.

The top-tier firms are the top ten of Dongfang Capital.

They are all large law firms themselves, with staff counts exceeding 500, and the Judicial Supervisory Committee selects the top ten from among the many large law firms to encourage others to strive for excellence.

However, since this grading system was introduced, the rankings of the top ten law firms haven’t changed in nearly a decade.

Among them, Jincheng Law Firm has always been first in the top ten, with its ranking unchanged.

Jincheng, ranking first, has more than 500 practicing lawyers, and counting the internal staff, the total number of people in the firm exceeds 2000, making it a super behemoth in the field of law firms.

And every year, many people clamor to join Jincheng Law Firm, all eager to enter the number one top-tier law firm.

As for Li Qinghe, her Qingmu Law Firm is considered a medium-sized firm.

The firm has over 50 practicing lawyers, nearing a total of 100 employees, and is currently in a stage of growth.

This gives Li Qinghe an extra sense of confidence when she steps outside because she is a partner in a medium-sized firm and can look down upon all smaller law firms.

Especially in front of her own family, Li Qinghe is even more confident, showing off an arrogant and haughty attitude in front of her sister Li Qinghua, which extends to Li Qinghua’s family as well, just like now, facing Zhang Wei…

“Young man, the Professor Zheng you mentioned, is it Zheng Qian?

He actually recommended you for an internship at a legal clinic?”

Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s words, Li Qinghe indeed found a sense of superiority.

“How can that be acceptable?

A law clinic is what, a place where a bunch of law school students write their graduation theses, and a few third-rate lawyers idle their days away?

If you go there, won’t you just be idling away your days with them?”

If there is a hierarchy of contempt in the lawyer circle, from top to bottom, then law clinics are absolutely the existence that all law firms look down upon.

Any lawyer with even a modicum of ability would avoid law clinics, as it’s not the place where they should be staying.

This also leads to many law clinics only being able to absorb some law students to pad their numbers, with a high turnover rate.

Over time, this has created a sort of vicious cycle.

“Auntie, how can law clinics be a place for idling away time?

Aren’t they there for the purpose of better serving the public?

Your words are a bit too harsh, don’t you think?

“Moreover, I had previously worked in a law clinic in collaboration with East University, handling some public welfare cases, and it was indeed a great learning experience!”

Previously, when he took cases, he did so under the name of a law clinic.

The Lin Xiao case, the Tang Chunfeng case, the Wang Yuqing case—all were like this.

But those in the clinic probably had no idea that their firm had an intern attorney so impressive, huh.

Zhang Wei looked at Li Qinghe with a cold laugh in his heart.

He realized that Li Qinghe was seeking a sense of superiority over him.

“Hmph, ‘better serving the public’ is just about representing those who can’t afford attorney fees.

There’s hardly any money in it, what kind of career can that lead to!”

Li Qinghe let out a chuckle, her face full of disdain: “Young man, listen to your aunt, forget about the law clinic.

If you go there, how could you ever make a name for yourself in the Dongfang Capital Lawyer Circle?

You might spend your whole life just being an obscure little lawyer…”

An obscure little lawyer?

Zhang Wei mused internally that he might already be more famous than their entire firm.

No, that’s not right!

If he really were that famous now, then the other party should have recognized his name immediately after he said it.

But Li Qinghe clearly had not heard of the name Zhang Wei, which indicated that his fame was not yet enough to intimidate this future aunt.

Zhang Wei could only go along with her line of questioning, following the flow: “So, according to what you suggest, Aunt, I should…”

But he knew clearly in his heart that Li Qinghe’s next sentence would definitely involve boasting about her own law firm.

“Young man, since you’ve asked, let me not keep you in the dark.

Qingmu is currently hiring, and considering Xiao Yue Yue’s face, I can give you a chance to interview at our law firm!”

Zhang Wei was internally gagging—her intentions were just too “pure,” only wanting to show off her own law firm, huh?

“I’ll have you know that our Qingmu Law Firm is a well-known mid-sized firm in the Chengbei District of Dongfang Capital City, with nearly 60 practicing members.

We have an excellent reputation in the Chengbei area and just this year, we’ve handled over 20% of the personal litigation cases in the district.

Do you understand what that means?

Let me tell you, when the residents of Chengbei talk about Qingmu, they have nothing but the highest praise…”

“Heh, 20%, and that’s just personal litigation cases.

What about commercial litigation and corporate projects?

Why don’t you mention those?”

“And it’s only the Chengbei District; what’s there to be so proud of?

Do you feel so mighty and high and mighty like you’re flying up to the heavens?”

Zhang Wei inwardly sneered at Li Qinghe, who seemed to be flying to the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

As he watched Li Qinghe get more and more excited, her nostrils flaring as if they were about to take off, Zhang Wei subconsciously wanted to say something.

“Cough cough…”

In the end, Zhang Wei didn’t speak; instead, it was the future father-in-law Xia Donghai who coughed, interrupting Li Qinghe’s “chanting.”

“Qinghe, little Zhang is still undecided, and you’re already boasting about your own law firm.

Maybe he won’t go to a law clinic; he might even join a bigger firm, who knows?”

Xia Donghai was a typical honest man who thought Zhang Wei looked “troubled” and assumed that Li Qinghe had hit a sore point, so he quickly came to the rescue.

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As for Zhang Wei, although Xia Donghai was taken aback by his daughter suddenly finding a boyfriend, he was much more tolerant than Li Qing Hua.

After finding out that Zhang Wei graduated from East University Law School and looked particularly “down to earth,” he didn’t feel much dislike and instinctively treated him as his “future son-in-law.”

Therefore, as an elder, it was natural for him to offer some support.

“Brother-in-law, what do you know!”

Li Qinghe actually looked down on Xia Donghai, who at his advanced age was still just an external staff member of the Martial Association.

So, hearing his words, she naturally snorted.

Li Qinghe struck Xia Donghai with a remark, then said to Zhang Wei, “Young man, to prove whether a newcomer is impressive or not, a recommendation letter from a law school professor is the key to getting your foot in the door.

If the professor says you’re good, then you’re good.

If not, no matter how good you feel about yourself, it’s useless; you can only join a small law firm or do odd jobs at a legal clinic.”

“Young man, you only get one chance.

Our Qingmu is a mid-sized law firm, and without a partner like me speaking for you, it might take you several years of networking to qualify to join a mid-sized firm!”

Her implication was clear: Professor Zheng has already sent you to intern at a legal clinic, so you should be aware of your own standing.

A newcomer who can only intern at a legal clinic is now being offered an olive branch by our Qingmu Law Firm.

You should really think this through, shouldn’t you?

This opportunity only comes once!

“Xiao Zhang, your sister isn’t wrong; instead of muddling through at a legal clinic, why don’t you give Li Family’s Qingmu Law Firm a try…”

Xia Donghai is the typical nice guy, who, seeing the sense in Li Qinghe’s words, naturally began to lean in that direction and considered it for Zhang Wei’s benefit.

Honestly speaking, Zhang Wei wasn’t interested in Qingmu Law Firm, as it was just a mid-sized firm in the outer Chengbei District, lacking any real appeal.

But Li Qinghe was Xia Qianyue’s maternal aunt, and it seemed that Xia Donghai was speaking on his behalf, so he couldn’t just outright reject her.

“Since Uncle Xia has said so much, if I were to refuse my aunt’s kindness, then I would seem rather ungrateful.”

Zhang Wei hurriedly complimented them and then put on a serious face, as if he had given it serious thought, and weighed in, “Well, why don’t I go have a look in a few days, as if to admire the splendor of Qingmu Law Firm?”

“Hahaha, well said, you’re quite the smooth talker!”

Li Qinghe, with a face full of smiles upon hearing Zhang Wei’s flattery, thought to herself that the young man had a way with words.

She was in such a good mood that she didn’t catch the perfunctory tone in Zhang Wei’s words, but instead laughed heartily, “Don’t wait a few days, come next Monday.

Come and see us at Qingmu; I’ll have someone arranged for your interview!”

As she spoke, she decided for Zhang Wei in an almost commanding way and looked towards her daughter, Li Feifei.

This girl had been quiet ever since she entered the family building, absorbed in playing with her phone the whole time.

It was only when Li Qinghe asked Zhang Wei about his situation that she briefly looked up, but upon hearing that Zhang Wei was going to join a legal clinic, she went back to focusing on her phone.

“Xiao Zhang, do you have a car?”

“Not yet, mainly because I haven’t even taken the driving test…”

Zhang Wei felt helpless.

In fact, he knew how to drive, but the original owner of the body was too timid to take the test.

“I see.

How about you leave me your address, and I’ll have Feifei come to pick you up on Monday?”

“Mom, I’m not free on Monday, I have plans!”

Li Qinghe was going to have her daughter Li Feifei take care of it, but the latter refused impatiently.

Zhang Wei could tell that the other party probably didn’t have any plans, it was just a spur-of-the-moment excuse.

“Is that so!”

Hearing her daughter speak like this, Li Qinghe thought for a moment and handed a business card to Zhang Wei.

“Then how about this, Xiao Zhang, come by yourself on Monday.

The address for our Qingmu Law Firm is on the card.

Give me a call when you get there, and I’ll wait for you at the firm!”

Since they had both said so, Zhang Wei thought about it and felt he had to go.

At worst, he could just create a disturbance during the interview, prompting Qingmu to reject him.

Click!

The door to the room opened.

Li Qinghua and Xia Qianyue emerged from inside, one after the other.

It looked as if Li Qinghua had given Xia Qianyue a scolding; the latter’s cherry lips were pouting in defiance.

Xia Qianyue sneakily took a seat and even cheekily winked at Zhang Wei.

As for Li Qinghua, a hint of anger remained on her face, clearly dissatisfied with her daughter suddenly introducing a boyfriend.

She looked at Zhang Wei, took a deep breath, and couldn’t help saying, “You must be Xiao Zhang.

I heard from my daughter, you’re from the law school, right?”

“Mother-in-law, that’s right…”

“Sister, Xiao Zhang and I have already talked it over.

Let’s have him come to our Li Family’s law firm for an interview next Monday.

If there’s no major issue, let’s have this young man intern at our family’s firm.”

Zhang Wei was about to say something more, but to his surprise, Li Qinghe suddenly cut him off.

“Go to Qingmu?” Li Qinghua was momentarily stunned when she heard the news.

However, she then looked at Zhang Wei with an impatient expression, “What mother-in-law, you and my daughter haven’t even set a wedding date yet, don’t call me mother-in-law!”

“Alright then, Auntie Li…” Zhang Wei had no choice but to correct himself reluctantly.

“Sister, you too, don’t scare little Zhang!”

Li Qinghe, not satisfied with Li Qinghua’s attitude, spoke with a slightly admonishing tone, “At least little Zhang has passed the legal exam and become a lawyer.

Even if he doesn’t make a name for himself in our law firm, thanks to his connection with Xiao Yue Yue, he could still be a junior partner.”

Hearing Li Qinghe’s words, especially the phrase “passed the legal exam,” Li Qinghua’s face began to look a bit unsightly.

Like Li Qinghe, Li Qinghua had also been a student at East University Law School.

Unfortunately, she had not passed the legal exam and had been re-taking it every year for several years, but had failed each time.

Eventually, Li Qinghua joined the court but could only work as a court clerk, and the legal exam had become a thorn in her side.

Every time Li Qinghe brought up this subject and displayed that sense of superiority typical of smart people, it was like a fishbone stuck in Li Qinghua’s throat, a thorn in her back.

But the thing was, she had no way to refute it!

Thinking about this made her furious!

“Hmph, if young people aren’t taught a lesson now, when I’m completely old, I won’t be able to discipline them!” Li Qinghua snorted coldly, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

Since she was feeling annoyed, her attitude toward Zhang Wei naturally became very unpleasant.

“Mom, I’m hungry~”

Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Xia Qianyue, who hadn’t spoken up till now, finally took action, pointing at her stomach with a helpless expression.

Zhang Wei glanced up at the wall clock and realized it was mealtime.

“Eat, eat, eat, that’s all you know.

You got a boyfriend and didn’t even tell me; how did I raise such an ungrateful child!”

Seeing her daughter complain of hunger, Li Qinghua scolded irritably but still got up and headed for the kitchen.

Soon, the sounds of cooking could be heard emanating from the kitchen.

Although Li Qinghua came from the prominent Li Family, after marrying Xia Donghai, she had become a housewife when not working, taking care of her husband and daughter.

“Xiao Zhang, do you drink alcohol?

How about we have a few shots?”

“Uncle, I don’t drink alcohol, never learned how.”

Seeing Xia Donghai intending to fetch wine, Zhang Wei quickly declined.

While refusing his future father-in-law’s booze was impolite, Zhang Wei had no plans to make an exception for Xia Donghai.

Lawyer Zhang did not smoke and only drank moderately, while Xia Donghai clearly was not planning on just a few sips.

The other man likely wanted to test his character with a drinking session, and Zhang Wei did not dare to give him any leverage, only able to politely refuse.

“Young people nowadays, there are fewer of them who don’t drink.

But that’s good too, prevents troubles from drinking!” Li Qinghe laughed upon seeing this.

Upon hearing this, disdain flashed in the eyes of Li Feifei, who was sitting nearby under her sunglasses.

She thought men who didn’t drink were especially boring, so her gaze towards Zhang Wei became even more scornful.

He was just a poor boy trying to climb up to their Li Family, and only someone like her cousin would fancy such a person.

…

In the kitchen, the aroma of the dishes wafted out.

“This cooking skill, it’s not up to par…”

Zhang Wei muttered to himself in his mind and quickly stood up.

“Auntie, how can you cook all by yourself?

Let me help you!”

Zhang Wei hurriedly entered the kitchen, intending to showcase his culinary skills.