What's wrong with this lawyer?!

"That won't happen, I am quite comfortable staying at Tengda right now; running to an unfamiliar place like Jingzhou doesn't appeal to me,"

The two chatted and laughed their way back to Tengda, greeting various people along the way.

Finally, Old Tang returned to his office; no matter how good it is outside, it's not as good as home.

Now, it was only a matter of when the cases in Jingzhou would be judged.

...

In Guanning District, the forced labor case involving Mou Chunlai had already been brought to court.

No matter how hard Ma Jingying tried, she still had no way out.

The crime was clear, the evidence was conclusive, and most importantly, the coercion of minors was particularly abhorrent, so not even bail pending trial was granted.

The law firm where Shang Qicheng worked actually wasn't much different from Dafeng Law Firm; it was an exceedingly standard law firm.

'Standard' meant, we will do what we are supposed to do, but the outcome is not under our control; that's not something you can do anything about, so just pay us.

Old Tang, upon learning that the case had been taken to court, notified Cheng Nanyan.

Why would Cheng Nanyan arbitrarily refuse to settle? Of course, that had already been discussed by Old Tang's side.

There was no need to accept it. When the time came, they would file a civil suit attached to the criminal case. The money that should be returned must be returned, and on top of that, they could obtain related compensation.

Long hours of overtime, night shifts—all these warranted claims for personal compensation and damages for emotional distress, and they could aim for higher amounts.

Why? Because in civil suits attached to criminal cases, the victim's claims don't incur legal fees...

In this regard, Old Tang was very knowledgeable; a high-value civil suit normally wouldn't come cheap in terms of legal fees.

But here, you can demand more because it's free.

Cheng Nanyan had actually also mentioned to her classmates not to rush into settling.

However, it was futile; as soon as word got out that the school was refunding money, the students' parents behind the scenes couldn't sit still and were eager to agree, naturally leaving us no room to maneuver.

December 15th, Mou Chunlai's big day.

Old Tang was already waiting online in advance; it was Old Lu who specifically told him that the case against Mou Chunlai would be live-streamed.

Just looking at the situation, one could tell that it would be an ironclad case.

The trial began, and Mou Chunlai, who had once led a privileged life, stood in the dock with half his hair turned white, looking as if he had aged ten years.

Huo Ming beside him was even worse off, devoid of any sparkle in his eyes, and had lost a lot of weight.

Looking at their condition, they must have had a rather comfortable time in detention.

The several teachers were comparatively alright, although they were the direct executors, they managed to get bail pending trial.

Ma Jingying was sitting in the spectator's seat, expressionless.

Shang Qicheng naturally was defending for a lesser sentence; when it came to the trial phase, very few lawyers would engage in a not-guilty defense like Old Tang did.

Indeed, to speak unpleasantly, by the time of the trial, the court already has a certain idea of how to sentence...

Don't find it strange; trials are very important if you say they're important, and not so much if you say they're not.

Everything proceeded like a routine. Shang Qicheng's defense was methodical, nothing more than acknowledging guilt and remorse, and he had also tried hard to seek the victims' forgiveness.

In response, the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation was eight years of fixed-term imprisonment!

Mainly because the forced subjects were minors and this went on for many years, with great profits!

After comprehensive consideration, the court sentenced Mou Chunlai to eight years of fixed-term imprisonment and imposed a fine of seven hundred thousand yuan!

They sentenced Huo Ming to five years of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of four hundred thousand yuan.

The rest of the teachers received about three years of fixed-term imprisonment, with fines of one hundred thousand yuan each.

Crimes that disrupt market order generally carry higher fines in most cases.

Regarding the attached civil lawsuits, the court also supported the claims, and the minors had even presented relevant medical proof.

The judgment, in addition to returning the remuneration for labor, awarded compensation of thirty thousand yuan!

Cheng Nanyan and her father Cheng Dashan almost couldn't contain themselves, and a thousand words converged into a single phrase, "Lawyer Tang is awesome."

This was genuinely awesome; in order to claim this amount of money, she resolutely sent a school's executives and teachers to prison…

Just don't know what the other students who accepted the settlement thought about this verdict.

Old Tang didn't care about these things; heaven helps those who help themselves, just as when he previously offered free arbitration, and those who came could naturally be helped. Those who didn't see it or didn't come naturally had to figure it out themselves.

After all, Old Tang was not a god, and there was never a savior; people still have to rely on themselves.

After the judgment was passed, Ma Jingying staggered, and the relatives of the other criminals began to cry.

Initially, they could earn a year's income during just one winter vacation. Now, it was time to pay the price for such profits.

Mou Chunlai almost collapsed when he couldn't stand steadily; he was fifty-one this year.

Huo Ming was even more unable to bear it. He was now thinking, if the school had just agreed when Cheng Nanyan approached them, would all this have been avoided…

Thinking of how he originally treated Cheng Nanyan and Cheng Dashan, Huo Ming cried his eyes out.

It's just that life doesn't come with regret medicine.

Mou Chunlai declared he would appeal; he refused to accept it, he felt the sentence was too steep. Even though the lawyer beside him said this was already the best outcome, he still didn't accept it and wanted to appeal.

Lawyer Shang Qicheng didn't try to persuade him any further; after all, if you appeal, I will still collect my fees.

Whether the second trial even takes place is another matter...

In Jingzhou, Old Tang left a message online for the relevant departments in Lüzhou, asking why there are reports against Wufang Technical School every year, but why there had been no investigation or handling of it?