113: Was this all initiated by Zhou Yun?

The young woman at the hotel front desk saw Zhou Yun come down and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Lawyer Zhou, you're finally down. These people came early this morning, saying they wanted to see you again."

In fact, the hotel staff were almost scared senseless that morning. Suddenly, a group of migrant workers, dressed in their work clothes and carrying various tools and bags, surrounded the entrance. Anyone would be scared!

Not to mention anything else, it was almost Chinese New Year!

If a mass incident really broke out, the local leaders would definitely not let them off.

Only after going out to inquire did they realize that everyone had merely come to see Zhou Lawyer…

This left the hotel owner speechless. He could only have people bring some water for those outside and let them sit down and rest for a while.

That's how it is to run a business. This little bit of effort doesn't cost much, but it can quickly build a reputation.

Zhou Yun smiled when he heard this and said, "Is that so? I'll go out and resolve it immediately. I apologize for the trouble."

The front desk girl waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing, these are small matters."

Zhou Yun came outside, and Ding Xinghuai, who was at the door, saw him and immediately said happily, "Lawyer Zhou is out!"

Everyone immediately stepped forward and started asking questions, one after another.

"Lawyer Zhou, are you not going home yet?"

"That's right, Lawyer Zhou, the money has already been transferred to our cards."

"Lawyer Zhou, thank you so much this time…"

Zhou Yun pressed his hands down and then said, "Everyone, there's no need to thank me. This is my own investigation, and I should thank you all for your help."

Everyone quickly said, "Lawyer Zhou, what are you saying? Without you, how could we have gotten the money?"

After saying a few words, Zhou Yun smiled and said,

"Alright, everyone, are you ready to go home? Go home, I'm also going back today. Let's not block the hotel entrance and hinder their business, alright?"

Under Zhou Yun's persuasion, everyone slowly dispersed with smiles, and offered Zhou Yun the simplest blessings of the working people.

They wished him a long life.

Zhou Yun also expressed his gratitude to everyone at the door. Although his original intention was not to help everyone, he had to admit that helping others felt really good.

After returning to the hotel and checking out, Zhou Yun also boarded the high-speed train back to Jinghai. He had been away for so long, and he wondered if Old Zhuang still had hair.

It was already afternoon when he arrived back in Jinghai. Stepping out of the high-speed train station, he saw that Old Zhuang was already waiting there.

"You finally decided to come back! I thought you were just going to celebrate the New Year in Changdong City!"

Old Zhuang looked at the handsome young man who walked out and said with great dissatisfaction.

Zhou Yun smiled when he heard this and said, "Old Zhuang, don't say that. Director Cai over there told me many times to stay and develop in Changdong."

"He even said he could directly give me an equity partner position, with a very high profit-sharing ratio…"

Currently, Zhou Yun is considered a senior partner at Zhentian Law Firm. Of course, the so-called senior or not is an internal designation of the law firm.

For example, when you go to get a haircut, you'll encounter various levels of stylists, like directors, senior directors, and so on.

Essentially, it's all to make people feel impressed without really understanding.

If you introduce someone as "This is Lawyer Zhou of our law firm," it doesn't sound very impressive. But if you say, "This is Director Zhou, a senior partner of our law firm," doesn't that sound much more impressive?

Each law firm has its own regulations for so-called "senior partners," most of which are linked to revenue generation.

Generating several million or ten million a year, it's calculated based on money, it's that simple.

At the core level, it can be roughly divided into two types: equity partners and non-equity partners.

As mentioned before, for cases handled by lawyers or teams, the law firm takes a commission. Some law firms even charge a desk fee in addition to the commission.

What is a desk fee? You can simply understand it as rent. If you work at the law firm, you have to pay them rent.

At this point, the law firm is the landlady, and this money is calculated per person…

That's why we say lawyers might take out loans when they first start working; they have to bear their own social security and other expenses…

Commissions are usually 15%, 20%, or 25%, which is considered quite a lot. Some firms go up to 30%, meaning if a lawyer generates one million in revenue, they have to pay 30% to the law firm.

Some people say, "Isn't this bullying honest people? Can't we just work independently if this continues?"

The answer is no, because all cases must be handled through the law firm, and all money is deposited into the law firm's account, which is then distributed to the lawyers by the law firm.

So, law firms make money by relying on lawyers!

Well, if law firms make so much money, it must eventually be distributed. This is where the difference between equity partners and non-equity partners comes in.

As a non-equity partner, even if your title is hyped up to the sky, like special or supreme senior partner, you won't get a single cent of the profit distribution.

However, an equity partner can receive annual dividends from the law firm!

So you can see that partners in large law firms are already considered another "class." They don't need to personally handle cases; they just receive dividends annually.

And at Zhentian, Zhou Yun certainly has profit-sharing rights, though it's relatively small.

Although Old Zhuang is the Director of the law firm, he cannot unilaterally decide on this matter.

Upon hearing Zhou Yun's words, Old Zhuang immediately became furious.

"Damn it, that Cai Caiying is actually trying to poach my talent, isn't she? That's too much! Isn't this bullying honest people?!"

After cursing, Old Zhuang cautiously asked, "Then will you…"

Zhou Yun smiled when he heard this and said, "I'm doing quite well in Jinghai, and I don't plan to move for now."

Hearing this, Old Zhuang felt relieved. No, he would call a meeting with the other partners today. No one could poach his talent!

Waving Zhou Yun into the car, Old Zhuang casually asked, "How do you plan to celebrate the New Year this year?"

Zhou Yun replied nonchalantly, "I'll just spend it at the firm. I'm on duty at the law firm during the New Year holiday. Anyway, I'd just be idle at home."

When a lawyer reaches his level, it's no longer just a profession; it's a way of life, a source of happiness.

Hearing this, Old Zhuang fell silent.

Upon arriving at the residential complex entrance, Zhou Yun dragged his suitcase home, while Old Zhuang went directly to the law firm to gather the other partners for a meeting.

There was nothing to say in the meeting. How long had Zhou Yun been with the firm? He had already generated seven million in revenue for the firm. No one could question this achievement.

Although he paid the money himself, for the law firm, as long as it was money, it was fine.

It was New Year's, and the law firm was on holiday. Other lawyers went home to celebrate, but Zhou Yun stayed alone at the law firm, feeling quite at ease.

He also helped some people solve problems, after all, if people were looking for a lawyer on New Year's Eve, it meant they were truly desperate.

The most common disputes around New Year's were debt collections. Although it's only right to pay back debts, collecting debts these days is truly difficult.

Zhou Yun not only waited for these people to come to him, but he also cooperated with community streets to act as a mediator.

The local street and community were overjoyed to know that he, a top lawyer, was willing to be a temporary mediator.

However, after mediating for a morning, he was politely asked to leave.

They originally wanted you to mediate, but you came up and asked if they wanted to mediate, and if not, you would help the other side file a lawsuit.

Is that the attitude of a mediator?

Zhou Yun's thought on this was, don't talk about anything else, just tell me if my results were good or not. In one morning, four disputes were all successfully mediated.

After all, they were all from the same community, and when they knew he was Zhou Yun, they immediately lost their temper.

This person was someone who wouldn't back down even if stabbed with a knife; he was best at being serious.

So when they knew Zhou Yun was going to be serious with them, they directly chose to compromise, after all, many disputes were not big deals.

It's just that some people always thought others wouldn't do anything, so they turned minor issues into major ones.

Unable to continue mediation work, Zhou Yun could only return to the law firm for duty.

However, the street also said that if they encountered some particularly unreasonable people, they would definitely ask Zhou Yun for help.

Because Zhou Yun said he liked those who were particularly unreasonable, and he was best at "reasoning" with such people.

No choice, just this hobby.

Just like that, the New Year holiday slowly passed, and Zhou Yun had a great time.

Dong Yunliang was also very happy. During this period, he could be said to be unrivaled online!

However, not long after returning to work after the New Year, a public reply came like a thunderclap, shattering the minds of some in the legal community.

The Supreme Peoples Court publicly issued a "Reply on Whether Illegal Labor Dispatch Constitutes the Crime of Illegal Business Operations."

The content was simple: it stated that they had received an inquiry from the Jiangguang Province High Court regarding this issue, and after research, the reply was as follows.

The general meaning was that labor dispatch without qualifications, i.e., illegal labor dispatch, generally does not constitute the crime of illegal business operations.

However, if these labor companies or individuals maliciously withhold wages through other means, seriously endangering the order of the labor market, they can be convicted and punished for the crime of illegal business operations.

On the surface, it didn't specifically state what exactly constituted "seriously endangering the order of the labor market," but it was enough.

Because the Jiangguang High Court had asked if it could be used, and the Supreme Peoples Court replied that it could be used under such circumstances.

As for the specific circumstances, that was a matter for the lower Courts, because each case was different.

Not long after this reply was issued, it began to be forwarded by those with intentions.

"@Professor Dong, come, come, here's a New Year's gift for you. You said there was no regulation, come and see this."

"I wonder what else Professor Dong has to say. Now there's a regulation, right!"

The forwarding volume began to increase, and finally, Dong Yunliang in the Magic City saw it.

"Supreme Peoples Court… This, damn it, how could such a reply be issued? This is purely illegal!"

Dong Yunliang almost smashed his phone after seeing the news.

He believed that the Supreme Peoples Court could not issue such a reply at all, as it was further expanding the scope of the "pocket crime"!

But unfortunately, they still issued it.

It's still the same saying: what's most important? Stability is most important.

The requirement from above is stability, and what is law? Law is a tool for the ruling class to maintain its rule!

Now, seeing that there are problems in this area, a regulation must be given, otherwise, if the law, this tool, becomes ineffective, some people will pick up physical tools.

Before, no one broke this pocket, so everything went smoothly.

But now it's different. Zhou Yun has conducted such a large investigation in three cities, so the higher authorities must take action.

Moreover, this is not just Zhou Yun's credit. In the past two years, due to wage arrears of this type, cases of labor bosses being attacked have occurred from time to time.

The higher authorities had already planned to carry out rectification.

Rights must be fought for. If you don't fight, don't blame others for gradually compressing your rights. This is reality.

The law is just a tool; it is not sacred. It cannot do anything on its own; everything must be accomplished by people themselves.

But Dong Yunliang didn't know that Zhou Yun had caused such a big stir again, so he couldn't understand why the Supreme Peoples Court would give such a reply!

After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a reason to refute.

"I don't know why you people are so excited. There is a regulation now, but what does this regulation have to do with Zhou Yun?"

"Ah? Why are you giving him so much credit? This is a regulation issued by the Supreme Peoples Court based on the request from the Jiangguang Province High Court."

"Let me take a step back. Don't you know what 'no retroactivity' means? Just because there's a regulation now doesn't mean it could be judged that way before, understand?"

"The current reply is only binding on this case and future cases, and has no binding force on previous cases."

Dong Yunliang published another article, with two core points: one, this matter had nothing to do with Zhou Yun.

The other was that, according to the principle of non-retroactivity of law, the case Zhou Yun handled in Jinghai was still problematic.

Many non-legal professionals have heard of the principle of non-retroactivity of law. In layman's terms, it means that current laws cannot govern past events.

The greatest problems often arise when new and old laws are being connected.

The most typical example is the Civil Code. Regarding the issue of legal application, the Supreme Peoples Court has issued a series of judicial interpretations.

There is also Article 88 of the new "Company Law," which was hotly debated a while ago, a topic that was hotly debated in the legal circle but not well known to ordinary people.

And now, what Dong Yunliang brought out was the principle of non-retroactivity of law.

It must be said that as a law professor, Dong Yunliang certainly had some skills, after all, it was his bread and butter.

After the article was published, it received approval from a lot of people.

"Everyday Upward": I'm also very curious why you all are so excited; this has absolutely nothing to do with Zhou Yun.

"And Professor Dong's logic has no problems whatsoever. What do you all say now?"

"People Meet After Dusk": Haters, come on, keep talking. Professor Dong has responded directly, what about that Lawyer Zhou? Why isn't he saying anything?

A bunch of people came out to openly attack, anyway, they weren't slandering or insulting, they just wanted Zhou Yun to come out and show himself.

So what was Zhou Yun doing? He was perfecting the video content.

The first part of this video had been completed long ago, but the ending was pending because there was no clear reply.

Now with the Supreme Peoples Court's reply, there were no problems whatsoever.

He originally planned to release it directly, but he didn't expect Professor Dong to still be unconvinced. Well, if that's the case, he would beat him until he submitted.

Soon, Zhou Yun finished the last part of the video and then clicked upload.

The publicity department in Jiangguang Province had already reviewed the first part and found no issues, so there was no need to review the latter part.

After doing all this, Zhou Yun immediately went out. He had already bought his ticket and was going to meet Professor Dong face-to-face, like a drum and gong facing each other.

He was mainly worried that Professor Dong might delete his account and run away after his video was released, so he decided to meet him offline.

As for where to find the other party… they were all in the legal circle, so it was easy to find out the other party's school.

At that time, he would block them outside their classroom, and after class, they could have a debate. How refreshing would that be?

He hoped Professor Dong wouldn't be unappreciative.

It was already noon, and Wang Shenggang, who had been cooped up at home for many days, felt like he was suffocating.

What the hell was that guy surnamed Dong? He wasn't done yet, was he?

He didn't think Zhou Yun would lose. Are you kidding? Just the way Zhou Yun came up with that method to get him rid of his ex-girlfriend showed that the man's mind was definitely not normal…

And a person like Zhou Yun, when he said he would see it through to the end, he meant it literally.

That's right, after the previous case, Wang Shenggang considered himself the person who understood Zhou Yun the most.

As for Zhou Yun's words, don't overthink them; just take them literally.

For example, if he said he wanted you to meet someone, he genuinely meant he wanted you to meet her, with no other meaning, except that the circumstances of the meeting might be slightly different…

The feeling was too deep; he would never forget it in this life.

Just then, Wang Shenggang saw a red notification dot. Zhou Yun had finally updated!

He quickly clicked in and found that the video's title was still simple: "Labor Market Research Report for the Yangtze River Delta Region!"

The opening sentence made Wang Shenggang freeze.

"Given that Professor Dong said I was abusing my reputation to interfere with justice, and that there is no explicit legal provision for a crime, I decided to see if I could make such a provision."

"So I spent a long time conducting a survey report on nearly 100,000 people in three cities, including Changdong in Jiangguang Province…"

So, all the large-scale rectification actions in Jiangguang Province during this period were pushed by Lawyer Zhou?

And then there was the principle of non-retroactivity of law, and Lawyer Zhou directly gave a countermeasure, called what, blank retroactivity?