156: President Lan, it’s just a civil dispute. Is that okay with you?

Zhou Yun spoke with great enthusiasm, but Luo Hongxuan, on the other side, felt a bit embarrassed.

He finally spoke, “Zhou Lawyer, uh… how do you charge lawyer fees? I know a little about it; for a project worth over three million, the lawyer fees should be at least three hundred thousand.”

“I definitely can’t let you do it for free, I don’t have the face for that. I currently have about fifty thousand saved up, which I can all put forward, and then for the remaining money, I…”

He wanted to ask if a contingency fee arrangement was possible, but he opened his mouth several times without saying it.

To be honest, although Zhou Lawyer already had a plan for this case, it would still be very difficult and troublesome to carry out.

In such a situation, a contingency fee arrangement would be all risk, and almost no lawyer would be willing to take it.

This is the biggest problem with rights protection: cost and risk.

Litigation has risks; every person who has been involved in a lawsuit knows this, because when you file a lawsuit, your lawyer, including Court staff, will remind you.

Winning is one thing, enforcement is another. No one will guarantee that you will definitely get the money. You might spend hundreds of thousands and still get no results in the end; that’s the reality.

At this moment, Zhou Yun looked at Luo Hongxuan, who had been stammering for a long time, and smiled, “You’re talking about lawyer fees, right? That’s simple, of course, I can’t do a lawsuit for free.”

“The Director of the law firm I’m in is the President of the Jinghai City Lawyers Association; how could I take the lead in violating regulations?”

“To be honest, for your case, three hundred thousand is not enough. The complexity of this case absolutely cannot be solved with three hundred thousand. Normally, the fee should be between four hundred thousand and five hundred thousand.”

“Ah?” Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Luo Hongxuan’s face: “Then Zhou Lawyer, I guess I’ll just give up. Even if I borrow now, I can’t get that much.”

Zhou Yun smiled again, “Mr. Luo, so you are very lucky, someone is willing to pay for your case.”

“What?” Luo Hongxuan was stunned: “Someone is willing to pay for my case? Who, Zhou Lawyer, is it that good?”

Zhou Yun nodded, “Yes, it’s a great person, President Lan Hongbo of our Jiangdong Province Lawyers Association. We agreed before I came out this time that I would take the case, and they would cover the fees through legal aid.”

“So you don’t have to worry. I’ll send you the required materials later, and you just provide them according to the content. You don’t need to worry about the rest; I’ll handle it.”

Luo Hongxuan felt like he was about to fly; it was truly a good thing he never even dreamed of.

He had thought of every possible solution for this case but had no results. He had even gone to petition and almost got detained.

He never thought that now there was finally hope. Although the lawsuit hadn’t started yet, Zhou Lawyer himself represented hope!

Soon, Luo Hongxuan sped home on his electric bike. He had already divorced, and his child was with his ex-wife; he lived alone now.

Once home, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets, taking out all the necessary items, mainly the cooperation agreement, or rather, the affiliation agreement, signed with the construction company back then.

There were also some pieces of evidence similar to actual construction, which had all been prepared when he filed the lawsuit before.

Then, without stopping, he went to the hotel and handed all these materials to Zhou Yun.

“Alright, you go back and wait. I’ll call you when it’s time to sign the contract.”

Taking the materials back to his hotel room, Zhou Yun checked the time; it was about eight in the evening. He then made a call.

“Hello Director Zhou, are you busy? I took a case, just a civil dispute. Yes, I’ll send you the materials, please handle it quickly on your end.”

In Jinghai City, Old Zhuang put down his phone. Zhou Yun’s efficiency was truly fast; he had just released it today, and there were already results.

He didn’t need to think twice to know that this case would definitely be very troublesome; if it wasn’t troublesome, Zhou Yun wouldn’t have taken it.

Soon, Old Zhuang started looking at the materials. He smiled as he read them. Indeed, it was just a civil dispute, but the defendant was just a little bit special.

Silver Fir District Education Bureau!

And it had been going on for over ten years; it truly could be called a historical issue. This kind of matter was the most troublesome.

After all, it was something from many years ago. Heaven knows what they were up to back then. Many things are feared when investigated, and if something is found, it will be even more troublesome.

Other lawyers would truly avoid this kind of case like the plague; only Zhou Yun was particularly enthusiastic about such matters.

He quickly reviewed the materials. Although he didn’t know how Zhou Yun planned to proceed, his current attitude was to unconditionally support Zhou Yun.

So, very quickly, Old Zhuang made a call. He needed to report to President Lan.

On the other side, at home in Jingnan District, Chairman Lan Hongbo was playing with his phone. Seeing the incoming call, he somewhat didn’t want to answer, but after a moment of hesitation, he still picked up, a smile appearing on his face.

“Hello Director Zhuang, is there something wrong calling so late?”

Big shots like to hide things when they speak. The implied meaning was, if you don’t have anything urgent, don’t call me so late at night.

Old Zhuang’s voice came from the phone: “President Lan, Director Zhou took a case. You know his temper; he’s pushing hard, so we need to handle it quickly on our end.”

Hearing it was about Zhou Yun, Chairman Lan Hongbo couldn’t say much, after all, there was no way to reason with Zhou Yun.

“Then Director Zhuang, send it over. I’ll take a look, and I’ll handle it for him tomorrow morning when I go to the Lawyers Association.”

“What kind of case is it? It’s not an administrative lawsuit, is it?”

Old Zhuang smiled, “It’s not an administrative lawsuit, it’s just a civil dispute, but the amount involved is a bit large, over three million.”

“You should be able to handle it, right?”

Chairman Lan Hongbo immediately laughed, “A civil dispute? That’s good then. A large amount involved is fine, it’s all minor stuff.”

Everything was settled. After hanging up the phone, Chairman Lan Hongbo lay on the sofa and began to read the materials.

He was mainly worried that Zhou Yun would pursue administrative lawsuits, so he specifically instructed Chairman Yan Ruiyang to speak with Zhou Lawyer about it.

After all, there would be many places to visit, and he needed to show some respect to others.

Now, looking at it, the effect was quite good. Zhou Lawyer was a reasonable person and did not take on an administrative lawsuit.

However, as he kept reading, Chairman Lan Hongbo suddenly froze.

He thought he had misread it, and after rubbing his eyes carefully, he realized, “Holy cow, the defendant is the local education authority?”

And it was a historical issue that had not been resolved for over a decade?

Instantly, Chairman Lan Hongbo felt his heart rate begin to quicken.

The other party indeed did not file an administrative lawsuit, but this was even more outrageous than an ordinary administrative lawsuit…

Chairman Lan Hongbo immediately wanted to call Old Zhuang, but then he remembered what he had just said, that he could handle it.

So he put down his phone again and softly muttered, “It’s just a civil dispute, nothing. The Provincial Lawyers Association can handle it.”

It’s just facing the local education authority, no big deal.

Time quickly moved to the next day. The relevant contract was drafted, and Zhou Yun immediately notified Luo Hongxuan to come and sign the electronic contract.

Vice President Chairman Yan Ruiyang found Zhou Yun again. Before he could say anything, Zhou Yun directly said, “President Yan, I listened to you all and didn’t take an administrative lawsuit; it’s just a civil dispute.”

Chairman Yan Ruiyang gave a wry smile and said, “It is a civil dispute, but this… sigh, never mind. Director Zhou, you won’t be participating in our event today, right?”

Zhou Yun smiled, “Of course I’ll participate. After all, you’re paying. I’ll go to the Education Bureau first, then I’ll come find you all. It’ll be quick.”

Although he could apply online or by mail, Zhou Yun preferred face-to-face communication.

Chairman Yan Ruiyang nodded, his face troubled. He vaguely felt that he shouldn’t have brought Zhou Yun along on this trip, and even more, he shouldn’t have promised him to take any cases he wanted…

At ten in the morning, Zhou Yun arrived at the Silver Fir District Education Bureau building with the relevant materials and evidence.