Chapter 77
finally has a normal case.
Chapter 77 finally features a normal case.
On Monday morning, instead of going to work, Hobart took Barton's letter of recommendation and rode in a carriage to the legal department in the West End.
At that time, there was no civil service examination system, and there was no unified examination time for lawyers across the country.
To be eligible to take the bar exam, you need a letter of recommendation from a prominent lawyer like Barton or a law professor.
The Ministry of Justice has dedicated staff and areas to conduct the bar exam. Basically, everyone who comes in is tested. The written exam is not difficult; you only need to memorize some laws and regulations.
The interview part is quite difficult; candidates must immediately determine which law or regulation applies to the cases cited by the examiner.
However, thanks to Barton's endorsement, Hobart's examination went relatively smoothly, at least without any deliberate harassment.
This made Hobert, who was leaving the Ministry of Justice, sigh: The society of the Kingdom of Rune really is a society that values connections and relationships. No wonder the laws regarding workers' compensation are so vague, because workers have no way to formulate laws to protect their own interests!
It was around 11 a.m. when Hobart returned to the law firm. As soon as he entered, he was told that Miss Hugh had been waiting for him all morning.
When he arrived at his office, he saw Hugh, whose hair was a bit rough, waiting by his desk, and a strange man in his forties who looked a bit anxious.
Upon seeing Hobart, Hugh immediately stood up: "Hobart, I've finally found you. I've come to ask for your help."
Hopper immediately understood that Hugh was introducing him to business: "Please wait in the meeting room."
Hugh and the stranger went to the meeting room. Hobart went to Barton's office first, briefly explained the exam process that day, and expressed his gratitude.
Then he poured two cups of coffee and went to the reception room.
After talking, Hobart learned that the man Hugh brought was named Sean and was a department store merchant.
About three years ago, Sean had a friend who borrowed £300 in cash from him and wrote him an IOU.
However, when Mr. Sean went to collect the debt last year, his friend refused to repay it, citing the lack of a repayment date on the IOU.
After about a year of wrangling, the matter finally went to court.
Sean had always thought that he would definitely win the case because he had the IOU, but when he chatted with a friend who knew a little about the law yesterday, he learned that it was still uncertain whether he could win the case because the IOU did not have a repayment date.
Sean only started thinking about hiring a lawyer this Tuesday, which is tomorrow, because the court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. However, he doesn't have the relevant channels or connections, so he turned to Ms. Hugh, a highly respected "arbitrator" in the neighborhood, for help.
Hugh has that much self-awareness. Arbitration is fine with her, but if you ask her to defend you in court, she knows she'll just make a spectacle of herself.
So she brought Sean to Hobart for help.
Hopper glanced at Sean's IOU: "Your friend has missed the point. I bet if the other party also hires a lawyer, he'll find a way to invalidate this IOU."
"The method is also very simple, because legally speaking, a loan agreement only has a three-year validity period. If the repayment date is specified, the time will be calculated from the repayment date on the loan agreement."
"This IOU doesn't have a repayment date, and it's been more than three years since it was written. It would be troublesome if the judge actually ruled the IOU invalid."
Sean opened his mouth: "Then, what should I do?"
She smoothed her spiky hair; she felt like a curly-haired baboon because, like Sean, she only vaguely understood Hobart's meaning and knew that the situation wasn't looking good.
"Of course, it's about disrupting their line of thinking," Hobart smiled. "I already have a good idea. If you'd like to hire me as your lawyer, please sign the engagement agreement, and I'll be there to defend you tomorrow."
Sean asked almost reflexively, "Can we win?"
"According to the rules, I can't make you any promises," Hobart said, shrugging. "All I know is that if you don't hire a lawyer, you'll be in a very difficult position tomorrow."
Sean considered it for about ten seconds before finally signing the power of attorney.
Because this case was quite challenging, Hobart asked for a 12% commission: "Normally, this kind of case would have a 15% commission, but for Miss Hugh's sake, I'll only ask for 12%."
There wasn't really any set rule, but his statement made Hugh and Sean very happy. Hugh felt respected by Hobart, while Sean felt he had gained a 3% advantage.
After seeing Hugh and Sean off, Hobart remarked, "Finally, we've got a decent case."
From his very first case as a lawyer, his career was filled with irregularities; not a single case could be resolved completely in court.
As a result, he was somewhat unfamiliar with magistrate courts.
After lunch, Hobart first considered how to defend Mr. Sean, and then went out to "visit a client" around 2 p.m.
Hobart arrived at 192 Blanca Street, not far away. At three o'clock sharp, his vision was obscured by gray fog, and the Tarot session officially began.
This time, Hobart and the other two did not obtain Emperor Roselle's diary, so they skipped directly to the transaction.
"The Hanged Man," Alger, said to Hobert, "I need more information about the Elves. What reward do you desire?"
Hobert was taken aback: "You've found the ruins of the Elves."
"Justice" Audrey quickly recalled the deal the Emperor made with the Hanged Man when he first attended the party: the Emperor told the Hanged Man that there was a chance to find the "Sailor's" potion recipe in the Elven ruins.
Alger said, "I'm not entirely sure if it's an elven relic, so I'd like to get some more detailed information from you."
Hobert pondered for a moment before saying, "Mr. Hanged Man, I think you should know that the elves are beings from the Second Age, and any details about the Second Age are priceless in modern times."
Alger nodded, his expression somewhat grim. "I know!"
"Don't be so serious. I just want to remind you that this information is valuable, and you can't let it slip out, or you'll be in danger." Hobart then changed the subject: "Don't worry, I'll offer you a reward you can accept."
He didn't intend to trade anything too important to the elves with the Hanged Man, otherwise the Hanged Man certainly wouldn't be able to afford the reward for the trade.
Alger breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, I know what to do."
Audrey was thrilled, never expecting to hear about the distant history of the Second Age! "The Fool" Klein listened intently as well.
Hobart organized his thoughts: "The elves like to eat animal blood in a way that is, well, like cheese or jelly. Their tableware is very different from ours. They use two small sticks to put food from the tableware into their mouths. I remember that Emperor Roselle once tried to promote this kind of tableware."
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(End of this chapter)