What's wrong with this lawyer?!

And why do you need such a big bag for just one case? Judges at the Guangming District Court get a bit of PTSD whenever they see bags of that type now.

After taking a careful look at the documents, another labor dispute it is. Aside from his fondness for criminal cases, Lawyer Tang seems to have a penchant for labor disputes.

"So, you lost the arbitration?" the clerk asked while registering the case.

"Lost it, a young fella from the firm did a rough job, now I have to step in and help," Old Tang said offhandedly.

The clerk filed away the materials and quickly came back with a response, "Alright, Lawyer Tang, the case can be filed, here's your receipt."

Filing a case at the Bright District Court is easy nowadays, but that doesn't mean it's easy to file at every court, especially collective cases, where many places delay the filing.

As for how long that delay might be, who knows, Old Tang wouldn't mind finding a place to test his skills, either.

Back at the firm, Old Tang maintained his leisurely lifestyle and kept an eye on the situation in Lincheng. Before he knew it, the day of the trial had arrived in such an atmosphere.

On September 18th, the first thing after getting up was to check the legal calendar, and Old Tang was a bit puzzled after reading it; it said that today was a good day for legal jokes!

What the hell, wasn't that something he made up himself? How could he not remember writing such a thing on the legal calendar? Or was he hallucinating again?

Shaking his head, he realized he was still not well, and must visit the hospital for a check-up and some serious psychological counseling from that expert when he had time over the next few days.

Grabbing his briefcase, he went downstairs and rode his little electric scooter straight to the Guangming District Court.
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Outside the courthouse, Qi Xinwen was already waiting. Upon seeing Tang Fangjing, she said excitedly,

"Lawyer Tang, you're here! I just saw the other party's legal affairs person go in."

"Oh, but you didn't have to come; with me here, it's enough," Old Tang said as he walked inside.

Qi Xinwen chuckled, "I just wanted to witness Lawyer Tang's prowess."

Since when does a lawyer in court exhibit any prowess? This girl must have watched too many TV dramas.

But he said nothing, it was her right to be in court. He simply reminded her not to speak out of turn during the trial and then Old Tang made his way into the familiar Civil Courtroom No. 2.

At that moment in the courtroom, corporate legal affairs representative Zhang Xiangnan was sitting in the defendant's seat. As he saw Tang Fangjing come in, his mouth opened, but he held back.

No one knew that his real reason for provoking Meng Yongqi was the hope of meeting Tang Fangjing!

Needless to say, many young lawyers in Jingzhou idolize Old Tang and see him as someone to aspire to.

It was truly unexpected to actually meet him, and if the clerk hadn't already arrived, Zhang Xiangnan would have considered going over to have a good chat with Lawyer Tang!

It's so tough, there are hardly any opportunities to meet, and he's not a lawyer...

However, he should be able to win this case, right? From his perspective, the company hadn't done anything wrong.

Making people work overtime isn't a problem, and if you claim you were previously promised no overtime without evidence, that's on you. They even arranged a special meeting before the termination of employment, and his salary wasn't shortchanged. If he lost this case, he would resign on the spot!

Old Tang was sitting back relaxed, as the clerk announced for everyone to stand up.

Soon, Old Zhou walked in. This case was being heard using a summary procedure, and he was the only judge presiding.

After the clerk finished reading the court order, Old Zhou declared the start of the hearing.

While speaking, Old Zhou also glanced at Tang Fangjing, clearly implying he should keep it together and not cause trouble during the hearing, so they could get through it smoothly.

It couldn't be helped; every time the other side brought up a point in court, Zhou wanted to ignore it, but he simply couldn't. These points could determine the direction of the case!

"The court investigation phase will now begin; please, plaintiff's representative, state your case," said Zhou.

Old Tang then started reading the indictment, which was quite ordinary and not much different from Meng Yongqi's original claim.

After he finished, Zhang Xiangnan started his defense, which was much the same as before.

Next came the evidence presentation and cross-examination. Qi Xinwen was getting antsy wanting to speak up, she felt that Lawyer Tang's appearance was no different from Lawyer Meng's.

The same words, the same evidence.

Having been through a previous trial, she now understood that in a lawsuit, evidence was key – without it, you're at a standstill.

So what exactly had Lawyer Tang been researching, or was his renown exaggerated?

Zhang Xiangnan, however, was growing more confident as he spoke. Indeed, without evidence, even Lawyer Tang was helpless.

After the presentation and cross-examination of evidence concluded without any surprises, Old Zhou once again spoke, "We shall now begin the court debate, please, plaintiff's representative, present your argument."

As he spoke, Zhou started pondering the verdict, given how straightforward the case was and that it had already gone through arbitration; he felt he knew how to rule from the outset.

But the first sentence from Old Tang immediately drew the attention of both Zhou and Zhang Xiangnan.

"I argue that the defendant's unilateral termination of my client's employment is illegal!"

With that bombshell of an opening statement, Zhang Xiangnan was very puzzled – had their evidence not blown him out of the water? With no evidence, wasn't such a claim just adding to the farce?

Even Qi Xinwen perked up her ears, eager to hear what reasoning Lawyer Tang had up his sleeve.