The elderly woman and the elderly man exchanged a glance.
The elderly man slowly began to speak.
"Our lawsuit is a criminal case."
"Could you tell me more?"
"Bank robbery, suspected aggravated robbery... I'd like to hire a lawyer to defend him. Ideally, someone who can get his sentence reduced."
Su Bai turned and sized up the elderly man. Bank robbery? Sir, with that frail body of yours, could you even take on a security guard in an urban village?
"It wasn't me. It was my son," the elderly man hurriedly explained.
Su Bai nodded. That makes more sense. With the old man's frail constitution, forget robbing a bank-even the security guards would have had to handle him with care, terrified that one careless move might injure his legs.
Bank robbery fell under criminal prosecution, and cases like that were generally difficult to handle.
But difficult was exactly what Su Bai wanted! He needed to put his law firm on the map!
"Give me a brief account of the case and tell me what you're hoping for."
Su Bai's expression turned serious.
"Ah..."
The elderly man sighed deeply and outlined the whole case.
Su Bai listened while recording the key details, occasionally stopping his pen to ask important questions. After two hours of explanations and questioning, he finally understood the broad course of events and the basic facts.
The elderly man's name was Wang Zizhong, and the elderly woman's name was Zhang Cuifang. They were both retired workers from a district or county in the Southern Capital area. Their only son had been born late in their lives.
The case began when the elderly man's son went to the bank to withdraw money for his father's treatment. The money was in his father's account.
Since he wasn't the account holder, the bank required the son to prove that he was the elderly man's son. His ID, household register, and even the critical condition notice from the hospital weren't enough.
The bank staff spoke harshly and insisted that the elderly man come in person to verbally confirm that his son was his son. Otherwise, they wouldn't allow the withdrawal.
But the elderly man was in the ICU, waiting for that money to save his life!
How was he supposed to prove it?
Was he supposed to leap out of his hospital bed and sprint to the bank to confirm that his son was his son?!
Then what the hell would he need the money for? That would be a medical miracle!
While the elderly man's son was arguing with the bank staff, several robbers arrived and robbed the bank.
When they learned that he needed money to save his father's life, they gave him a share of the stolen cash without another word.
At the time, the elderly man's son couldn't worry about anything else. He took the money straight to the hospital.
Afterward, the entire group was arrested. Because the elderly man's son had taken some of the money, he was deemed an accomplice and convicted of aggravated robbery. Given the particularly egregious nature of the incident, the court imposed a harsh sentence.
However, because there were mitigating circumstances behind his actions, his punishment was reduced to the maximum fixed-term prison sentence, along with a fine and confiscation of the illicit proceeds.
After looking into the details, Su Bai learned that public security on Blue Star was currently comparable to that around the year 2000. Such brazen crimes had been fairly common under the conditions of that time.
Later, the elderly man had filed an appeal. Unfortunately, he lost at the second hearing, which upheld the original judgment. The case had now reached the final hearing!
The final hearing would decide everything. Once its judgment was issued, no further appeal could be filed, and the outcome would be set.
Su Bai frowned slightly as he listened. Applying for a second hearing required submitting new arguments for the defense.
A twenty-year prison sentence was actually somewhat excessive for this case. With new evidence, how could the original judgment have been upheld?
"Why did the second hearing uphold the original judgment? Was it a problem with the lawyer?"
At the mention of the lawyer from the second hearing, the elderly man became so furious that his dentures flew out. "That fucking crooked lawyer! Give us our money back!"
Su Bai leaned back, dodging the dentures. "Sir, don't get worked up. Whatever you have to say, let's talk it through calmly. No physical attacks."
A little embarrassed, Wang Zizhong fumbled his dentures back into place. He calmed down considerably, though his voice still brimmed with anger.
"Last time, we went to one of the Southern Capital's top law firms. The lawyer handling the second hearing even claimed he was some top criminal defense lawyer. He demanded 188,000 in legal fees right off the bat, only to say three sentences in court!"
"Mm!"
"All right!"
"We accept the presiding judge's judgment!"
"He earned 188,000 in legal fees with three sentences! Was his mouth made of gold? More than sixty thousand per sentence?!"
Wang Zizhong trembled with rage.
Beside him, Zhang Cuifen hurriedly patted his back and added an explanation.
"Mr. Su, this case has attracted a lot of attention. We heard that if it goes to a final hearing, the proceedings might be livestreamed. We don't trust big law firms anymore, but we've approached plenty of small ones, and none of them will take the case."
"This case..."
The case has that much public attention? And the hearing might even be livestreamed online?!
Isn't that practically free advertising for the firm?
Take it. I have to take it! There's no case I can't handle. I'm Su Bai, an outlaw extraordinaire-how could I possibly lose this one?
Without a moment's hesitation, Su Bai went all in to secure the case. He swept his hand through the air. "I can take this case, and I guarantee that if your son's sentence isn't reduced, or if you're dissatisfied with the reduction, I won't charge you any legal fees!"
No legal fees if the sentence wasn't reduced, or if they weren't satisfied with the reduction?!
Remembering the gold-medal lawyer who had earned 188,000 for three sentences, Wang Zizhong felt that Su Bai was a lawyer with a conscience!
"You're a pretty decent lawyer."
"It's my duty. I'll never be a crooked lawyer! Shall we sign the contract, then?"
Su Bai made the suggestion tentatively, and Wang Zizhong agreed on the spot.
"Yes. We absolutely should."
Su Bai wasted no time. He found a contract template, discussed the general terms with Wang Zizhong, drafted the contract, and printed it out.
The legal fees would be calculated based on the prison term imposed at the final hearing: five thousand for each year taken off the sentence. If there was no reduction, they would only need to pay the basic fee for his services.
Compared with that golden-mouthed lawyer, it was already a very fair price.
Su Bai had deliberately lowered his fees to build the firm's reputation.
After signing, Su Bai handed the contract to Wang Zizhong, who signed his own name without hesitation.
The instant his pen left the paper-
A system notification sounded in Su Bai's mind.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the task of taking on a case. Reward: 50,000 in cash. The cash will be transferred into your account through legal means.] [Pending task: win the case. Reward: bronze treasure chest.]
After seeing Wang Zizhong and his wife off, Su Bai kept staring at his bank account, curious to see how the system would legally transfer fifty thousand into it.
Before long, a message appeared in the notification window.
"Mr. Su, I came to you for a marriage consultation last time. Thank you for your advice. I told my husband what you suggested, and, sob... that abusive man finally agreed to a divorce! I've transferred fifty thousand to you to express my thanks. Let's meet again when you're free."
Su Bai stared at the five-figure transfer, momentarily stunned. That works too?!
(End of chapter)
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