stonecrandall Chapter 47 New Gossip
Chapter 47 New Gossip
First, open the resume.
Shen Changsheng: Master of Laws from China University of Political Science and Law, specializing in real estate and construction engineering… His major professional achievements include serving as legal counsel for Wanxiang Residential Group (China) Co., Ltd. and hundreds of companies in China; serving as legal counsel for Angel Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd.; serving as legal counsel and M&A lawyer for Dongjiang Marriott Enterprise Co., Ltd.; serving as legal counsel for Wenzhou Real Estate Dongjiang Regional Company; and more. In the field of legal services for government and state-owned units, he has provided legal services to the Dongjiang Municipal People's Government and Pingshan Coal Group…
found it!
When she first approached Gu Lezhi to apply to be his student, she hinted at a conflict between him and Shen Changsheng, though she had completely fabricated it at the time. It's perfectly normal for people to disagree, even between spouses, parents and children, or business partners with shared interests. Gu Lezhi's reaction at the time seemed to confirm this, but after joining the institute, she consistently saw him unequivocally supporting Shen Changsheng. She had initially thought she was overthinking things, that it wasn't a big deal, but now she could stop thinking that way.
If even the consulting firm has been robbed of a piece of its business by the other party, and the conflict of interest has reached this point, the two are definitely not as friendly as they appear on the surface!
Furthermore, what puzzled her was whether taking on cases this way would create a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest refers to a situation where a lawyer or law firm, by representing one client, might harm the legitimate rights and interests of another client, or compromise their own impartiality in performing their duties. After all, law firms cannot "act as both plaintiff's and defendant's lawyers," nor can they provide services to clients with direct competitive/adversarial relationships, such as simultaneously representing competing companies in commercial disputes.
What Yu Xingge just checked using the risk control system was the profit and loss registration form. In Yu Xingge's view, a major function of the OA (Office Automation) system is case process tracking and client relationship management, especially the latter. The OA system manages basic client information and historical cases in a unified manner through case filing, retrieval, and profit and loss. For a long-established national law firm like Hongjiang Law Firm, this can help its lawyers avoid fighting over clients.
If you join the same firm and I join too, and you handle its cases while I handle theirs, who gets to work on them? Does the lowest bidder get the job? Legally, this isn't a problem, but if left unchecked, what will law firms become? A cutthroat marketplace of cutthroat competition for jobs?
At this moment, Jiang Jiao was also flipping through the documents in the risk control room.
Jiang Jiao was able to stay in this position despite having a bachelor's degree, thanks to her meticulousness, diligence, and tight-lipped nature. As it was nearing the end of the workday, she tidied her desk as usual, when a strange file appeared in her computer's recycle bin. Clicking on it, she saw a screenshot—a partial screenshot. So this was the "academic review" that Yu Xingge had mentioned earlier. She certainly didn't know that she had a daily habit of emptying her recycle bin.
No, no, no, even though she knew she wouldn't have time to check in such a short time, she didn't dare to rashly delete all the files in the recycle bin.
The printer was still clicking and spitting out scraps of paper. She stared at the blurry billing number in the screenshot, and sweat slowly beaded on the back of her neck.
Why investigate Attorney Gu's case? She pondered, her fingers circling the mouse. It wasn't entirely wrong for an intern to use their access to research, especially given Yu Xingge's awkward position with three teams. Logically, she should have a say in each team, and none of them should be wary of her. But the reality was the opposite; none of the teams could accept her as a confidante, and she couldn't get close to any of them.
Jiang Jiao hesitated. Should she send a message to her supervisor? Yu Xingge would definitely be criticized, and might even be fired. But what about her own mistake…?
If she were labeled as "lax in supervision," could she continue working there? An unconscious anxiety made her chapped lips. Night enveloped the risk control room, casting a shadow over the space. After a long while, she let out a long sigh.
"Don't make friends with people outside of administration, and don't trust any lawyers."
Every single one of the administrative mottoes of the top-tier law firms is a gem.
Jiang Jiao's mouse was still hovering over the recycle bin when Pan Xi burst through the door. "Bai Xuanjiao isn't here?" she asked, a worn-out financial ledger tucked under her arm. Jiang Jiao quickly switched screens before replying, "No."
"Hey, where did that girl go? I came to check the accounts with her, and I also want to tell you about Attorney Wang's latest exploits."
Bai Xuanjiao poked her head in: "Did I hear you calling me?"
"Where did you go? I just went to your office and you weren't there. Come on, let me share some new gossip with you." Bai Xuanjiao perked up immediately. "Wait for me."
She closed the cashier's office door and rushed into the room like a gust of wind.
Seeing that a long talk was about to begin, Jiang Jiao had no choice but to put aside his anxiety and pretend to listen attentively.
Bai Xuanjiao couldn't wait to ask, "What did he do this time? Didn't he just steal the pothos plant from our main conference room last week to use as a desk decoration?"
"This is even more outrageous." Pan Xi sat down in a chair and slammed the desk on the table. "Good heavens! I just went to take inventory, and guess what? He had someone dismantle the solid wood conference table in the 32nd-floor common area and carried it back to his office to use as a desk!" Bai Xuanjiao choked on her saliva: "That white walnut wood table with the subtle grain? The one the administration department just put up the asset label on last week?"
"Absolutely!" Pan Xi pointed at the ledger with her finger. "I just went to his office to deliver the expense report, and lo and behold, I saw him squatting on the floor twisting a table leg, with a pile of metal nameplates that had just been removed next to him! I asked him what was going on, and he just pretended not to know and said, 'What? The administration applied for this desk for me.'"
"Good heavens, when did he apply for a table? Did he submit it to you?"
Bai Xuanjiao shook her head vigorously: "I don't have it, absolutely not!"
"Right?"
Pan Xi snorted: "I knew it. I asked him who he asked, and he said he borrowed your ruler to measure the table."
Bai Xuanjiao jumped up in one swift motion: "Yes, I borrowed it. He just said he was measuring the table! No way, how can you blame me for this?"
"It's not your fault, it's not your fault." Pan Xi waved her hand: "If measuring tables can make him move them, why doesn't he measure our entire institute? Then the entire Hongjiang Institute would belong to him."
Jiao Jiao's lips twitched involuntarily. To be honest, she wasn't easily speechless, but this was truly...
Pan Xi: "I knew it!" She clasped her hands together: "Fine, I told him Xuan Jiao had to apply to me, but I didn't see it. He had nothing to say, and then he asked me, 'What? Doesn't your administration provide a table? I even found someone to move it myself, and you still have a problem with that? The application process for a new table is too troublesome; going through the procurement process would take two months. This table is just sitting idle anyway, nobody uses it.'" She sighed and rubbed her chest: "That table was specially approved by the partner to be bought in the first half of the year; it cost over five thousand yuan. And he just moved it as second-hand furniture."
Bai Xuanjiao recalled the identical table that had been discarded and sold secondhand during the administrative inventory cleanup last week, and nodded in agreement.
"The worst part is that he left a mess after dismantling it. The screw holes from the table legs left three white marks on the floor, and the cleaning lady came to complain. I asked him to submit an asset transfer application, and guess what he said? 'Sister Pan, be flexible. It's all in the law firm anyway, what difference does it make whether we register it or not?' So the administration is just bored out of their minds taking inventory every day?" She pulled out a photo from the ledger, a picture of the old tabletops piled up outside Attorney Wang's office: "And here's the worst part. He disassembled the table into parts and carried them over. When he was assembling it, he lost a screw and went to the finance department to ask for reimbursement for the 2 yuan screw! Have you ever seen a lawyer go through the reimbursement process for 2 yuan? In the end, I was too lazy to argue with him, so I paid for it myself and told him, 'Forget it, no need to reimburse.' But he just said, 'Sister Pan, that's right. Law firm cost control has to start from the details.'"
Jiao asked doubtfully, "Didn't he know that this table is law firm property?"
"Pah!" Bai Xuanjiao stomped her foot. "While no lawyer in our firm knows, he definitely does! Wait for me!" She rushed back next door, and five minutes later, she ran back with her phone to show them: "Look at this."