Shadow Empire

Chapter 135 Lawyers and Prices and the First Month
Federal law is so complicated that many lawyers will never practice law in other states in their lifetime.

Because it is not even as simple as being complicated, but is constantly changing!

Every year, the federal Congress proposes amendments, deletions, and additions to the Constitution and federal laws, and these amendments are often made several times, dozens of times, or even dozens of times.

If that's all, it's not a big problem.

But the same is true for local laws, which also undergo many changes every year.

For example, in states where urinating while standing at night is not allowed, the law has been revised many times.

At first, they were just not allowed to urinate after 11pm, but they felt that this was too inhumane, so they changed it to not splashing too much noise when urinating.

But later they found that this was still difficult to do, so they required that the faucet should not be more than a certain distance away from the water surface when urinating, which means that urinating while standing is not allowed.

The next step is to modify the time, because some people think they will go to bed earlier than ordinary people, so it becomes irregular.

As long as it is dark, if someone hears someone peeing too loudly and the person who hears it calls the police, the person peeing will be in trouble.

Federal law seems like a joke, absurd and unrealistic, so it is difficult for lawyers to take into account the laws of each state.

And even within a region, they cannot have lawyers for all categories; many can only be responsible for a part.

A professional lawsuit requires a professional lawyer. Alberto had previously left Lance a business card with the name "Robben" and a landline phone number on it.

He dialed the number and the other party answered quickly. "This is Robben Law Firm. How can I help you?"

A lady answered the phone. She sounded young. "I have a case that I would like to consult with Mr. Robben. Is he available to answer the phone now?"

"Wait a moment..." After about ten seconds, "Lawyer Robben has time now. Before that, I would like to ask, who introduced you?"

"Mr. Alberto Cotti introduced me."

"Okay, I get it. Do you want to make an appointment for another time, or come over now?"

"Now."

"Okay, I'll give you an address..."

Lance asked Morris to go to the police station with Ennio, and he told Ennio that no matter what anyone said, he must not admit it.

Even if these people beat him up severely, he could not admit any charges. Everything would have to wait until the lawyer arrived.

He went directly to Robben. This case would most likely go to court, as serious injury was already a criminal case.

The only good news is that no one is dead and the matter is not complicated. Ennio staying where he is should be considered as surrendering himself. Now all Lance needs is to make the price he pays a little smaller.

Robben Law Firm is located in the Bay Area. You can imagine how much money these lawyers make. They may be the profession with the highest upper and lower limits among all federal legal professions, without a doubt.

Especially some divorce case litigation lawyers and financial case litigation lawyers, their legal fees are charged as a percentage of the case value.

After the car parked, Lance quickly saw the girl at the front desk. She took Lance directly to lawyer Robben's office and brought him some good coffee.

"My consultation fee is 40 yuan per hour. If it is less than an hour, it will be calculated as a full hour. If you need me to represent a case, I will charge different fees based on the difficulty of the case."

"The starting price is two hundred, there is no upper limit."

"You were introduced by Mr. Coty, so you should know what kind of lawyer I am. So are you sure you want to start?"

Lance sat down and nodded, "Let's get started."

Robben pressed the timer on the table and it started working. "I don't know what to call you yet."

"Lance. Lance White."

"Mr. White, tell me what problem you want to solve from me."

Lance briefly recounted the incident, including how he handled the situation after arriving at the scene. Robben was a little surprised. "You did a good job. The court will often accept the first scene record and description. This case is not complicated."

"And your friend stayed where he was and waited for the police to arrive. Although he did not call the police himself, this also constitutes a circumstance of surrendering himself."

"Immigration, surrendering, being provoked..." Robben bit his thumb nail for a while, "The injured person must have used very ugly words to curse your friend."

"For example, 'Empire's Bastard' or something like that. No offense, I'm just reconstructing what happened at the crime scene."

"Verbal threats, discrimination, intimidation, just like you said, your friend got nervous, and then some things happened that none of us want to see."

"Now you have to first gain the victim's forgiveness, and it would be best if he chooses to reconcile, so that you can spend the least amount of money to resolve the matter."

"A few hundred, even one or two thousand, two or three thousand, as long as it can be solved by spending money, I think it's not a problem."

It is always very difficult to gain forgiveness from victims. Some victims would rather be beaten again than agree to forgiveness.

"If he won't forgive..."

"Mr. White, don't forget what you are doing. I don't need to teach you this."

Lance was silent for a moment, "If he had run away at that time..."

Robben scratched his head, "But he didn't leave, did he?"

"It's actually meaningless to say this now. Of course, my personal advice is that if you can run away, it's best to run away."

"You know, the police force in Jingang City is limited, and...", he stretched out his hand to indicate that Lance was dressed so well, "...a gentleman like you must be a man with a way. Sometimes we don't refuse to take responsibility, but sometimes, there is no need to be impulsive."

Lance nodded after listening to this. Ennio was not a "bad guy" after all, he was just a little impulsive.

He could have just walked away, but after realizing that what he did was indeed a bit too much, he decided to take the responsibility, which couldn't be considered a bad thing.

There are good sides and bad sides, but Lance feels that if he thinks doing this will give him peace, then he supports him.

This may be a lesson and growth for him and others, which will make them better.

"Lawyer Robben, I am very confident in your professional ability. If I hope you can defend my brother."

“How much do I need to pay you for this?”

"That depends on how much you want me to do." Robben put his hand down. "Mr. White, how much are you willing to spend for your friend?"

Lance asked, "What's the difference?"

"Of course. If you don't want to waste money, give me five hundred dollars for this case, and I can guarantee that his sentence will be within eighteen months."

"If you want him to come out sooner, give me two thousand dollars and I guarantee he'll be out in a year."

"But if you think that's still too long, then for five thousand dollars, he'll be standing in front of you in six months."

Lance was a little curious, "Can it be shorter?"

Lawyer Robben looked at Lance with a strange expression, "Your relationship must be unusual."

He may have misunderstood something. Gay disease is very popular recently and many people are suffering from the disease. They call this disease "God's punishment for mistakes" and people have not realized its seriousness.

At the same time, many traditional people believe that this disease can only be spread among gays, and based on the manifestations of these diseases, they even use whether a person has thrush as a criterion to determine whether they are gay.

It won't be long before the Federation and even the world will be shocked by this disease, but now it is just seen as God's punishment for wrong choices, not anything else.

Lance explained, "Every brother is my family."

Robben showed an intriguing smile on his face, "But many people don't think so..." He paused and then looked at Lance's clothes again.

Very beautiful clothing, slim-fitting, three-dimensional, exquisite, and very fitting. It must be custom-made.

The material looks nice, and there is a ribbon on the hat, all of which are synonymous with "expensive".

"Eight thousand yuan, and he can be released on medical parole in three months."

"Don't ask me how I do it, it's my job."

"And don't ask me what will happen if I can't do it, because if I can't do it, I won't tell you."

Lance was very satisfied after hearing this, "Shall I give you the money now?"

Robben nodded and said, "Give me 6,000 first. I won't take this part myself. You know what I mean."

"The rest is mine. Give it to me after the lawsuit is over."

"Cash?" "Preferably."

Lance had plenty of cash and stuff, so he borrowed a phone outside and asked Melo to arrange for someone to send over 6,000 yuan, while he went back to sign the contract with Robben.

When signing the contract, Robben did not forget to promote other services. "If you are worried that your brother is suffering in there, I have some value-added services here."

"For example... a single room. If he can't get used to the food in it, I can give him a steak every day."

"Is he interested in women?"

"I can also arrange it for him. Except that he can't come out directly, I accept all customized services here, as long as you have money."

Lance looked at Robben who was promoting his business like a salesman and suddenly realized why he specialized in gang business.

This is a skill beyond business capabilities, but it has to be said that people do need it.

"My brother's arm injury has not yet recovered. I hope he can have a single dormitory and be given something nutritious to eat every day. It's best if he doesn't have to work..."

Robben wrote down some of Lance's requirements and finally calculated a number, "Four hundred and fifty dollars a month, no bargaining accepted..."

After paying a large sum of money, Robben also showed his very professional side. He immediately took his briefcase and went to the Imperial District Police Station with Lance.

Ennio was not treated badly in the police station. When he saw Lance coming, he and others stood up, so much so that the policeman sitting opposite him also stood up a little nervously.

After all, Lance's aura of walking with the wind doesn't seem like that of an ordinary person.

"This is attorney Robben. He will represent you in this case."

Ennio forced a smile, shook hands with Robben, thanked him for his help, and then walked to the corner with Lance.

Robben, who was standing aside, glanced at Lance's back with some surprise, but not so surprise.

According to the regulations, no one except the lawyer could contact Ennio alone at this time, but they not only contacted him, but also talked in the corner.

"I've spoken to Robben and you'll be able to come out in three months."

Ennio was a little nervous, "Will I go to jail?"

Lance scratched the back of his neck, "You should have thought about the consequences if you stayed where you are. I won't say you did the wrong thing. You faced this matter, and no matter what the consequences are, we accept them."

"Lawyer Robben will tell you how to face the police's questioning and some things to do after the court session. Leave the rest to us."

"It's only for three months, and I've chosen a deluxe single package for you."

Ennio's attention was drawn to this sudden noun, "What is that?"

"Single room, steak, eggs, no work, you want a chick?"

In the end, Ennio didn't have the nerve to ask for the chick, but it was clear that his emotions had eased somewhat.

After leaving the police station, Morris was very worried about Ennio's situation inside, and Lance could only tell him that there would be no problem.

When the others knew about this incident when they were together at night, everyone reacted differently. Some thought he should have just left at that time. Those witnesses would not interfere. As long as there was no direct evidence, no one could do anything to Ennio.

But some people can understand Ennio's behavior, because impulse or short-term emotional outbursts have consequences, even if the other party says something that shouldn't be said or does something that shouldn't be done.

Everyone has their own opinions, and perhaps this is the growth and maturity that Ennio can bring to everyone.

On Wednesday, Lance drove to the place where he used to work, outside Johnny's Bakery.

There were not many people in the bakery; this time of the afternoon was not its busiest time.

Johnny's lawsuit with the IRS has ended, and he paid the IRS $3,750.

The lawyer helped him win the support of the judge. He was not evading taxes subjectively, but he was not clear about the tax regulations, and the shortcut he found at the beginning was not made clear to him.

He was willing to actively pay the additional taxes and actively repented in court. The judge finally rejected the tax bureau's request for more than 5,000 yuan due to his serious injuries and settled on a relatively low figure.

It will neither make him feel pain nor make him despair.

But no one knew that when he took out the money, he was already desperate.

During this period, Johnny seemed to be in a state of depression. He sat in the lobby of the bakery in a daze all day long.

He still had about two thousand yuan in his hand.

He took three thousand dollars from Lance, and he had seventeen or eighteen thousand dollars in his own hand, plus the income from business during this period.

But this money won't last long.

He is now very frightened and uneasy. He doesn't know when his seemingly good life suddenly became a mess.

Since...the apprentice came here, or since Lance came here?
He no longer knew how to think.

When the door was pushed open, the bell hanging on the door frame rang. Johnny looked up at the person who came in a daze, and his pupils suddenly shrank.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was not firm at all, but rather had a sense of weakness.

Hearing the doorbell, the fat daughter who was resting inside came out. She had lost some weight recently and looked a little slimmer.

When she saw it was Lance, she was stunned for a moment, but she still tried her best to force a smile at the man who had once made her fantasize about him late at night, "Lance, are you here to buy bread?"

Lance shook his head. "Johnny borrowed money from me. I'm here to collect the installment bill."

"Borrow it from you?" The fat daughter was incredulous. She looked at Lance's clothes again, which were elegant, mysterious and noble. This made her subconsciously look at her own clothes.

There was still some flour stuck to the ordinary coarse cloth due to sweat, but the flour did not clump together.

It just flew up and fell on his body, getting wet with sweat and sticking tightly to his clothes.

You can't pat it off, you have to wash it with water.

This terrible outfit made her want to go back and change her clothes.

But she could also see that Lance was different from before.

Johnny stood up, his face looking grim. “Don’t talk about this here. Come to the back and talk with me.”

As the two walked past the counter, Lance noticed that the house that originally belonged to Johnny was occupied by the fat daughter's boyfriend.

He lay there in his shorts, seemingly unresponsive to anything outside.

The two came to the back, to another room, which was originally where the apprentices slept, but now, Johnny lived here.

"How much should I give you?"

"One thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars," Lance reported a number.

This number made Johnny's expression even more terrifying, because he realized that the money he had now could only last until next month at most, and he would not be able to pay it back after the New Year.

He tried to negotiate, "Lance, can you..."

Before he could finish, Lance interrupted him, "No, Johnny."

"Friendship is friendship, business is business, and there may not be much friendship between us."

"When I asked for the 18 dollars back, there was no friendship between us anymore."

"Now, give me one thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars, and I'll leave with the money, and have the next payment ready by this time next month."

"Or, I won't leave with the money, but I will sue you in court..."

Now Johnny gets a headache when he hears about a lawsuit, "No, no, I have money."

He found a small jar from somewhere, counted out 1,248 yuan from it, and held it tightly in his hand.

He was also much thinner than before, and looked not as healthy as when he was plump, and a little haggard.

“The bakery is my life’s work…”

Lance pulled the money from him and said, "You can try to find a few more employees who will give you fifteen dollars a month. Maybe you can get the money together."

He simply counted it, confirmed it was correct, and put the money away. "See you at this time next month, Mr. Johnny..."

(End of this chapter)