Chapter 67: The Six-Dimensional Chart |
December 13th.
Three-thirty in the afternoon.
"Is anyone there? Delivery."
At Zhenghe Law Firm—the firm representing the defendant Liu Jingqi in the 18th Academy case—a courier knocked on the front door.
An assistant approached, took the package, and tore it open.
Inside was a court summons.
The assistant scanned the contents of the summons. A second later, his expression changed drastically, and he hurried toward a dedicated conference room.
Inside the conference room.
"The trial should be starting soon."
"Furthermore, the deceased bore no suspected fatal injuries caused during the bullying period."
"As things stand."
"The statements of the three defendants align perfectly with the deceased''s homeroom teacher, Lü Guangjun. We can eliminate the intentional homicide charge. At most, it will be intentional injury..."
"In this case, we need to push for an acquittal based on insufficient evidence. There''s a very high probability we can achieve it!"
Seven lawyers were gathered around a portable blackboard, deep in discussion.
The man leading the group was none other than the lawyer Zhang Wei.
It was exactly as Liu Jingqi had said.
The defendants had hired an entire star legal team—two golden lawyers and five senior attorneys—to represent them!
Until...
"Bang!"
Without even knocking, the assistant shoved the door open, instantly disrupting the meeting.
Zhang Wei and the others looked up, frowning.
"Assistant Xue, what''s the urgent matter?"
Assistant Xue looked grim as he spoke in a heavy voice,
"The court summons has arrived, but... there''s been an unexpected development."
Zhang Wei asked, "What development?"
"The plaintiff hired a civil litigation lawyer."
The seven lawyers paid it no mind.
A civil lawyer was nothing to fear. In a criminal trial, the public prosecutor led the proceedings.
"The lawyer''s surname is Xu. His name is Xu De," Assistant Xue said, his voice grave.
This time.
Everyone in the conference room instinctively looked up, their brows furrowing.
"Xu De?"
"The Xu De from the human trafficking case?"
"..."
The conference room broke into heated discussion, their previous calm completely gone.
Assistant Xue nodded. "Lawyer Zhang, it''s him. A month ago, at the deceased''s family home... he must be the one who looked so familiar."
With those words.
Everyone sank into serious thought.
They had a general understanding of all the lawyers in Greenwood City, but... this Xu De was a complete blank slate to them.
He wasn''t a golden lawyer, and he had only ever fought a single case.
Yet that single case... had revealed a terrifying level of skill.
"Immediately draw up a six-dimensional chart of his abilities."
Zhang Wei suddenly spoke with a stern tone, "Analyze his personal capabilities and find his flaws!"
Studying an opponent and building a six-dimensional chart based on their abilities was a highly effective way to pinpoint their weaknesses. It clearly visualized a person''s capabilities!
This was true not just now, but even in the future.
"But he''s only had one case..." someone said hesitantly.
"Then we''ll just review that single case!" Zhang Wei stated firmly.
No one objected. The other six lawyers each took charge of evaluating one aspect of their opponent''s abilities.
In a criminal case, before any trial, a legal team would always study their opponent before thinking about the case itself.
Sometimes, using an opponent''s flaws as a breakthrough point... was even more effective than objective evidence!
Before long.
Through the six lawyers'' analysis, the six-dimensional chart for the Lijia Village case was drafted onto separate slips of paper.
They were: Courtroom Performance, Legal Theory, Professional Network, Negotiation and Strategy, Evidence Deconstruction and Investigation, and Professional Integrity.
Zhang Wei picked one at random. It was "Legal Theory."
He paused, then drew the line for the "Legal Theory" corner of the six-dimensional chart on the blackboard all the way to the maximum.
The lawyer who scored it spoke up:
"This man''s grasp of legal theory is bottomless. I don''t know if you noticed a certain detail in the news."
"Without any prior preparation, relying purely on his on-the-spot reflexes, he actually argued using the National Judicial Training Unified Textbook, citing the exact article and case example!"
"But that''s meant for judges."
"Why would a lawyer memorize that? He was even able to use it perfectly in practice!"
Zhang Wei nodded, then pulled out another slip representing "Negotiation and Strategy." He looked it over, paused, and drew that line on the chart to the max as well.
That lawyer said:
"Never mind how he managed to dig a pit for Chen Wei during the trial."
"Just look at the letter of forgiveness."
"I still don''t know how he managed to get it... and afterward, he even sent the plaintiff straight to prison."
The seven of them thought about it. Finding it reasonable, they offered no counterarguments.
Zhang Wei drew another slip. He remained silent for a moment, then pulled the third dimension to the max.
That lawyer spoke up: "His sensitivity toward deconstructing evidence..."
"..."
Logically speaking.
A legal team could launch a fierce assault against an opponent''s shortcomings.
But that brought up a problem.
What if the opponent had no shortcomings?
After a long while.
Inside the conference room.
The six lawyers stared at the blackboard. Looking at the six-dimensional chart where all six corners were maxed out, they fell into deep thought.
Yes, in their initial review, judging solely by the Lijia Village case, Xu De''s six-dimensional attributes were completely maxed out. Whether it was his unbelievable courtroom reflexes or his bottomless reserves of legal theory, he was freakishly monstrous.
With the six-dimensional chart completely maxed out, the six lawyers had also provided irrefutable justifications for it!
"Switch!"
Zhang Wei felt a mounting pressure. Forcing himself to stay calm, he looked at the six men and said,
"Redraw the six-dimensional chart!"
He refused to believe a person could be so well-rounded that they lacked even a single flaw. Since that was the case...
Then they would have someone else re-evaluate every single capability!
The six men set to work once more, except this time...
A long while later.
Zhang Wei stared at the six-dimensional chart in front of him, which had been maxed out across all categories for the second time, and sank into deep thought.
The lawyer responsible for evaluating "Professional Integrity" couldn''t help but say:
"I feel like this guy''s moral bottom line is pretty low, too."
"At least, I''ve never seen someone use a letter of forgiveness one moment, and then have the procuratorate and court arrest the person who issued it the very same day."
"Also, his reputation in terms of social morality might be great, but... as for his professional ethics and credibility toward his opponents, I honestly haven''t seen any."
A low moral bottom line was not a flaw.
Especially when it came to an opponent, because you could never imagine what underhanded things they might pull, or from what angle they would dig up evidence.
And these words.
They once again indirectly proved that the two six-dimensional charts hadn''t just been drawn up at random.
"This is merely his performance in a single trial. Perhaps it was a sudden flash of brilliance, or maybe he just performed beyond his usual level."
"He can''t possibly maintain this standard forever!"
Zhang Wei took a deep breath and spoke to reassure the group:
"It''s fine."
"Our statements, witnesses, and information are completely unified. As long as we follow the law, then..."
"There will be no flaws!"
"Besides, the trial is about to begin, yet I''ve never received any notice of evidence being submitted by the opposing side."
"The prosecution isn''t the defense. Without evidence, he can''t do anything!"
Zhang Wei steadied everyone''s nerves, then looked at the assistant and asked,
"When does the summons say the trial begins?"
The assistant replied, "The 17th."
Zhang Wei calculated the timeframe in his head, then immediately relaxed.
There were only four days until the trial. The other side didn''t have the time to complete the full process of gathering, presenting, and cross-examining evidence. Since that was the case...
"We wait for the trial to begin!"