What's wrong with this lawyer?!

Chapter 46: Chapter 43: Who Really Lacks Conscience? (Two in One)_2

Old Tang finished speaking and left immediately. He never liked verbal sparring; there were no winners in such situations, and lawyers have tough hides.

How he missed his body from his previous life, when he could act without hesitation... It's a pity that in this life, sometimes his body ached so much that even walking became difficult, sigh.

It was clear what Lawyer Li intended to do; it was just unfortunate for General Manager Hou. Once you're in, naturally, people start thinking about your wife, and there's nothing you can do about it.

In every industry, there are scoundrels and degenerates, but it seems that professions like law have some kind of halo effect, making it feel like those who know the law should be noble...

The trial began, and Tang Fangjing saw General Manager Hou, who seemed to have aged a lot.

This was actually quite normal. The environment in a detention center is heaven to a prison's hell, to the point where many suspects would rather be sentenced quickly to get into the prison sooner.

General Manager Hou, Chairman Ye, and several other high-ranking executives sat in the dock, and at that moment, General Manager Hou looked at Feng Jiping with complex eyes.

Among the executives who entered, only his family had not voluntarily surrendered illegal gains because his wife was worried they couldn't provide for their children without it.

General Manager Hou was actually a very family-oriented man; he could be fierce and ruthless outside, but he was very serious about his wife and family. The money he made was all for a better family life.

His wife's rationale left him unsure of what to do; on one hand, he wanted to get out quickly, and on the other hand, he equally worried about his wife and children, truly a draining concern.

Tang Fangjing sat quietly; all of Lawyer Li's defenses were just going through the motions. Although he seemed passionate and diligent, his defenses sounded hollow.

A lawyer needs professionalism; it's not about shouting loudly to show effort.

The verdict came in; General Manager Hou was convicted of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, with multiple charges resulting in an eight-year sentence, while the others received around five years due to their active restitution.

The other homeowners were cheering and celebrating, while Tang Fangjing left the courthouse alone, recalling a private message he had seen online. Old Tang, a lawyer in both his past and present life, also had a complex heart.

Being professional, he could tell whether a lawyer was sincerely working on a case, but what about ordinary people? How could they discern?

When the industry is filled with performance-type lawyers, it's also a hurt to colleagues who do take their work seriously.

Old Tang felt a sharp pain in his abdomen again, struggling to adapt. He now had only six months left to live, but fortunately, his mission was nearly complete.

...

Time doesn't stop, and for Yuefu Residential Complex, today could truly be considered a big day.

The case against the property management company officially began. Money in hand is the only certainty; lately, the homeowners have been venting their frustrations in online arguments with netizens.

For this case, Tang Fangjing did not participate, instead, he sat in the spectator's bench.

Everything that needed to be prepared was ready; a victory was assured even if they brought a Siberian Husky to plead the case. If Old Wang could lose this, the firm's director might as well quit and become a guard for the Yuefu Residential Complex.

With major lawsuits like this, you need to work hard outside the court. Once the real trial begins, nothing you do matters; expecting to turn the tide with a few words is just wishful thinking from watching too many movies.

The Judgment Chief was a judge with an abundance of hair, though his eyes were ringed with dark circles.

The plaintiffs and defendants began by stating their addresses and identification numbers, representation methods, and so on.

The representative for the property management was a legal affair they had never seen before.

In the court investigation phase, they went straight for the big move.

"The results of the judicial accounting assessment show that, in the past thirteen years, the property company should have shared the public revenue..." after deducting reasonable expenses.

Although the public areas are co-owned by the homeowners, maintenance has costs, which are not covered by the property fees but by the public revenue.

If there's no contractual agreement, then it's calculated at thirty percent.

But the restitution demanded was not just the public revenue; there were several other important items as well.

For example, electricity bills. When the complex was newly built, utilities such as electricity, water, gas, and even heating fees were all paid at the property office, and this continued for many years.

Only in the last two years, with efforts from various departments, could the residents start paying their bills online.

Here, there is a difference in charges; some might never have seen it and doubt its authenticity. Would the property dare to do this?

They really dared; sometimes the electricity bill was even twice as expensive as the power company's rate...

Over the years, though many original receipts had been lost, the homeowners had kept plenty of their payment slips. Tengda's lawyers requested a court order for an investigation, obtaining data on the complex's utility charges over the past decade and then calculating the specific surplus.

Just this surplus alone amounted to over seven million, not to mention the costs improperly allocated within the property fees that the homeowners should not have had to bear. Many homeowners clenched their fists as they listened.

Usually, when asked to pay electricity and property fees by the household, they didn't think too much about it and just paid.

Now, these numbers were listed one by one, amounting to a surplus of millions or even tens of millions, and suddenly that felt very different.

The property's legal affairs were not idle, countering that the maintenance costs for the common areas had been high over the years, even negative in some years--only there was no evidence...

Of course there wouldn't be evidence. It's one thing not to be supported by the judge when making claims, but it would be quite another to bring out actual evidence.