In the conference room, Lu Ming listened attentively to the statement made by lawyer Smith.
Cao Ying was a handsome man in his early forties, with an elegant demeanor. He was also calm and composed. He sat next to Smith. When Smith's words became more intense, he would pat Smith on the shoulder and ask him to stay calm.
Michael Smith, a barrister from Johnson, Smith & Stewart, had dealt with Lu Ming in the lawsuit against Baoyin Bank. He was the attorney for the plaintiff, Chairman Bi Hanting.
Obviously, Cao Ying attached great importance to the lawyer's letter sent by Lu Ming, and took action by looking for the top law firm in Donghai or even the empire, and the sixth-level barrister Smith personally represented this lawsuit.
Smith also represented the school.
In other words, the responsibilities of Caoying and the school will not be separated, and they will advance and retreat together.
Although a lawsuit involving a claim of $600,000 is definitely worthy of a heavyweight lawyer like Smith, and the entire law firm will fully support it and focus on this super big case.
But judging from the circumstances of this case, it is obvious that the other party is asking for an exorbitant amount of money. This is just a lawsuit worth a few thousand or even a few hundred yuan.
How much is the entire St. Anton's School worth
However, Smith still came in person because the person who sent the lawyer's letter was named Lu Qianxing.
In Lu Ming's lawyer's letter, the lawsuit against Cao Ying and the responsibility Cao Ying needs to bear are that the "Fair Schooling Plan" launched by him and Principal Anderson seriously discriminated against local students in Donghai and damaged the interests of local students in Donghai, and caused a student named Gary Williams to lose the educational resources he should have enjoyed. His self-confidence suffered a severe blow in this discrimination, and he gave up on himself and became addicted to drugs. All the responsibilities should be borne by Principal Anderson and Cao Ying respectively. Principal Anderson's actions represented the St. Anton's school and he needs to bear most of the responsibility, while Cao Ying should bear a small part of the responsibility.
The point Smith made was that as a private school, St. Anton's School does not need to follow the guidelines of public schools. Private schools have the right to screen students according to any criteria and have the right to reject any student who does not meet the admission criteria of St. Anton's School, and they do not need to give any reasons.
Catherine was listening nearby, feeling dizzy. She never realized that it was just a case of her nephew going to school in name only.
Suddenly, a huge compensation of hundreds of thousands of dollars was involved, which caused a fierce clash between the two top law firms in Donghai.
Although Lu Qianxing's law firm is more than a dozen levels behind Johnson, Smith & Stewart in terms of scale and lawyer level, it seems that with Lu Qianxing's presence, even the largest firms are facing a formidable enemy and are going all out.
Is this guy such a pervert
Thinking back to when I called him a pig, I still feel scared.
Fortunately, we will be relatives in the future, Catherine glanced at Jennifer who was sitting next to her.
"Well, private schools don't need to follow the principles of public schools. At this time, equality is no longer a concern? Mr. Smith, am I right in understanding this?"
Sitting next to Lu Ming was his eldest disciple Tong Xiao'e. She spoke softly and weakly, without any sense of strength. However, her soft cotton fists might be filled with extremely sharp steel needles.
Smith frowned. "No, I didn't say that. I just said that many of the rules in public schools don't apply to private schools."
Tong Xiao'e nodded. "So, specifically in this case, our client Gary Williams was not admitted to St. Anton's School despite having better grades. Here, isn't it the principle of equality in public schools that St. Anton's School has abandoned?" Her voice was soft, but pressing.
Initially, Lu Qianxing sent this twenty-year-old trainee lawyer as the first-line plaintiff's agent in the first round of negotiations. Smith was very angry, but he didn't expect that this little girl, who looked skinny and might cry if she shouted, was actually very powerful.
Private schools naturally do not need the principle of equal admission, but St. Anton's School has been promoting equality and inclusiveness all day long. As its attorney, I naturally cannot blame the school for the lawsuit, as that would be an act that seriously damages the interests of the parties involved.
Smith chose his words carefully. "After adding extra points, Student A scored higher than your client, so there is nothing unfair about this. In addition, our client is also very sorry about what happened to Gary Williams. If he is willing, we can send an education expert from our school to provide him with psychological counseling and treatment. We also hope that he can take our special admissions exam next summer. This is entirely out of compassion from our school based on humanitarian principles, and we do not think we have any responsibility."
Tong Xiao'e shrugged her delicate little nose and said seriously, "Lawyer Smith, this kind of extra points is a kind of inequality, what do you think?"
Smith frowned and wanted to say something, Cao Ying patted Smith on the shoulder and smiled at Lu Ming: "Mr. Lu, I know what you want to do? You attack me in various newspapers as fake equality and hype this case. You just hope that I can have a TV debate with you as scheduled. However, I will not let you do as you wish. Although I don't think you can get the support of the majority in the TV debate, I believe that there are more kind people among the citizens of Donghai and the voters of the third constituency. Giving some compensatory treatment to the poor descendants of black slaves is a kind of equality. Most people will support me."
Lu Ming was originally thinking about his eldest disciple, who he had let out to roam in the wild for nearly half a year, but he didn't expect that he had become quite powerful.
Of course, as far as this case is concerned, I have already told her all my thoughts, including what arguments to attack the other party, my main intentions, etc. I discussed it with my three apprentices yesterday, and it took me three or four hours to explain it myself and add their questions. The one who understood it the best was the rich lady Tong Xiao'e.
While he was thinking, he heard Cao Ying talking to him. Lu Ming looked up and smiled: "The equality you idealize has never existed. Therefore, our society has always only required relative equality. For admission, the score line is a reference for relative equality. Those who score higher than the score line are admitted, and those who score lower are eliminated. This is a kind of relative equality, regardless of whether the reason behind your high score is because your family is rich and countless experts are tutoring you."
"And what you are doing now is to artificially interfere with this relative equality. This is a very dangerous behavior. I will tell you in court about the possible harms. There is no problem if you don't debate with me on TV, but I believe that when you lose this lawsuit, you will become the local councilor who has been impeached the fastest in the history of Donghai. It can be regarded as leaving your name in history. This is what you have been looking forward to!"
"In a TV debate, you listen to the real public opinion, which may make you more aware of the problem and give you a chance to change your course."
Smith spread his hands and said, "Lawyer Lu, you are exaggerating again. How can you possibly win this lawsuit? At most, we admit that St. Anton's School does not follow the principle of equality. As a private school, we admit the students we want to admit and eliminate the students we don't want to admit. This is our legal right! SO, it's that simple!" He gestured to the secretary in the green dress. "Don't record this sentence. In addition..." His eyes swept across the faces of everyone in the conference room, "As a statement made during the secret negotiation before the court, if anyone spreads this sentence, there will be serious legal consequences."
SO, Lu Ming shook his head. This interjection was somewhat similar to the Western language he used in his previous life, and the context in which it was used was also similar.
"Lawyer Lu, do you disagree with my point of view?" Smith looked at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "If you are talking about inequality, then your school's practice is illegal. It violates the legal principle of equality and segregation as determined by the Supreme Court of the Federal Empire."
Smith was stunned.
Cao Ying laughed even more, "Qianxing, Qianxing, you're not going to support the apartheid policy in order to win this lawsuit?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "You, an equal rights expert, can be unequal. I support racial segregation. Is that incredible?"
Smith pondered and whispered something in Cao Ying's ear, and Cao Ying nodded.
Smith stood up and said, "Lawyer Lu, it seems that we still have a long way to go before reaching a settlement. I hope that tomorrow we can both make some concessions and make great progress in our second round of negotiations."
Lu Ming nodded and stood up slightly, as if to see them off. Seeing Tong Xiao'e quickly following and seeing them off out of the office, he sat back down. Now, he was really too lazy.
Stroking the tie on his chest, Lu Ming turned his head to look at Catherine and Jennifer.
Jennifer immediately lowered her head, not daring to look at Lu Ming. Originally, she was watching the verbal battle between the two sides quite interestingly.
"Qianxing, you guys chat, you guys chat!" Catherine stood up and left quickly without caring about her sister-in-law's life or death.
"Why did you come with her? Why do you hang out with her? You'll never become a good person." Lu Ming picked up the big cigar on the table. "This Wang Daan, he's smoking good cigars now! Take one from him."
Jennifer suddenly stood up, ran over, sat down on the chair next to Lu Ming, reached out and took the cigar from Lu Ming's hand, leaving Lu Ming stunned.
But I saw her pick up the small scissors in the cigar box, carefully cut off the paper and dried tobacco at the head of the cigar, and then carefully lit it with a match. The small flame circled around the thick head of the cigar, which looked very real.
Lu Ming laughed: "Why, your specialty is lighting cigars!"
But when he saw this innocent and beautiful noble lady in a snow-white dress trying so carefully to get his approval, he couldn't help but feel a little strange in his heart.
Catherine was supposed to bring her brother and sister-in-law today, and it would be best if the child could come as well. But who knew that none of the people involved showed up, and Catherine brought Jennifer instead.
Perhaps, her brother, sister-in-law and nephew were a little embarrassing for her, so she didn't want to be associated with them in public.
However, Tong Xiao'e had already met the child and Catherine's brother and sister-in-law, and what Catherine said was basically true, except that the child had become an out-and-out gangster.
In fact, think about it, this kid named Gary Williams might become a role model of scum when he grows up in future generations.
But because he had intersected with me in so many different ways, he might become a multi-millionaire by the standards of later generations.
In the past and present lives, as long as it is human society, where is there real fairness
Shaking his head, Lu Ming looked at Jennifer and sighed softly: "Now, I envy you very much. If you don't have so many thoughts, life will be very easy."
Jennifer saw a lot of smoke coming out of the cigar in Lu Ming's mouth. She had indeed lit it and was smiling sweetly with a sense of accomplishment.