An Extraordinary Lawyer’s Subspace - Chapter 185



Only Krnovel

【Episode 185 – Bombing Alone】

“Please wait here for a moment. A lawyer will come.”

Kim & Kang’s office was not large.

Because there aren’t many people working there, it even gives the illusion of being spacious.

A neat and stylish conference room.

Although it is not large in size, it is different from the offices of ordinary small and medium-sized law firms.

While I was looking around, Han Beom-sang appeared.

“Hello, Attorney Roy Sanders. My name is Han Beom-sang.”

Roy Sanders was inwardly appalled.

I heard that he was an international student pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard Law School, but he looked much younger than I expected.

I didn’t imagine it, but I thought that a lawyer who could write a legal opinion at that level would be an experienced lawyer…

“Nice to meet you. My name is Roy Sanders from Kaiser Dutton Hill.”

The greetings were brief and the conversation continued.

He wasn’t the type to have long private conversations to get to know his opponent.

“I heard you rejected PIC’s settlement offer.”

As soon as we finished greeting each other and sat down, Roy Sanders brought up the main topic of our visit today.

Fortunately, the other party was also a lawyer who did not need a long warm-up speech.

“I declined.”

“When I refiled the claim, I offered you the full amount of $240,000 as a settlement. Could you tell me why you declined?”

“The bill was two hundred and forty thousand dollars then, but not anymore.”

“So, how much is it? I heard you didn’t make a counter offer.”

“We didn’t make a counteroffer when we rejected it because we had already made the amount we were asking for clear.”

“What that means is···.”

“Yes, ten million dollars. As stated in the complaint.”

I can tell even without exchanging a few words.

That the young lawyer isn’t pretending to be strong.

“Are you saying you won’t settle for anything less than ten million dollars?”

“No, that’s not it. If you offer me a reasonable settlement amount, I will let you know my position after discussing it with my client.”

“Could you give us an idea of ​​what you consider a reasonable settlement amount? We made an offer of around $240,000.”

“Is that your opinion, lawyer?”

I had a suspicion a little while ago that maybe there was another partner above, and that Han Beom-sang was just an Asso who moved as he was told.

“It’s a question that can neither be confirmed nor denied. The process of negotiation is originally about narrowing the gap between a low point and a high point…”

“If the difference is too big, it’s just a waste of time.”

Roy Sanders erased any doubts.

This guy is the partner attorney in charge of this case.

“I agree. So, would you be able to settle for $380,000?”

Without hesitation, he came up with the amount of the settlement that he thought was appropriate.

however!

“I don’t think it’s possible.”

‘What? It’s not possible?’

“Have you already discussed that with the client?”

“yes.”

Roy Sanders expressed his bewilderment.

Because he is such a expressionless person, it is hard to see him clearly.

“To be honest, I think $380,000 is a very reasonable amount of compensation. It includes the amount of damages, compensation for the neighboring store, damages due to the quick sale, hospital bills, and interest. It’s over 150% of what the plaintiff originally demanded, and you can’t even discuss it?”

“Even without punitive damages, our request is five hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

“Of that, $170,000 is for medical expenses related to underlying conditions and aging, so it is not related to this case.”

“That is your argument.”

“You probably know very well that even if you sue, that part won’t be acknowledged.”

“I told you, I’m talking about ‘not including punitive damages.’”

Roy Sanders paused for a moment and looked at Han Beom-sang sitting in front of him.

A calm yet determined face.

Only then did I realize that I had misjudged.

A neat and stylish office,

A lawyer who knows the law well,

A partner who may look young but actually has the power to make decisions.

When I took everything into consideration, I thought it would make sense.

The reason he came alone was to glimpse the possibility of smooth negotiations.

But that wasn’t the case.

The lawyer in front has no intention of settling.

“Are you saying that you won’t negotiate unless punitive damages are included in the settlement amount?”

“yes.”

“Then, it seems like reaching an agreement will be difficult.”

“I guess so.”

Roy Sanders is unhappy that he realized his judgment was wrong.

Because he is such a expressionless person, it is hard to see him clearly.

“Okay, then I’ll see you in court.”

“Yes, that’s right. Be careful on your way back.”

Roy Sanders stood up.

Han Beom-sang also stood up from his seat to politely see him off.

No matter how I think about it, it’s still strange.

Ten million dollars is not an impossible sum in theory, but it is an amount that cannot be expected in reality and should not be expected.

‘I thought you were a lawyer who knew the law well···.’

Before Roy Sanders left the conference room, he asked one more question.

“I think you said earlier that you were willing to reach an agreement, but then how much did you expect when you said that?”

Han Beom-sang answered as if he had been waiting.

“Since the lawyer came to me today and spoke directly to me, I will be honest with him. I think our client would be very shaken even if it were only a million dollars. However, my personal opinion is that even if they give the entire ten million dollars, it is small compared to what PIC Insurance would lose.”

-*-

Kaiser Dutton Hill Building,

Insurance Team Senior Partner Office.

Roy Sanders, who returned from Kim & Kang, recalled the conversation he had had with him.

“My personal opinion is that even if they give away the entire $10 million, it is small compared to what PIC Insurance has to lose.”

‘What does that mean? Is that a threat?’

If there had been something like that, it would have been brought out a long time ago and brought to the negotiating table.

I reviewed all the documents provided to PIC Insurance in relation to this incident, but there was no corruption worth ten million dollars.

What if PIC intentionally covered up things like sexual violence or racism?

No, even if it was hidden, ten million dollars is too much.

Above all, if you find something like that, it is much more advantageous to reveal it and negotiate, because once it is public, dirty secrets become less valuable.

No, if your original goal was to embarrass me, you would have reported it to the police first.

He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would talk nonsense…

It was uncomfortable, but based on his experience and common sense, it was just a threat.

Tiring- Tiring-

-Roy, so, have you met with the other lawyer? How much does he want?

“Things aren’t good, sir.”

-Why? You’re not asking for an outrageous amount like a million dollars, are you?

“I think about ten times that would be appropriate.”

-What a crazy guy.

“But, is there any information related to this case that you haven’t given us?”

-What does that mean?

“that is······.”

Roy Sanders reported on his conversation with Han Beom-sang.

PIC Insurance’s legal director snorted after hearing the report.

-Huh, he’s really a weird guy. There’s no such thing.

“He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would talk nonsense, though…”

-Even if there is diarrhea, there is no reason not to show it to you.

right.

So it’s really weird.

-It feels like he just threw it away to get as much money as possible.

“Whatever it is, judging from what you said, I think you’re going to play the media.”

– Tell them to do it. Since the amount is outrageous, they’ll make a fuss here and there for a few days. But, what else is there to do? They’ll talk for a week and then die down. You know.

“Okay. So how do we proceed? Should we prepare for the lawsuit?”

-Do it. And, don’t bring up the issue of a settlement from now on. We’ve done enough, so let’s take a hard line now. Let’s pressure them into bringing up the issue of a settlement first. You know that.

I know it well.

A strategy to make you impatient by stalling and wasting time.

Effective for claimants who need money urgently.

“Yes, I understand. Then I will proceed accordingly.”

Roy Sanders hung up the phone.

Then he immediately called the junior partner below and gave instructions.

He ordered the preparation of a response and ordered an investigation into the plaintiffs Park Jae-hong and Yoon Geum-ja.

He also gave instructions to carefully review the billing statements.

He also directed the preparation of a motion seeking an order dismissing the suit and to request subpoenas to be sent to third parties outside the suit.

He also prepared an order requiring the submission of a surety bond for ten million dollars along with the claim of prevolus ligation.

“Prepare all the applications well so that they can all be submitted at once.”

“Yes, Mr. Sanders.”

From a purely legal standpoint, the other side had the advantage, but Roy Sanders was confident.

He had been playing this game for a long time.

Plan to bomb.

I will be so fed up that I will declare surrender.

“The other party will probably not be able to handle it since it’s pro bono anyway. Still, you have to put pressure on them from the start so they can’t breathe. And you have to keep pressing them.”

“yes.”

Roy Sanders was an experienced lawyer.

However, I have not experienced Han Beom-sang.

Even before they started bombing, the bombs came first.

.

.

.

Two days later.

Kaiser Dutton Hill Offices.

“Attorney, Kim & Kang has sent me a list of documents to submit to Discovery.”

“Already? But?”

“The PIC Insurance Claims Handling Team has come to me asking for all of our records from the last 10 years.”

“what?!!”

Experience the blip

“What did you ask for?”

Roy Sanders of Kaiser Dutton Hill couldn’t believe his ears.

I asked Attorney Asso again.

“PIC Insurance asked for all the records of claims that were denied over the past 10 years.”

The ears were fine.

I heard it straight from the beginning.

“You asked for all the records from the past 10 years?”

“yes.”

What do you want to do?

You want to see all 10 years’ worth of records?

Just one leak worth a few hundred thousand dollars?

That’s nonsense···

‘Do you really think you can get ten million dollars?’

Although Roy Sanders has been in the industry for over 20 years, this is the first time he has made such an outrageous request.

“What should we do?”

Although it is annoying, it is not difficult to give.

Just contact PIC and ask for 10 years worth of records.

However, the practical problem was that it was impossible to review them all before passing them on to the other party.

At least ten lawyers should be assigned to review it for three months.

It’s not impossible, but

‘For a claim worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?’

It’s economically absurd.

Things get more frustrating when you discover problematic incidents during your review.

Whether to leave it out of the record or to package it in some other way,

If you have to pack it, how much should you do?

The calculator started ticking before Roy Sanders’ eyes.

Legal fees alone can run into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

Of course, this is not something the client would allow.

‘Why on earth would you want to play such a ridiculous game?’

Roy Sanders knew exactly what Han Beom-sang was trying to do.

The intention is to find out if there are any unfair cases like the Parks Clean Laundry.

Because it will definitely be there.

But finding it is like looking for a lost ring in a sandbox.

Even if you have a high-performance metal detector, it is a tedious and time-consuming task.

“Should I refuse?”

One way.

Anyway, if you delay, the claimant who needs money urgently will become more anxious, and such impatience of the client will put pressure on the lawyer.

but···

If you do not voluntarily disclose it, they will apply to the court for a production order.

Then you have to explain why you are not giving it to this side.

You can buy time by saying things like, ‘It’s unnecessary,’ or ‘It’s huge,’ but then the other side will come out and argue that you have something to hide.

So what would happen if we went all the way and disclosed this evidence?

It was only natural that the court would be left with the impression that PIC Insurance was hiding something.

I’m not asking you to create something that doesn’t exist, I’m just asking for a record to be kept.

There is a high probability that the court will issue an order for submission.

In other words, these are materials that will have to be given anyway if you go all the way.

Roy Sanders ponders.

Which one is more advantageous?

Wasting time? Or, avoiding a bad impression.

“No. Just give it to me.”

I decided that there was no need to give the court the unnecessary impression that I was going to waste two or three months.

And above all, I judged that Han Beom-sang used this strategy with the exact same result in mind.

I’m definitely not asking you to review all 10 years of records.

“Okay, I understand. Then I will contact PIC and ask them to prepare 10 years’ worth of records.”

“Don’t prepare for 10 years, prepare for 30 years.”

“30 years?”

“And don’t just pick out the ones that were refused payment, but all the ones that were claimed.”

“All claims?”

“Let’s throw a paper bomb into that office.”