Trial Chronicle (Civil Volume)

Author: Hu Xiangfu (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The uniqueness of this book lies not in simply compiling defense arguments, but in analyzing the case-handling process of Hu Xiangfu, the lawyer. It introduces both the case details and how the lawyer analyzes the case's nature, grasps the key issues, and uses evidence to conduct courtroom debates in favor of the client. — Jiang Ping When encountering cases with ambiguous laws or multiple interpretations of legal provisions, Hu Lawyer can cite extensively from legal principles, analyze deeply based on the legislative purpose, and propose convincing insights, ultimately winning the victory. — Hai Wen Lawyer, when handling cases, must have both a macro perspective and a comprehensive plan, while also paying attention to details and changes. Neither should his defense be broken through due to insufficient consideration of a detail, nor should he miss any mistakes made by the opposing party at any specific stage of the case. — Hu Xiangfu Litigation should be the main battlefield for lawyers. A lawyer's talent and reputation should be fully demonstrated and spread through litigation. In Hong Kong, barristers are colloquially known as "big lawyers," while solicitors are known as "small lawyers," though this is not entirely accurate, it reflects the importance of barristers' status, as not every lawyer has the qualification to defend in court. In mainland China, the situation is increasingly reversing. Some famous lawyers often disdain to appear in court and take pride in handling corporate listings, mergers, and reorganizations. Recently, I've heard that some lawyers in the legal profession consider it the highest honor not to handle any specific cases. The most famous partners rely on their reputation to attract and take on cases. They do not need to handle cases themselves, and their main income is not from specific cases but from their partners' status. Lawyers compete to be the "boss" of other lawyers, which is truly a tragedy for the legal profession! Litigation is the main stage for lawyers to fully demonstrate their talent. On this stage, they understand legal provisions and rules more deeply than professors on university lecture platforms. University professors often use cases to explain how to understand a legal provision or rule, while lawyers must use specific cases to persuade judges which legal provision or rule should be applied. On this stage, they can better elaborate and demonstrate their legal knowledge and abilities than judges. Judges merely objectively listen to the opinions of the plaintiff and defendant; their role is to judge, while the role of lawyers is to persuade. They should use keen insight and rigorous argumentation to persuade judges, making the judges believe in the lawyer's analysis and arguments. In this sense, a lawyer's defense speech is like a lecture given by a professor on a lecture platform, or like a judgment written by a judge. A lawyer's brilliant defense speech should be like a professor's excellent textbook or a judge's brilliant judgment, renowned in the legal world.
Zhejiang Xingyun Law Firm is a well-known law firm and one I have been familiar with for a long time. When Cao Xing, the lawyer, published a book, I wrote the preface for it. This time, the book on my desk contains 30 cases, covering various fields of civil and commercial law, including some cases that caused a stir nationwide. The uniqueness of this book lies not in simply compiling defense arguments, but in analyzing the case-handling process of Hu Xiangfu, the lawyer. It introduces both the case details and how the lawyer analyzes the case's nature, grasps the key issues, uses evidence to conduct courtroom debates, and defends in favor of the client. Each case is well-structured and concise, making it engaging and not tedious to read—another style of a lawyer's case collection. I wrote the preface for Hu Xiangfu's book not only to recommend it to readers but more importantly, to hope that more famous lawyers will view litigation as their main stage and battlefield, and to see more famous lawyers share their case-handling experiences and insights.
A year ago, I wrote the preface for Hu Xiangfu's Record of Court Battles (Volume: Financial Cases), and unexpectedly, Hu Lawyer published the second edition of Record of Court Battles (Civil Cases) in such a short time. Hu Lawyer is not only an outstanding lawyer in court but also an excellent scholar in legal theory. He has published dozens of papers in journals such as Chinese Journal of Law, Fudan University Journal, and Chinese Lawyer. He can not only help his clients win cases but also timely summarize, analyze, and elevate various cases to a theoretical level, turning them into research achievements. This allows enterprises, public institutions, and individuals to better understand how to protect themselves with the law, while also providing young lawyers with valuable case-handling experiences and skills for reference.
China is currently in a transition and development process from a planned economy to a market economy, and from a traditional agricultural society to an industrialized modern society. This process is not only a change in economic structure and development level but also a change in economic systems and social rules. This process is full of opportunities and challenges, as well as contradictions and conflicts. These contradictions and conflicts are both in terms of interests and concepts, and there are also many in terms of rules. The imperfections and weaknesses in rules can also lead to many conflicts of interest. However, the correct resolution of these contradictions and conflicts can, to some extent, coordinate interests, transform concepts, and improve rules.
This book includes 30 civil cases handled by Hu Lawyer in recent years, covering fields such as contract breaches, construction and real estate, intellectual property, environmental protection, reputation rights, share transfers and corporate restructuring, and consumer rights protection. These cases reflect many outstanding issues in China's transition and development. Resolving these contradictions and conflicts through law is not only to ensure social fairness but more importantly, to establish and maintain an order conducive to social development. The cases related to intellectual property and contract breaches in the book have drawn special attention from me as an economist. The protection of intellectual property is crucial to the sustainable development of the economy. The economic development of a society relies on two things: the spirit of hard work and innovation. If the reputation or achievements obtained by enterprises or individuals through hard work or innovation are not protected, or if their efforts and innovations are arbitrarily encroached upon by others, people will lose the motivation to strive and innovate, and the entire society will fail to develop and progress. Contract disputes and breaches are another common phenomenon in the transition. Shifting from a top-down directive economy to a market economy based on contracts and trust requires the establishment of many new social rules, and people's habits and concepts must also be constantly updated. In the process of establishing these new rules and concepts, law plays a very crucial role. An outstanding lawyer must not only have a solid foundation in legal theory and be familiar with existing legal provisions but also understand the background and purpose behind these provisions. They must know what the law should protect, prohibit, encourage, and restrain in the establishment of a modern market economy system. Thus, they can not only safeguard the interests of their clients but also contribute to China's transition and development through the use of legal tools.
Hu Xiangfu, the lawyer, can be considered an outstanding lawyer of this kind. Reviewing the various cases in this book and carefully reading Hu Lawyer's case analysis and courtroom arguments, I must admire his agile mind and rigorous logic. Many analyses are meticulous and captivating. Especially when encountering cases with ambiguous laws or multiple interpretations of legal provisions, Hu Lawyer can cite extensively from legal principles, analyze deeply based on the legislative purpose, and propose convincing insights, ultimately winning the victory. Many of the civil cases recorded in the second volume of Record of Court Battles have a certain classic significance. Some of them even drew widespread social attention at the time, with reports from numerous media such as People's Court News, Legal Daily, and China Central Television. The book is concise yet profound.