Golden 14 days of law

If you have heard that there are 72 golden hours for saving people, then the law also has its golden 14 days, do you believe it?

Today I want to share one of my experiences with you. I remember one day when I was working on a client’s case, I got a call. The caller was a girl who was only 25 years old. He called me in a hurry to tell me that his mother was facing legal issues. So I asked her to tell me what happened so I could come up with a solution for her. He told me that his mother’s name was stolen and now they are suing his mother for RM600,000. Obviously, they know who are the one who steal the money. They have already received each other’s court indictment and the first court date is about two weeks away.

So I told him, “Since you have been sued by the other party, remember to sue the stealer back.” Don’t let the other party go unpunished. At this time, the daughter asked us, will our lawyer fees be expensive to prosecute the stealer? I answered her daughter and said, since you have been sued by the other party for RM 600,000, do you think the lawyer’s fee will be more than RM 600,000? While I was explaining the process with his daughter, I suddenly realized that his mother was actually listening to our conversation. I remember his mother saying to his daughter not to hire a lawyer, if they could, they would talk to the stealer first. They hope that the thief can negotiate with the other. I thought to myself if a thief could steal your name, would the thief still negotiate with the other party just to be a man of his word?

The next day I received a call from my daughter, who told me that the thief had made an appointment to negotiate next week. I listened and smiled because I knew that was impossible. The next week, I received a call from his daughter, who told me that the thief was not available that week, and made an appointment to negotiate the next week. But coming next week, it’s already time for court. It has also been 14 days. The law stipulates that once a party receives the indictment, the party must hire a lawyer to notify the court within 14 days that he wants to defend. Obviously, because the daughter and mother thought that the stealer would negotiate with the other party, they had no idea of hiring a lawyer at all, and they did not tell the court within 14 days that they said they wanted to defend. The golden 14 days have passed. Obviously, as I guessed, the stealer did not negotiate with the other party.

And within 14 days of receiving the indictment, the daughter and mother did not tell the court at all that they wanted someone to defend them. Therefore, the other party has obtained the verdict from the court. Then my daughter called me again. Ask how can I do this? I held the phone and told my daughter in a cautious tone: Is your mother really prepared to hire a lawyer this time? At the same time, I told my daughter that this time the legal fee will be higher than before, because the other party has already obtained the court’s judgment. The first step is to cancel the judgment. This is something that didn’t need to be done originally. Because they are hesitant and do not believe the lawyer’s announcement, they waste more money and time. 

Think about it, if the daughter and mother insisted on hiring a lawyer to file the lawsuit first, telling them to defend, then even if the stealer really negotiated with the other party in the end, the daughter and mother would not waste money. The reason is that the terms negotiated by the pirate and the other party must ultimately be recorded in court.

Sometimes I really want to say that I will be at a disadvantage if I don’t listen to the lawyer. Remember to be grateful for the golden 14 days rule that some lawyers once told you.