#full-service law firm

[edictumlaw]

Navigating the Complexities of Real Estate in India: The Vital Role of Law Firms

Law firms are a vital part of a successful business. They provide legal advice and assistance to their clients, mainly in civil or criminal cases or business transactions.

There are many different law firms in India that offer services related to real estate. If you are planning to purchase a property, it is important to hire an experienced lawyer to guide you through the process.

Real Estate Transactions

The real estate sector in India has grown at a high rate over the last few decades. It is a major contributor to the country’s GDP and is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2025, accounting for 13% of its total GDP. It has been credited to favourable government reforms in the housing sector, increasing disposable income, and easy home loan options from customer banks and housing finance companies.

There are several legal challenges that face property owners and investors in the Indian real estate market, which makes it important to seek the help of a law firm experienced in handling these types of issues. These include regulatory issues, frequent changes in laws affecting the sector, and language barriers.

Despite these challenges, the Indian real estate market is a growing industry. It has witnessed an increased demand for residential and commercial space as well as a growing population.

The growth of the Indian economy has led to a significant increase in domestic and international investment in the real estate sector. In addition, the government has launched various schemes to encourage investment in the sector. These include the Affordable Housing Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

As a result, real estate transactions have become increasingly common in India. The demand for residential and commercial properties has risen rapidly, and the price of real estate is likely to continue to rise in the future.

These transactions are often conducted through a realtor or broker who serves as the intermediary between the seller and the buyer. The realtor’s role involves marketing the properties to prospective buyers, negotiating prices, and handling any issues that may arise during the transaction process.

For example, a realtor may have to conduct a thorough search of the seller’s property to ensure that it is free of any liens or other claims. He or she may also be required to verify the legality of any contracts between the parties.

MZM legal is a leading law firm that has decades worth of experience in dealing with real estate issues and disputes. The firm offers a full range of litigation services, as well as advisory and expert assistance in cases involving real estate, commercial estate, landlord and tenant disputes, infringement of intellectual property rights and many more. It is a full-service law firm that provides cost-effective and practical advice to clients.

Due Diligence

Due diligence is a crucial aspect of real estate transactions. This is because it allows a potential buyer to carefully check out what they are buying and to see if it is what they are expected to receive for their money. This allows them to make a decision whether or not to proceed with the purchase and to avoid any future repercussions that may arise from their decision.

A law firm that specialises in this area will be able to provide their clients with the best possible advice and services. This is because they will have a thorough understanding of the market and be able to advise their clients accordingly.

They will also be able to offer assistance with legal disputes, particularly if the transaction is complex or involves high levels of risk. They will also be able to advise on the legal implications of various types of agreements and contracts, which are common in real estate transactions.

This includes mortgage deeds, transfer deeds, gift, lease deeds and other types of agreements that are commonly associated with property purchases. It is also a good idea to have a lawyer check the title of the property, if it is registered or not, and if there are any encumbrances that could prevent the sale of the property.

The process of conducting due diligence can be time-consuming and complex. This is especially the case where there are a large number of parties involved and where the process will require the involvement of other advisors. This is usually the case in commercial and corporate transactions where the legal and financial teams will be working together to ensure that the deal is structured appropriately.

In addition to this, there are a number of factors that can influence when and how the due diligence process is undertaken. For example, the bargaining positions of the parties will play a part in how long it takes to complete the process.

This means that it is important for the purchaser to get the due diligence completed as quickly as possible in order to avoid repercussions from the sale or purchase. This will mean that it is necessary to get the information from all parties as soon as possible, and this can be a difficult process for many people, so it is important to seek help from a solicitor who can ensure that the process runs smoothly.

Dispute Resolution

Property disputes happen all the time, and many of them can be resolved without the need for a trial. Disputes can occur over everything from a neighbor’s fence blocking your view of the yard to whether a home was built on an incorrectly zoned lot.

In these cases, a real estate dispute attorney can help. They can review the contract, read all documents involved in the case, and find out if there is a solution that does not require litigation. They can also gather and organize the evidence that will boost your case during a civil trial.

Another common form of dispute resolution involves mediation, which is a confidential process that is informal compared to a courtroom. It is often facilitated by an experienced mediator who works to resolve the dispute through communication between the parties.

Mediation is usually less costly than a courtroom trial and can be completed within a shorter time frame. However, mediation is not always successful and can end up requiring a courtroom trial.

Arbitration is a more formal process that involves a panel of trained arbitrators who decide the outcome of the dispute. It can be a less expensive alternative to litigation, but it can also be a more time-consuming and complicated process.

Negotiation is a more casual dispute resolution method that enables the parties to meet with a mediator or real estate dispute lawyer and discuss the case. Both processes can be beneficial for both sides and are sometimes a good way to avoid litigation in the future.

Legal remedies in Real Estate disputes in India vary from state to state, but can include damages awards, monetary settlements, and injunction orders. These remedies can be used to stop someone from doing something with their property, regain ownership of the disputed property, or recover losses incurred due to an injury caused by the disputed property.

When it comes to deciding how to resolve a real estate dispute, you should take the time to consider the pros and cons of each option. For example, if the dispute is over a small amount of money, you should be wary of recommending it to arbitration or conciliation because these options are not available in every state. Moreover, you should be aware that certain laws may prohibit the use of these methods in some situations.

Negotiation

In a negotiation, two or more people try to reach an agreement that is agreeable to all parties. Negotiators often use this process to resolve issues such as property disputes, sales contracts, and more.

In some cases, a law firm plays an important role in the negotiation process, as they are experts in the legal aspects of the transaction. They can also offer advice on how to negotiate the terms of a deal in a way that will benefit both parties.

A good negotiation starts with the exchange of information between both sides of the argument. This will help to clarify any misconceptions or assumptions that the parties may have about each other. It is also a good time to share any underlying interests that might drive their positions.

Once the exchange of information has occurred, it is then important to listen carefully and discuss any disagreements or concerns in a calm manner. This will help to ensure that both sides have a full understanding of the other's point of view and can move forward with their own negotiating strategy.

Another important factor in a successful negotiation is the attitude of the negotiator. A good negotiator will always aim to create a positive atmosphere at the table, and will strive to get the best outcome possible for everyone involved.

The key to effective negotiation is identifying the best strategy for the case at hand. This is a skill that requires experience and practice. It also involves studying negotiation techniques used by other people and trying to learn from them.

Identifying the key players: The individuals who are most affected by the outcome of a negotiation should be identified and invited to participate. This can be done through interviews or other methods. It is especially important to include any co-owners who are affected by the decision, as they can have a great impact on the final outcome of the negotiations.

This process can be more difficult if the parties have never met before, as they may not know each other's personalities or what each party is looking for in the deal. If this is the case, a law firm can play an important role in the process by helping to ensure that the negotiation goes smoothly and that all parties understand their responsibilities.

[postsify]

Full-Service Law Firm in NJ Specializing in Personal Injury Attorneys in Woodbridge

Finding yourself injured due to someone else's negligence can be overwhelming. Many people don't realize the vital role legal advice plays in these situations. Not only does it ensure your rights are protected, but it also maximizes your chances of receiving fair compensation. For those living in New Jersey, particularly in Woodbridge, knowing where to turn is crucial. This blog post aims to guide you through the maze of personal injury law and highlight the benefits of working with a full-service law firm in NJ specializing in personal injury attorneys in Woodbridge.

Overview of Personal Injury Law and Common Types of Cases Handled by Personal Injury Attorneys

What is Personal Injury Law?

Personal injury law encompasses legal disputes that arise when an individual suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible. These cases often involve intricate details that only seasoned attorneys can effectively manage.

Common Types of Personal Injury Cases

Car Accidents: Automobile accidents remain one of the most common personal injury claims. Whether it's a fender bender or a major collision, victims often face physical injuries and financial burdens.

Slip and Fall: Property owners are responsible for maintaining a safe environment. If you've slipped and fallen due to unsafe conditions, you might have a valid personal injury claim.

Medical Malpractice: Medical errors can lead to severe injuries or even death. Personal injury attorneys help victims secure compensation for medical negligence.

Understanding the Role of a Full-Service Law Firm and the Benefits of Specialization in Personal Injury Cases

The Comprehensive Approach of Full-Service Law Firms

A full-service law firm in NJ offers a wide range of legal services under one roof. This means they can handle various aspects of your case, from initial consultations to courtroom representation, ensuring a seamless legal process.

Advantages of Specialization in Personal Injury Cases

Expertise: Specialized personal injury attorneys in Woodbridge bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to your case, improving your chances of a favorable outcome.

Resources: Full-service firms have the resources necessary to thoroughly investigate your case, gather evidence, and consult experts, which can be crucial for complex personal injury claims.

Personalized Attention: Specialized firms can offer more personalized attention, tailoring their approach to your unique situation and ensuring you feel supported throughout the process.

Highlighting the Expertise and Experience of the Law Firm in Woodbridge, NJ

Proven Track Record- The law firm in Woodbridge, NJ, boasts years of experience in handling personal injury cases. Their attorneys have a deep understanding of New Jersey's legal landscape, enabling them to provide expert guidance tailored to local laws and regulations.

Skilled Legal Team- The firm’s team comprises dedicated professionals who specialize in various aspects of personal injury law. Their collective expertise ensures that every case is handled with the utmost competence and care.

Successful Outcomes- Their history of successful outcomes speaks volumes. By securing substantial settlements and favorable verdicts, they have helped countless clients rebuild their lives after devastating injuries.

Exploring the Consultation Process and How the Firm Guides Clients through Their Legal Journey

Initial Consultation: The initial consultation is a crucial step. During this meeting, the attorneys listen to your story, assess the merits of your case, and provide an overview of the legal process. This lays the foundation for a strong attorney-client relationship.

Case Evaluation: Following the consultation, the firm conducts a thorough evaluation of your case. They review medical records, gather evidence, and consult experts if necessary. This comprehensive approach ensures that no detail is overlooked.

Legal Representation: From filing the necessary paperwork to representing you in court, the firm handles every aspect of your case. They keep you informed at every stage, ensuring you understand your options and the potential outcomes.

Discussing the Firm's Commitment to Personalized Attention and Transparent Communication with Clients

Client-Centered Approach- The firm's client-centered approach sets them apart. They understand that every case is unique and tailor their strategies accordingly. This personalized attention helps build trust and fosters a collaborative relationship.

Transparent Communication- Open and transparent communication is a hallmark of their practice. Clients receive regular updates on their case's progress and can easily reach their attorney with any questions or concerns. This transparency ensures that clients feel supported and informed throughout the process.

Supporting Clients Beyond Legal Representation- The firm's commitment extends beyond legal representation. They provide resources and support to help clients cope with the aftermath of their injuries. Whether it’s connecting them with medical professionals or offering guidance on financial planning, they go above and beyond to assist their clients.

Navigating the Complexities

Navigating the complexities of personal injury law can be daunting, but you don't have to do it alone. A full-service law firm NJ specializing in personal injury attorneys in Woodbridge offers the expertise, resources, and personalized attention you need to achieve a favorable outcome. Whether you've been in a car accident, suffered a slip and fall, or experienced medical malpractice, their dedicated team is ready to guide you through every step of the legal process. Take the first step towards securing your future—schedule a consultation today and discover how they can help you reclaim your life.

[uaelegaladvocates]

UAE LEGAL ADVOCATES

Founded in 1995, AWS Legal Group draws inspiration from Hammurabi, the pioneer of the first legal code in history. We are dedicated to protecting the rights of our esteemed clients, which has driven our significant growth and numerous successes. Our exceptional team of specialized lawyers, operating across MENA and the UK, brings unparalleled expertise and dedication to every case, ensuring top-notch service and outstanding outcomes. A full-service law firm in UAE, providing comprehensive legal solutions for all your legal needs.

[aaravr902]

Trilegal: Leading Mumbai Legal Landscape Among Law Firms

Trilegal stands at the forefront of Mumbai legal landscape among law firms in Mumbai. With two strategically located offices in Fort and Lower Parel, Trilegal has solidified its position as a market-leading corporate law firm. Since establishing its first office in Lower Parel in 2001, Trilegal has rapidly expanded its presence, becoming a powerhouse of corporate transactions and advisory work. The inauguration of the second office at Fort in 2021 further strengthens its Dispute resolution practice. Boasting a seasoned team of over 400 lawyers, our Mumbai offices offer expertise across various practice areas, including Corporate Law, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Real Estate, Funds, Competition, Restructuring, Tax, and Dispute resolution. With a relentless focus on client satisfaction and a deep understanding of legal intricacies, Trilegal continues to be recognized as one of the premier law firms in Mumbai.

[lawofficesofzulualiassociates]

Law Offices Of Zulu Ali & Associates, LLP

The Law Offices of Zulu Ali & Associates, LLP is an award-winning attorney and law firm that provides a full range of legal services. Our team of experienced attorneys are dedicated to provide the highest quality legal advice and representation for our clients. We strive to provide our clients with the best possible service and results. We are committed to provide our clients with the highest quality legal advice in a timely manner. Whether you need help with a simple matter or complex litigation, we will work hard to ensure that your case is handled efficiently and effectively.

[enviedear]

my modern!jace hcs and thoughts…

request ⊹ jacaerys masterlist

౨ৎ ┄───────╮ got a bit carried away with what was supposed to be hcs... but i can't help it! modern!jace scratches an itch somewhere in my brain—especially lawyer/law student!jace. don't question the family dynamics too much for this au. i don't have the brain capacity to rearrange and fix that mess <3

╰───────┄ ౨ৎ

twenty-two and a recent graduate. he majored in law with a minor in public policy. his younger brother, lucerys, makes frequent comments about how boring it all must be, but jacaerys velaryon loves it. he’s following the family line, after all.

he took office at one of his mother’s law firms, a by-product of having a family in the affairs of state. however, the firm is actually headed by his mother’s aunt, rhaenys. his mother, rhaenyra is in the middle of an election, running opposite otto hightower—a man jacaerys is lax to admit kinship to.

on paper he’s an associate, in practice, he’s whatever his family and their board need him to be. he likes it that way—being dependable.

he has such a large family, even disregarding those somewhat estranged. if you asked him to directly place everyone to their respective titles he couldn’t, so he settles for the ease of endless uncles, aunts, and cousins.

his schedule is usually packed—so when he is free, he likes to spend his time well. his best friend, cregan, gets him out of the house most the time. an easy task since the stark family owns numerous ski resorts. a perfect respite from his life of public service, at least that’s what cregan says.

jace absolutely hates the media, not necessarily social media though. his instagram stories are frequently full of reposts or camera roll dumps, his twitter constantly active but he mourns public likes. he loves to engage with factitious headlines about himself and his family, to his mother’s chagrin. he’s blocked on all social media by the estranged hightower news, headed by his mother’s old friend turned step-mother, alicent. a topic the family attempts to gloss over when in public.

has a laundry list of fashion houses at his disposal. he went viral once for “mogging” in armani at his grandfather’s funeral. he drunkenly admitted after the service that he figured viserys would have deemed it a rather lovely suit, despite the occasion. mostly, he shares his uncle laenor’s love for couture, a man who is firm in belief that a bit of pageantry never hurt anyone. almost exclusively wears canali for everyday wear, a luxury his paychecks find no issue with fulfilling.

listens to every single book he 'reads'. his airpods are constantly in his ears but he rarely opts for music. he listens to the greats on repeat, or at least that's what he calls them—near constant loops of orwell and machiavelli. he has a guilty pleasure for brandon sanderson novels though.

jacaerys is embarrassed to have a chauffeur for any and all events with his family, but he does an excellent job at hiding it. he’s is chronically good at masking any signs of disdain. his family would tell you he’s perfectly agreeable— his brothers, lucerys and joffrey, know him better, can spot his muddled ill temper through anything. he can hold his tongue most of the time, far better than the rest of his family, but he’s known to have his moments.

on his own, he drives a aston martin valour. wrapped olive green with burnt orange accents. it was pricey, a fact his uncle corlys never ceases to remind him of, but he loves it. gave it a name and everything—vermax.

the only cousins he talks to regularly are the twins, baela and rhaena. they flock together during board meetings, three ideal images of the pristine image their family attempts to portray. he and baela are most like minded, so much so that the rest of the board jokes they’re reading each others minds.

on the opposite end of the spectrum, alicent’s children— aegon, aemond, and helena, are of much different minds. the eldest of the them is prepped to take over his grandfather’s media empire. a complete disaster waiting to happen given aegon’s incessant and very public bad behavior. jace figures the young man more of a puppet if anything. the second born is somehow an even worse case, behavior less public but far more… sadistic. aemond is known in well to do social circles for his vitriol, mouth constantly fixed to land a cutting blow.

the youngest, helena, is actually quite sweet albeit heavily reclusive. she’s the founder of several successful ventures, thrust into the spotlight at a young age. these days the most the public get from her is a monthly blog update—refined and well crafted—detailing a mix of what she learned that month and a few run-on sentences about insects. but she always finds time for him at their disjointed family events, no matter the animosity in the room. she’s one of his favorite people to talk to. jace swears that somehow, she always knows just what to say.

on sunday’s he winds up at one of his uncle daemon’s golf courses. am agreement he took up after the death of viserys. his uncle is lonely without his brother, and he’s never had to tell jace that for him to know it. jace is rather shit at the sport, but he’s found that as long as daemon has a drink in his hand, nothing will be commented on. sometimes luke will tag along just to gloat, his younger brother has always been at golf.

every christmas he takes his siblings on a hunt. just like their dad, harwin, used to. it’s gotten to be a big deal after so many years. his mother often reminds him, jokingly, that he is the reason their home has become the holiday stomping grounds. he’s replied back many times that at least that saves them from the hightower’s grounds, and their brutish security detail. headed by one criston cole, he’s has never gotten a good feel for the man—or the men under his command.

jace can’t fall asleep without some form of auditory stimulation. he blames laenor, always gifting a young jace pirated lullaby cd’s… for some reason. nowadays, he’s usually a listening to a history podcast before bed. never picky on the topic or timeframe, he could listen to the tales of the past forever.

additionally—jacaerys loves linguistics. if you looked through his search history you’d find the following searches: why do we feel different when speaking in a different language? / are there languages with no numbers? / what happened to the transatlantic accent? / “where did the word ‘cocktail’ come from?

he has successfully created and maintained a masked dj persona after a drunken dare in ibiza from rhaena. he’s booked a handful of gigs, all without his name attached to it. rhaena keeps it a secret, at the promise she gets to accompany him at her own whim.

jace has only ever publicly has had one relationship. he dated cregan’s half-sister for a few years, sara. sure he had to deal with his best friends griping for a few years, but he really did love the girl. they broke up due to their schedules, moreso, his schedule. he promised baela he won’t make the same mistake in his next relationship.

he never has trouble finding people to fawn over him, but he does have a horrible issue with committing. not that he wants to play the field or hurt hearts, but he truly believes no one will ever give him the grace he needs to feel secure in the relationship. he feels like he already has too much baggage, carrying his own and his family’s. at this point, he’d rather have a few hookups as opposed to being let down—jacaerys hates that the most about himself, above all else.

that’s why he so confused as of late. unable to seem get his mind off of someone—something completely unaccustomed to him. you’re fresh at the firm, relegated to coffee runs and still straight to the book but god—jace thinks you're perfect.

he didn't even fully grasp his fixation on you until asking himself why on earth he keeps volunteering you to sit in on his client meetings. he almost shutters everytime he remembers the stupid excuse he forced out after you dared to ask him why—"i just write so slow, and i don't want to miss anything." a lie. jacaerys could tune out a client for an entire session and still win a case, but he determined early he'd rather bask in yout presence instead. however diluted he must keep his feelings...

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Light the Way - Part One

Pairing: Modern!Aemond Targaryen x female character (third person) Warnings: Angst, date rape/roofies, slight BDSM Word count: ~4k Series masterlist

Chapter summary: Starting a new job is never easy, it's even worse when your boss is an arsehole. When he unexpectedly comes to the rescue though, the relationship dynamic changes drastically.

She graduated from university a year ago with a Bachelor’s degree in PR and Marketing, and still has no idea what she wants from life, although the last twelve months of working as a barista have proven to her that a career in hospitality and customer service is definitely not it. Having happened across an online advertisement of a vacancy for the position of a personal assistant at a private law firm, she applied on a whim, never expecting to hear back. It’s not like she was qualified anyway, so she had nothing to lose

Yet, here she is, almost four weeks later, standing in the foyer of Red Keep Legal, preparing to begin her first day. The office building is sleek and modern, minimalist in decor, yet the polish of everything suggests it is incomprehensibly expensive. A handsome, bearded, older man, dressed in a sharp suit collects her from reception. She learns his name is Otto Hightower and he is a partner at the firm. They are high end solicitors and only take on the most exclusive of clients. She turns his business card over in her hands, the thickness of the smooth, matte black cardstock is high quality, with ornate golden lettering and a blood red logo of a three headed dragon. She knows she has seen that logo before, but can’t place where exactly.

“You’ll be a personal assistant to my grandson, Aemond.” Otto tells her. “He’s working on a particularly tricky case at the moment, so you’ll be responsible for ensuring he has everything he needs. I imagine he won’t ask you to do much more than get him coffee.” 

So there it was, the reason she’d gotten the job. She was hoping her coffee making days were behind her, but no such luck. She sighs inwardly, the bitter irony is almost comical.

“Anyway, if you have no further questions, I shall introduce you to Aemond.” Otto concludes.

She smiles and nods politely as he turns on his heel and leads her towards the elevator, stopping on the second to last floor. She follows him along a marble floored corridor, before he gently raps his knuckles against the rich mahogany of an office door. After a few moments the door swings open to reveal the most ethereal being she’d ever laid eyes upon. He is impossibly tall without being gangly or awkward; his long, lithe limbs flow like water as he props himself against the doorframe. His silky, silver locks are perfectly coiffed and she feels self conscious as the bright blue of his right eye scans all the way from her feet to the top of her head, analysing every inch. She notices the skin around his left eye is lightly scarred - the only indication that the realistic prosthetic that sits within the socket isn’t something he can actually see out of. The simple long sleeved top and black trousers she’s wearing suddenly feel drab in comparison to the well tailored navy blue suit he wears, and she fights the urge to hide herself. 

“Aemond, this is your new personal assistant.” Otto informs him, gesturing towards her. “Your mother and I worked hard to find this one, so perhaps you could try being a little more cordial than last time.”

She doesn’t stop to think about what that could possibly mean, letting out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in and rushing forward, smiling wide and extending a hand. 

“Hi Aemond! It’s wonderful to meet you!” 

His plush, full lips remain unmoving, as he stuffs his hands into his pockets, not returning the gesture and continuing to study her. 

She drops her hand, feeling deflated and laughs nervously.

Clearly not picking up on the awkwardness, or simply not caring, Otto glances between the two of them, before giving a curt nod and striding back towards the elevator.

Aemond watches him go before returning his attention back to her. 

“Wonderful to meet me, hm?” he finally says, quirking an eyebrow. 

Before she can respond, he continues, “Look, I’ve told my grandfather I don’t need an assistant and I like my own space. I’m looking over some contracts at the moment, so I would prefer it if you could make yourself scarce.” He disappears from view, allowing his office door to close behind him.

She immediately feels miserable. Her shoulders slump as she stands in front of the closed door. The first day of a new job should feel exciting, especially when your boss is so breathtakingly handsome, but this guy is rude and has declared her useless within minutes of meeting her. For a moment she considers just walking out and not returning.

She spends the remainder of the day sitting at her desk that’s positioned to the outer left of Aemond’s door. No one goes in or out, and not once does she catch sight of him. As far as first days go this is undoubtedly the worst she has ever experienced. As tempting as it is to just bail and head home, she desperately needs the cash, so she watches the hours slowly tick by on the off chance her stand-offish boss may suddenly decide he needs something. By the time 6pm rolls around, and she stands to gather her things, her legs have cramped from sitting for so long and she curses herself for only stretching her legs on the few occasions she went to the bathroom.

Arriving home, she finds her flatmate isn’t back yet and breathes a sigh of relief, knowing she’d be bombarded with questions about her first day and not have a positive answer for any of them. She uses the opportunity to pace the flat, rifling through the contact sheet and paperwork she has been given. She sighs when she happens upon the number listed for Aemond - what was the point of having the number of someone who seemingly wanted nothing to do with her? She saves it to her phone anyway, tomorrow was a new day after all. Perhaps she’ll score a few brownie points if she texts and offers to grab him coffee on her way to the office. She still can’t figure out why he’d been so cold towards her. Flopping down on the couch with a glass of wine, she boots up her laptop, deciding to do some research on Aemond Targaryen, as she realises that beyond meeting him today and knowing he works for one of the most prestigious law firms in all of Westeros, she really knows nothing about the man she is supposed to be working for.

She wakes up early the next morning, armed with a plan. Her evening of wine-fuelled research had been fruitful. She’d discovered that Aemond was from a family of famous Valyrian legal, political and business figures. Her recognition of the logo on Otto’s card was because it was regularly splashed across all of the major tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. She’d read through a few old articles regarding family drama, disputes over assets, and the death of his father to get an idea of who he was, before deciding his cold demeanour is likely attributed to the combined stress of his job and seemingly endless rifts between his mother and half-sister. She decides that if she is to break down his walls then she will do so with kindness, but she also wants to look the part - if she is to fit in with such sophisticated people then she needs to start dressing like one. She slips into a pencil skirt so fitted it looks like it has been painted on, alongside a sheer white blouse and a killer pair of black stilettos. She completes the look with perfectly styled hair and a thick coat of blood red lipstick. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t vying for more than Aemond’s professional attention, but she’d try anything at this point just to get him to acknowledge her presence. Giving herself a last once over look in the mirror, she fires off what she considers to be a breezy good morning text to Aemond, before heading to the coffee shop she used to work at. “Good morning Mr. Targaryen! Hope you’re well today. I’ll grab you a coffee on my way to the office. See you soon!”

Arriving exactly thirty minutes later, coffees in hand, she is disappointed to see that she’s been left on read. Nevermind. She has gone all out with the coffee order, asking for the special roast of beans with an extra shot and foamed milk. This was sure to win him over. She knocks timidly at his office door and after a long moment is about to knock again when it swings slowly open with a perfectly poised Aemond on the other side. God, he was breathtaking.

She realises she has gone too long without saying anything when he snaps out an impatient “Yes?” She jumps slightly, stepping forward into his office without an invitation. Aemond cautiously backs away, his brow furrowing with suspicion and confusion.

She thrusts one of the cups towards him, “Umm…I text you. Did you - uh - coffee?” Great, now I’ve lost the fucking power of speech.

Aemond gingerly accepts the cup from her, without saying thank you. “Are you always this articulate?” He says flatly, before taking a sip. His nose instantly wrinkles, “Ugh, does this have milk in it? I’m allergic to dairy."

Her eyes widen in horror, "Oh gods,, I’m so sorry! I should have thought to ask, I can always get you-"

"Forget it.” He cuts her off, “That will be all for the day, before you try to poison me any further. Close the door on your way out.”

Fantastic, another day sat at my desk, except this time I’m dressed like a cheap escort. 

The confidence she’d felt when she stepped out of the door this morning had been crushed flat by Aemond in a matter of seconds. She sits with her hands clasped tightly in front of her on the desk, willing her unshed tears away. Did he want her to quit? She’d placed everything on this job and she didn’t want to give it up without a fight. Sje simply couldn’t understand why Aemond seemed to hate her so much.

After a few hours pass by, she notices it is lunch time - he has to take a break some time. She decides that now is when she’ll make her move. Standing purposefully, she sniffs back her tears and checks her make-up in her compact mirror, before strutting back towards Aemond’s door. She’ll give that arsehole a piece of her mind. It was about time he learned to respect her.

She bursts into Aemond’s office without knocking. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?!” she rants, not waiting for his reaction to her sudden intrusion.

He looks up from the documents he has been reading and stares at her, but his expression is unreadable.

He stays silent, so she continues her tirade. “I didn’t have a fucking clue who you were when I accepted this job, despite that I’ve treated you with nothing but respect and you can’t even extend me the same courtesy!” She paces as she yells at him, gesticulating wildly. There’s a part of her telling her to stop, that this behaviour will likely get her fired, but at this point it would have been like attempting to put toothpaste back in the tube. “I know you think you’re hot shit, but that doesn’t exempt you from behaving like a decent human being.” She stops and looks at him then, his face still a mask of neutrality as he gazes up at her from his seat at the desk. “Why aren’t you saying anything?!” She demands.

“Oh, are you done?” He replies sarcastically.

She throws her hands up in exasperation, eliciting a huge sigh at his complete lack of emotion. 

Accepting her reaction as affirmation, he diverts his attention back to his paperwork and mutters “Well, if that’s all, you know where the door is.”

It takes all of her willpower not to grab the nearest object and launch it towards his head. She storms outside, slamming the door as she goes. Fuck this. Walking purposefully straight to the elevator, she lets it take her to the ground floor before hastily exiting the office building. There was absolutely no way she was spending another second in this godforsaken building.

Arriving home she throws her keys a little too aggressively onto the kitchen counter and heads straight towards the fridge, grabbing for the can of whipped cream. As she loudly squirts an unhealthy sized swirl of it into her mouth, her flatmate, Rhea, looks up from her laptop with an amused smile and asks “Rough morning?”

She hadn’t noticed her sitting at the dining table, too engrossed in her own foul mood to have any awareness of her surroundings. “Think I lost my job.” She slurs without bothering to swallow.

Rhea closes the lid of her laptop and rushes to pull her into a bear hug. Finally releasing her, she smiles kindly and wipes cream from her chin, before saying “First of all, you’re gross, and second, how has that happened? You’ve been there less than 48 hours!”

“It’s a long story.” She sighs, “The short version is that my boss is an arsehole, so I yelled at him and then left the office.”

“Oh.” Rhea winces, “That’s bad.”

“What the fuck am I going to do?!” She whines, rubbing her temples.

“Well, it might not solve your impending unemployment, but we could go out tonight?”

“Are you high right now, Rhea?! The only thing I’ll be doing tonight is looking at the classifieds!”

“Come on, you were miserable for so long in your last job and don’t seem to be faring much better in this one. You deserve a little fun!”

“I dunno…”

“I’m not taking no for an answer! I’m working from home today, so having a reason to leave the flat later will keep me sane. Plus you don’t even need to get changed - you are wearing that outfit!”

“Fine. I guess one drink couldn’t hurt.”

Rhea squeals with excitement, clapping her hands. “Amazing! Now be a doll and fuck off until 7pm, I have to concentrate.”

Rhea returns to her laptop while she retreats to her room, wondering if there will ever be a point this week where she isn’t being told to go away by someone.

The bar they end up at later that evening is loud and overcrowded. Despite that, she can feel herself relaxing. Perhaps it was the second white wine she was sipping or the steady beat of the music causing her to sway your hips involuntarily, but for the first time in two days she wasn't thinking about Aemond. She sighs contentedly, draining her glass and flashing Rhea a toothy grin as she pushes through the crowd with their next round of drinks. 

“Having fun?” Rhea half shouts over the cacophony of noise. 

Nodding, she grabs her hand, dragging her towards the dance floor. She chugs her drink as they both move to the rhythm of the song playing. She feels woozy and attributes it to drinking too much wine too fast.

“You want water?” She shouts to Rhea, making a drinking motion with her hand. Rhea nods gratefully and she staggers her way to the bar. She can feel her vision shifting in and out of focus and getting her legs to work the way she wants them to is proving difficult. Changing course, she heads outside, deciding a few lungfuls of fresh air will help set her straight.

As she slides down the brick exterior of the building she barely notices the dark figure that has followed her outside. “Easy.” A gruff male voice says, though in her mind it sounds far away, “Just relax.” Rough hands paw at her as her head flops around on a neck that feels boneless.

“Get the fuck off her.” She hears a familiar voice snarl demandingly. The man is gone in a flash and replaced instead by someone crouching in front of her, cupping her cheeks and coaxing her to look up into a concerned blue eye.

“Aemond?” She slurs.

“Keep looking at me.” Aemond says, cradling her head, “I’m fairly certain that that prick spiked your drink. I’m going to make sure you get home safely, but you need to stay awake, okay?”

Her eyes are glassy and Aemond blurs and duplicates in her vision as he keeps her face tilted up towards him. “Rhea.” She mumbles groggily.

As if summoned by the utterance of her name, her room mate pushes her way out of the bar, phone in hand, looking left and right. When she finally catches sight of her slumped on the ground with a man crouching over her, she shrieks and runs towards her. “What are you doing to her?!”

“Helping her.” Aemond replies flatly, without looking away from her. “Pretty sure she’s been spiked.”

“Jesus!” Rhea squeals, kneeling at her side, before finally looking over at Aemond. “Holy shit! You’re Aemond Targaryen! Your uncle is so hot!”

Aemond rolls his eye, hooking his arms around the body of the semi-conscious woman in front of him and slowly lifting her to her feet.

“Should we call the police?” Rhea asks, slowly realising the gravity of the situation.

Aemond turns to stare at her. “It will take an hour for them to get here.” He explains. “And when they do they’ll just file a report which they’ll never follow up on. Our time is better spent getting her home, so she’s at least safe. I’m assuming you know where she lives?”

Rhea nods. “We’re flatmates.”

Aemond momentarily supports her weight with a single arm as he fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it and passes it to Rhea. “Order an Uber”.

“Thanks for helping her.” Rhea says, as the Uber finally pulls up to the curb. They waited in total silence and any excitement Rhea had felt at having met Aemond was rapidly dissipating into awkward discomfort. “I can look after her from here.” She moves to take her from the supporting hold he has on her.

“Because you’ve done such an incredible job of that so far.” He retorts icily. “I’m coming with you.”

He maneuveres her limp form into the back of the car as Rhea makes her way around to the other side to sit next to her. She is surprised to see Aemond fold his tall frame into the backseat beside her, fully expecting him to ride shotgun. The drive back is tense and uncomfortable. She sits unconscious, sandwiched between the two of them, her heading lolling against Aemond’s shoulder.

“So…” Rhea begins, attempting to break the silence, “You’re the arsehole boss then?”

It was intended as a joke, but Aemond’s humourless chuckle instantly makes her cheeks burn at having said something so rude. “Is it true you’re going to fire her?”

Aemond seems surprised at that. “No,” He says simply. “I won’t expect to see her in the office tomorrow, she’ll need a day to recover, but tell her to be there at 9am sharp on Thursday. And I take my coffee black.”

“Sure.” Rhea smiles meekly. By this point, the Uber has pulled up to its destination. “Would you like to uh…?” She asks, gesturing towards the block of flats.

“No, I think you’ll be fine from here.” He responds, “Goodnight.”

With that, Rhea is left to help her out of the car, which pulls away as soon as she's closed the door.

The next day she awakens with no memory of the evening before, feeling like she has the mother of all hangovers. She swears loudly as she looks at the time and realises it’s almost midday. If she wasn’t fired before, she certainly was now.

Hearing she is awake, Rhea sweeps into the room with a tall glass of water for her. She fills her in on the details of the previous evening and she listens in stunned silence. She spends the rest of the day in bed, struggling to process what has happened to her and the fact that a man she’d assumed hated her had come so valiantly to her rescue.

Thursday morning rolls around quickly and she dresses simply in black trousers and a sensible cardigan. She heads to grab Aemond his morning coffee; black coffee. No sooner had she deposited the cup into his hand had apologies begun tumbling from her lips, saying sorry for how she’d spoken to him, sorry for storming off, sorry for him having to look after her. He cuts her off, sliding a sheet of paper towards her.

“This,” He begins, “Is a list of things I need you to do for me today. Think you can handle it?”

She nods, stunned at finally being asked to help him out.

“Perfect. See you later.”

The day passes in a blur and she struggles. This is the first day she’s actually performing the job she has been hired to do and the busy, demanding nature of a prestigious law firm was worlds apart from the past two days of sitting at her desk and sulking. She gets lost trying to deliver documents to various people’s offices, forgets to seal contracts in confidential envelopes and accidentally hangs up on no less than five clients while trying to transfer their calls. It is a complete disaster.

She sits, highlighting every instance of the word “Harrenhal” in a document, feeling totally overwhelmed. How could anyone manage to be so bad at a relatively simple job?! The truth was, she kept finding herself distracted, thinking about what had happened to her two nights ago. What would have happened if Aemond hadn’t shown up? She caps the highlighter pen, resting her head in her hands and fails to suppress a sob.

Hearing his office door open, she turns to face Aemond as he exits, attempting to compose herself, but knows he has likely already seen her crying. “Sorry.” She whispers. “I’m just having a bad day. Ignore me.” She sniffles and wipes her eyes.

Silently Aemond beckons her into his office, maintaining eye contact as he does so.

She follows obediently, dread gnawing at her insides, certain he’s going to fire her.

 “Kneel.” He quietly commands, once the door is closed behind them.

“What?!” Her eyes widen in shock.

“Trust me, you need this. Kneel.” He insists.

She does as she is told, kneeling before him, gazing up at his impossibly tall frame with curiosity.

He slowly reaches out a hand, fingers gently grazing her jawline, before running a thumb over her lips. He pushes gently, parting them and meeting the resistance of her teeth. “Open”.

This time she doesn’t question his request, silently accepting the alien intrusion of Aemond’s thumb into her mouth. Instinctively she feels herself sucking on the digit and gradually relaxes. The sensation sends a throb of arousal straight to her core. She’d never experienced anything like this before, but seeing him tower over her, offering his thumb for her to suck was strangely erotic.

“Better?” He asks.

She simply nods, doe-eyed and staring at him in awe.

“Good.” He smiles slightly, stooping down until his lips are ghosting the shell of her ear. It makes her shiver. “I much preferred Tuesday’s outfit, by the way. Maybe that can make a reappearance tomorrow?”

[edictumlaw]

Edictum Law and Co:Setting the Bar for Law Services in India

India is a country that has been experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years. This growth has led to an increased demand for legal services, making the legal sector in India one of the most sought-after professions. One law firm that has gained a lot of recognition in the country is Edictum Law and Co. In this blog, we will explore what Edictum Law and Co. is, the services they offer, and their contribution to the legal sector in India.

What is Edictum Law and Co.?

Edictum Law and Co. is a leading law firm in India, founded by three young and dynamic lawyers, who have vast experience in handling complex legal issues. The firm has its headquarters in Delhi and has a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers. The firm specializes in various areas of law, including corporate law, commercial law, intellectual property law, and dispute resolution.

Services Offered by Edictum Law and Co.

Edictum Law and Co. offers a wide range of legal services to its clients, including:

Corporate Law:

The firm specializes in corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and corporate compliance. The team has a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory framework governing the Indian corporate sector and provides practical and innovative solutions to its clients.

Commercial Law:

Edictum Law and Co. offers legal advice on all aspects of commercial law, including contract drafting and review, commercial disputes, and compliance with the various commercial laws in India.

Intellectual Property Law:

The firm has a dedicated team of lawyers who specialize in intellectual property law, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, and designs. They assist clients in protecting their intellectual property rights and also advise on licensing and franchising.

Dispute Resolution:

Edictum Law and Co. has a team of skilled litigators who represent clients in various courts and tribunals across India. They have extensive experience in handling complex disputes, including commercial disputes, arbitration, and mediation.

Contribution to the Legal Sector in India:

Edictum Law and Co. has made significant contributions to the legal sector in India. They have been recognized as one of the best law firms in Delhi, India and have won several awards for their outstanding legal services. The firm has also been involved in several pro bono initiatives aimed at providing legal assistance to the underprivileged sections of society.

The firm has also been actively involved in promoting legal education in India. They regularly conduct workshops and training programs for law students and young lawyers to help them understand the nuances of the legal profession.

Conclusion:

Edictum Law and Co. is a leading law firm in India that has established a reputation for providing high-quality legal services to its clients. The firm's commitment to excellence and innovation has earned them a place among the top law firms in the country. Their contributions to the legal sector in India are significant, and they continue to play a vital role in shaping the legal landscape of the country.

[postsify]

Navigating NJ's Legal Landscape with a Trusted Full service Law Firm

Establishing a business in New Jersey comes with a myriad of legal considerations. From incorporation to contracts, employment law, and even the protection of intellectual property, local entrepreneurs and small business owners face legal challenges that can significantly impact their operations and future success. In this blog post, we will explore how a trusted full service law firm NJ can serve as an invaluable partner, offering strategic legal counsel to guide businesses through the nuanced legal landscape of New Jersey.

The Importance of Legal Services for Small Businesses

For small businesses and startups, the need for legal guidance cannot be overstated. Navigating the complex web of regulations and statutes without professional assistance can lead to severe consequences, including financial penalties, litigation, and even the dissolution of the business. With the right legal support, businesses can proactively address potential issues, protect their interests, and effectively manage risk.

Overview of the Legal Landscape in New Jersey for Entrepreneurs

New Jersey boasts a robust legal infrastructure that is both protective and challenging for entrepreneurs. State-specific laws and regulations cover a wide range of areas, including business formation, taxation, employment, consumer rights, and environmental compliance. Understanding and adhering to these mandates is crucial, as New Jersey is known for its stringent legal framework, especially in matters of corporate governance and environmental protection.

The Role of a Full service Law Firm for Small Businesses and Startups

A full service law firm offers a comprehensive suite of legal services catering to the diverse needs of small businesses. From dispute resolution to regulatory compliance and intellectual property services, these firms provide a one-stop shop for the legal needs of their clients, saving them time and the hassle of coordinating multiple legal advisors.

Case Studies: Real-Life Examples of How Spevack Law Firm has Helped Local Entrepreneurs

As an example, Spevack Law Firm has been at the forefront of assisting New Jersey's entrepreneurs in overcoming legal obstacles. By offering personalized attention and tailored solutions, the firm has supported businesses through numerous milestones, such as entity formation, dispute resolution, and intellectual property protection. These case studies underscore the value of proactive legal counsel in securing the longevity and success of a business.

Expert Advice: Q&A with Spevack Law Firm on Common Legal Challenges Faced by Small Business Owners

To shed further light on the relevant legal concerns of small business owners, we sat down with the legal experts at Spevack Law Firm. Through a Q&A session, their insights will provide clarity on navigating some of the most common legal hurdles, including employment disputes, intellectual property rights, and contractual negotiations.

Q1. What are the most common legal mistakes small business owners make and how can they avoid them?

A1. Small business owners often overlook the importance of having clear and comprehensive contracts with customers, vendors, and employees. Ambiguities in contracts can lead to misunderstandings and disputes down the line. It's essential to work with a legal professional to draft contracts that protect your interests and clearly outline the rights and obligations of all parties involved.

Q2. What are the best strategies for protecting intellectual property for small businesses?

A2. Intellectual property (IP) can be one of the most valuable assets of a small business. To protect IP, businesses should file for trademarks, patents, or copyrights where applicable. Regular monitoring of competitors to prevent infringement is also recommended. Working with a lawyer who specializes in IP law can help small businesses develop a robust IP protection strategy.

Q3. How can small businesses prepare for potential litigation or disputes?

A3. The best preparation for potential litigation is to ensure that your business is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Additionally, maintaining accurate records of business transactions, communications, and policies can serve as invaluable evidence in the event of a dispute. Having a lawyer on retainer or as part of your advisory team can provide immediate support if litigation arises.

The Value of Establishing a Trusted Legal Partnership for Long-Term Business Success

In closing, the value of a trusted legal partnership cannot be emphasized enough for small businesses navigating the dynamic legal landscape of New Jersey. By establishing a relationship with a full service law firm like Spevack, entrepreneurs can confidently address their legal needs, secure their business interests, and focus on the growth and success of their ventures. Investing in legal services is not just a good practice; it is an imperative step towards sustainable business development.

For small business owners and entrepreneurs in New Jersey, understanding the legal implications of every decision and having a reliable team of legal advisors are key to prosperity. With Spevack Law Firm's specialized knowledge and commitment to client success, local businesses can rest assured that they are on solid legal ground as they pursue their goals. If you're a small business owner in New Jersey, take charge of your legal landscape—reach out to a trusted full service law firm today and pave the way for a secure and prosperous future.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Big Train managers earn bonuses for greenlighting unsafe cars

Tomorrow (November 16) I'll be in Stratford, Ontario, appearing onstage with Vass Bednar as part of the CBC IDEAS Festival. I'm also doing an afternoon session for middle-schoolers at the Stratford Public Library.

Almost no one knows this, but last June, a 90-car train got away from its crew in Hernando, MS, rolling three miles through two public crossings, a ghost train that included 47 potentially explosive propane cars. The "bomb train" neither crashed nor derailed, which meant that Grenada Railroad/Gulf & Atantic didn't have to report it.

This is just one of many terrifying near-misses that are increasingly common in America's hyper-concentrated, private equity-dominated rail sector, where unsafe practices dominate and whistleblowers face brutal retaliation for coming forward to regulators.

These unsafe practices – and the corporate policies that deliberately gave rise to them – are documented in terrifying, eye-watering detail in a deeply reported Propublica story by Topher Sanders, Jessica Lussenhop,Dan Schwartz, Danelle Morton and Gabriel L Sandoval:

https://www.propublica.org/article/railroad-safety-union-pacific-csx-bnsf-trains-freight

It's a tale of depraved indifference to public safety, backstopped by worker intimidation. The reporting is centered on railyard maintenance inspectors, who are charged with writing up "bad orders" to prevent unsafe railcars from shipping out. As private equity firms consolidated rail into an ever-dwindling number of companies, these workers face supervisors who are increasingly hostile to these bad orders.

It got so alarming that some staffers started carrying hidden digital recorders, so they could capture audio of their bosses illegally ordering them to greenlight railcars that were too unsafe for use. The article features direct – and alarming – quotes, like supervisor Andrew Letcher, boss of the maintenance crews at Union Pacific's Kansas City yard saying, "If I was an inspector on a train I would probably let some of that nitpicky shit go."

Letcher – and fellow managers for other Tier 1 railroads quoted in the piece – aren't innately hostile to public safety. They are quite frank about why they want inspectors to "let that nitpicky shit go." As Letcher explains, "The first thing that I’m getting questioned about right now, every day, is why we’re over 200 bad orders and what we’re doing to get them down."

In other words, corporate rail owners have ordered their supervisors to reduce the amount of maintenance outages on the rail lines, but have not given them additional preventative maintenance budgets or crew. These supervisors warn their employees that high numbers of bad orders could cost them their jobs, even lead to the shutdown of the car shops where inspectors are prone to pulling dangerous cars out of service.

It's a ruthless form of winnowing. Gresham's Law holds that "bad money drives out good" – in an economy where counterfeit money circulates, people preferentially spend their fake money to get it out of their hands, until all the money in circulation is funny money. This is the rail safety equivalent: simply fire everyone who reports unsafe conditions and all your railcars will be deemed safe, with the worst railcars shipped out first. A market for lemons – except these aren't balky used sedans, they're unsafe railcars full of toxic chemicals or explosive propane.

When cataclysmic rail disasters occur – like this year's East Palestine derailment – the rail industry reassures us that this is an isolated incident, pointing to the system's excellent overall safety record. But that record is a mirage, because the near-misses don't have to be reported. Those near-misses are coming more frequently, as the culture of profit over safety incurs a mounting maintenance debt, filling America's rails with potential "bomb cars."

Rail mergers and other forms of deregulated, anything-goes capitalism are justified by conservative economists who insist that "incentives matter," and that the profit motive provides the incentive to improve efficiency, leading to lower costs and better service. But the incentive to externalize risk, kick the can down the road, and capture regulators rarely concerns the "incentives matter" crowd.

Here's an incentive that matters. Rail managers' bonuses – as much as a fifth of their take home pay – are only paid if the trains they oversee run on time. Inspectors have recorded their managers admitting that they have quotas – a maximum number of bad orders their facility may produce, irrespective of how much unsafe rolling stock passes through the facility.

Inspectors have caught their managers removing repair order tags from cars they've flagged as unsafe. Inspectors will log orders in a database, only to have the record mysteriously deleted, or marked as serviced when no service has occurred. Some inspectors have seen the same cars in their yard with the same problems, and repeatedly flagged them without any maintenance being performed before they're shipped out again.

Former managers from Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern told Propublica that they operated in an environment where safety reports were discouraged, and that workers who filed these reports were viewed as "complainers." Workers furnished Propublica with recordings of rail managers berating them for reporting persistent unsafe conditions the Federal Railroad Administration. Other workers from BNSF said that they believed that their bosses were told when they called the company's "confidential" work-safety tipline, setting them up for retaliation by bosses who'd falsified safety reports.

Whistleblowers who seek justice at OSHA are stymied by long delays, and while switching their cases to court can win them cash settlements, these do not get recorded on the company's safety record, which allows the company to go on claiming to be a paragon of safety and prudence.

The culture of retaliation is pervasive, which explains how the 47-cars worth of propane on the "bomb train" that rolled unattended over three miles of track never made the news. There is a voluntary Close Call Reporting System (operated by NASA!) where rail companies can report these disasters. Not one of America's Class 1 rail companies participate in it.

After the East Palestine disaster, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed the rail companies to join, but a year later, none have. It's part of an overall pattern with Secretary Buttigieg, who has prodigious, far-reaching powers under USC40 Section 41712(a), which allow him to punish companies for "unfair and deceptive" practices or "unfair methods of competition":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

Buttigieg can't simply hand down orders under 41712(a) – to wield this power, he must follow administrative procedures, conducting market studies, seeking comment, and proposing a rule. Other members of the Biden administration with similar powers, like FTC chair Lina Khan, arrived in office with a ranked-priority list of bad corporate conduct and immediately set about teeing up rules to give relief to the American public.

By contrast, Buttigieg's agency has done precious little to establish the evidentiary record to punish the worst American companies under its remit. His most-touted achievement was to fine five airlines for saving money by cancelling their flights and stranding their passengers. But of the five airlines affected by Buttigieg's order, four were not US companies. The sole affected US carrier was Spirit airlines, with 2% of the market. The Big Four US airlines – who have a much worse record than the ones that were fined – were not affected at all:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/ftc-noncompete-airline-flight-cancellation-buttigieg/

Rather than directly regulating the US transportation sector, Buttigieg prefers exacting nonbinding promises from them (like the Tier 1 rail companies' broken promise to sign up to the Close Call Reporting System). Under his leadership, the Federal Railroad Agency has proposed weakening rail safety standards, rescinding an order to improve the braking systems on undermaintained, mile-long trains carrying potentially deadly freight:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/11/dinah-wont-you-blow/#ecp

The US transportation system is accumulating a terrifying safety debt, behind a veil of corporate secrecy. It badly demands direct regulation and close oversight.

If you are interested in rail safety, I strongly recommend this episode of Well There's Your Problem, "a podcast about engineering disasters, with slides" – you will laugh your head off and then never sleep again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BMQTdYXaH8

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/15/safety-third/#all-the-livelong-day

[aaravr902]

Trilegal: Your Capital Markets Corporate Legal Experts

Trilegal capital markets corporate lawyers offer a comprehensive range of services, advising on equity and debt capital market transactions. From initial public offerings to overseas listings, we assist companies in issuing equity and equity-linked instruments, including preferential issues and private placements. With extensive experience in business trust and REIT transactions in India and Singapore, our team ensures expert guidance and seamless execution for your capital market endeavors.

[newsfromstolenland]

"Canadian shoppers may be more willing to admit that they've stolen from grocery stores lately, whether in defiance of corporate greedflation or out of sheer necessity amid an only partially-explicable spike in food prices, but the fact remains that shoplifting is illegal — and landing a charge could spell big, big trouble.

But it doesn't necessarily have to ruin your life, according to one local legal professional who will defend anyone arrested for stealing food from grocery stores pro bono (as in for free) right now.

Licenced paralegal Frank Alfano, whose firm represents people all over the Greater Toronto Area, published an Instagram post earlier this week that is as much of a public service announcement as it is an advertisement for people seeking legal help.

"Criminal convictions have many serious consequences such as jail time, a criminal record, not being able to travel to America, not being able to get some jobs and more," reads the caption of that post.

"We understand that it is difficult to deal with criminal charges by yourself... We offer legal services for criminal offence summary convictions as regulated by law society of Ontario. To qualify for free representation this must be your first offence, the value of the goods must be less than $5,000, and it should be in the GTA area."

The post displays an image of someone stealing food with the text: "You do not deserve a criminal record because you wanted to feed yourself or your family!" — a sentiment Alfano believes in strongly."

Full article

Tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[shmaptainwrites]

𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 [𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘]

PAIRINGS — Violet Bridgerton x fem!Reader [Modern!AU]

SUMMARY — The Bridgertons take some time to do things they enjoy among the media circus caused by Landon's statement.

WORD COUNT — 3.5K

WARNINGS — none

NOTE — Another Friday, another chapter! Thank again to flock for taking care of the beta read and editing :)

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑽𝑰: 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑰𝑵 𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑳

The click of the camera shutters had become incessant since Landon’s statement broke the UK news. Unfortunately, it had not faded out, like they had hoped, after one cycle, due to the fact that it seemed like anyone who had ever had any qualms with the Bridgertons were now offering their opinions on the situation and keeping it in the front of everyone’s minds. 

Violet’s lawyers had managed to convince the authorities to do their interviews at the firm in exchange for full cooperation, which the firm was willing to give because Violet was innocent (at least her lawyer had said even an idiot could see that, and you had emphatically agreed with him). 

Stepping out from what felt like her thousandth interview, you followed closely behind with manila folders and a briefcase, the cameras were quick to come out and follow the two of you towards the car Violet had acquired the service of until things died down. 

She could hear her name called at her from all directions, and she tried to hold her head high on Pat’s advice, knowing that if she hunched away the media might take her simple body language as an admission of guilt. 

She was about to step into the car when she heard your voice behind her, but not addressing her. 

“Hey, watch it!” 

She turned around and saw you standing between her and someone who was trying to get a little too close. 

“You know, while I’m at it, why don’t you all listen up?” you said, the frustration on behalf of Violet evident in your tone. “Keep your bloody cameras away from the Bridgertons or else I’m sure we can find a way to press charges for harassment. And while you’re at it, stop calling her Violet, it’s Lady Bridgerton, show some respect.” 

Violet bit back a smile and finally opened the car door, stepping inside and sliding over the seats so you could place your things down and join her, closing the door, muffling the sounds of the press outside.

“You know, nobody calls me Lady Bridgerton,” she said while looking over at you.

“I know, but maybe they should,” you shrugged. “Maybe it will get them to remember all of the wonderful things your family has done with that title and that none of this is actually tied to you. Landon is just trying his last shot at bringing someone down with him.” 

“At least the police said this should be cleared up and sorted soon, but I know the cameras are going to linger,” Violet sighed. “Daphne was telling me she saw someone following her while she was taking the children to the park with Simon the other day. She almost called the police; I had to arrange to get her a security detail.” 

“Really?” you looked astonished and Violet nodded. 

“They wanted information about me,” she added. “And were willing to take away my daughter’s, my son-in-law’s, and my grandchildren’s privacy to do so.” 

You sighed and pressed your lips together. 

“And Eloise has people following her around campus, Benedict has had his home vandalized, thank God Colin and Penelope left on another work assignment. I can’t imagine what they might have run into.”

You reached out your hand to take Violet’s and offer some comfort. 

“I haven’t let Hyacinth or Gregory leave the house,” she looked over at you. “They’re going insane, but I can’t…” her voice trailed off. “They’re still so young, I can't have this happening to them as well.” 

“I’m sure they understand,” you assured her. “This is no small thing. At this point, we’re talking about safety. You don’t even leave the house without security by your side anymore, that’s a clear difference from your circumstances before.” 

“Yes, which is why I think we all need a break,” Violet sighed. “Benedict is coming to pick up Gregory and Hyacinth this afternoon and they’ll go to the country estate for a week or so, and Agatha and I have dinner planned at the house tonight.” 

“That should be good,” you nodded. “Everyone gets a little change of pace, Benedict can be the one to make sure Hyacinth and Gregory don’t kill each other,” you teased, and Violet chuckled. 

“When you put it that way, I might lose three children by the end of the week.” 

You scoffed at her words and looked outside the window for a moment, your hands still interlocked. 

“I know it’s hard, but we should focus on the positives. We still have the gala we need to think about. I know we were hoping for the fall, but with everything that is happening, I was wondering if it makes sense to do something over the holidays? It should add more time for us too, which frankly, we could use.” 

“I was thinking that as well,” Violet agreed. “We haven’t sent out invitations so it wouldn’t be hard to shift dates as long as the venue is available. We’d just have to do some coordinating with all the logistical things, but I think that’s better than rushing it.” 

“I’ll make sure the venue is available, you take a break and prepare for your dinner tonight. I hear Agatha is expecting you to cook.”

“She usually does, it’s a little deal we have,” Violet explained. “And she likes my cooking, so, I won’t turn down an opportunity to be complimented.” 

 “What’s your specialty?” you asked.

“Yorkshire pudding, but that’s not quite a meal on its own,” Violet chuckled. “I’ll figure something out to go with it.”

“I’m sure you will,” you squeezed her hand and let go, both of you feeling the immediate loss of warmth and comfort when the contact ceased. 

When you arrived back at the house, Benedict had come to pick up Hyacinth and Gregory, neither of whom were ready to leave, much to his dismay. 

“Mum, can you please get your children to bloody hurry up?” Benedict complained. 

“Lovely way to greet your mother after she’s just come home from being interviewed by the police,” Violet teased and Benedict sighed with a chuckle, pulling his mother into a hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. 

“Hi Mum, how are you?” he changed his greeting, and Violet smiled. 

“As good as I’ll be, given the circumstances. Let me go see what I can do about your siblings, and oh-have you two met yet?” 

Violet looked between you and Benedict, and you nodded your head.

“Briefly, actually,” you said.

“Yes, you were at the gallery,” he noted and you confirmed with a nod. 

“Pure coincidence. I realized who you were a few moments after we stopped talking,” you chuckled and gave him your name again.

“So, you’re working as the new financial manager?” Benedict asked, while Violet left you both to go find Hyacinth and Gregory. 

“Yes, that would be me,” you nodded. 

“And what was a financial district woman such as yourself doing in a small independent art gallery? Or working for my family, for that matter?”

“One, financial district women can have hobbies,” you started. “Two, I was looking for a change of pace and this is certainly that.”

“Getting bossed around by my mother? God give you strength.”

“Oh, come on,” you rolled your eyes and laughed. “It’s not that bad, we make a good team, I think.”

“If you’re saying that? Clearly you do,” Benedict teased. “No, but in all seriousness she’s a hard worker. Her nagging is out of love.”

“Benedict, did you just say I nag you?” Violet asked, stopping by the front door after overhearing the comment. 

“No Mum, not at all,” he shook his head. “I said bagging, like when you pack us food to take places.”

Violet pressed her lips together. She seemed unconvinced and you laughed at Benedict’s terrible lie. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle Greg and Hyacinth for a week?” you asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders quite exaggeratedly. 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

“If they’re trying to kill each other, call me,” you told him. “I’ve learnt sibling crisis management 101 from those two.”

“Will do,” Benedict nodded and patted your back. 

You heard your name called from the door and saw Hyacinth running outside. 

“I thought I was going to miss you before we left,” she pulled you in for a hug which you accepted, one hand still occupied with full manila folders. “It’s going to be weird not seeing you every day.”

“Sure, but it’s only a week, and you have Benedict. You can make plans for the Beyoncé concert.”

“That is true,” Hyacinth nodded, still holding onto you. 

“Hyacinth, goodness, you’re going to suffocate her,” Violet chuckled as she came outside with Gregory, seeing the tight grip her daughter had on you. 

“I’m fine, I’m going to miss her hugs anyways,” you squeezed her back. “Okay, both of you should get your stuff in your brother’s car. He's been waiting patiently for you.”

The two youngest Bridgertons listened and threw their stuff in the trunk of Benedict’s car before saying their goodbyes and heading off with a final reminder from their mother not to kill each other. 

You and Violet entered the house shortly thereafter, and she went on to prepare dinner while you did some work in the office. 

After the day had ended, you were about halfway home when you realized you had forgotten your phone and had to turn back around to get it. 

Security let you inside without a fuss, and you could hear chatter and laughter coming from the dining room, presumably from Violet’s dinner. 

You tried to sneak in and out quietly, not wanting to interrupt, but Violet caught sight of you from afar and called out your name. 

“What are you doing back here, is something wrong?” she asked. 

“Just forgot my phone, I’ll be out of your hair in two minutes,” you assured her. 

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” another voice chimed in, which you assumed was Agatha’s. “Violet wouldn't be able to cook for only two people, even if a gun was put to her head. It’s ten or nothing, there’s plenty of food to share, come eat with us.”

“I shouldn’t stay,” you shook your head. 

“My dear, one does not turn down an invitation from Agatha,” Violet chuckled. “Just come sit with us.”

You pressed your lips together and began to walk towards the dining room, seeing the chair Violet had pulled out for you next to her and took a seat with them at the table. 

“Christ, you were right. Violet, this is enough food for a small dinner party,” you said while looking at the spread in front of you. 

“I, unfortunately, never unlearned how to portion for ten people,” she said while grabbing you a plate and some cutlery. “I will be sending you both home with leftovers.”

“And I will not be complaining,” Agatha smiled. “So,” she turned her attention to you. “Violet has been telling me how great of a help you’ve been the past few months.”

“Oh, it’s nothing really,” you shook your head. “Just doing my job.”

You knew as soon as you said it you didn’t believe it. Sure, a part of it was doing your job, but another part was always something a little extra. You had come to care very much for the family whose employ you were under and it meant a lot when you were able to help them through difficult situations. 

“Have you and Violet known each other for a long time?” 

You tried to divert the line of questioning from yourself.

“Since I was a teenager,” Violet answered. “Our families ran in the same circles, but we became more acquainted after my marriage, and even more so after Edmund’s passing.”

You could feel Agatha’s stare on you, and it made you a little nervous. It was almost as if she was very closely judging your character, but whether it was for your position with the family or something else, you were uncertain. 

Violet offered you some wine, realizing you didn’t have a glass, and you accepted, watching her go back to the kitchen to fetch it for you, so you quickly filled the silence with another question for Agatha. 

“What made you grow closer after Edmund’s passing?”

Agatha pressed her lips together and took a sip of her wine. 

“My husband had also passed away when I was young,” she said and you nodded your head in understanding. “But that is not why I could relate to her.”

You paused, looking up from your food and making eye contact with Agatha whose gaze had seemingly softened. 

“I had an arranged marriage,” she explained. “I did not love my husband. In fact, I loathed him, but due to my family, the only way out of that relationship was in death. My father passed shortly after he did and then, all of a sudden, I was free.”

You put your fork down, placing your hands in your lap, listening intently to her story. 

“For years, I had been…close with Violet’s aunt, Lily, her father’s sister, and over time, that friendship turned into something…more than,” she said. “When she passed away, I felt like my world had been ripped in two and I couldn’t quite publicly grieve her loss, in part because I wasn’t yet ready to admit to the world that I loved her.”

You pressed your lips together, a surge of hurt in your chest at the story she shared. 

“When Violet lost Edmund, I saw that same thing in her. She was still expecting and the world turned her grief into a spectacle.”

“I understand,” you nodded your head, it was implicit. Agatha was trying to protect Violet. 

“I hope you do,” Agatha sipped her wine again. “Our stories often tend to draw on more parallels than we initially realize.”

Violet returned to the room with a glass of wine for you, and a bottle for the table, a bright smile on her face while she tucked her hair behind her ears and sat back down. 

“Why the long faces, did something happen?” she asked, concerned.

“No, not at all,” Agatha shook her head. “We were just disappointed we can’t have your cooking every night, it really is quite exceptional.”

“Yes, I agree,” you said truthfully. “You were right when you said Yorkshire pudding is your specialty, I think this is the best one I’ve had in a long time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Violet smiled. “So, have you two spoken about art yet?”

“No, I don’t think we have,” you shook your head. 

“A fellow appreciator of the finer things, I see,” Agatha smiled. 

“Agatha has quite the collection at her home. I think you would love it, actually.”

“Really?” You looked at Agatha. “What era?”

“Mostly early 19th century, some late 18th,” she said. “Do you have much art in your home?”

“Not a lot, I can’t quite afford the things I enjoy,” you admitted. “But I frequent museums and galleries quite often which helps fill that void. I love being in this house in particular, there’s always a new piece in some corner that I haven’t seen before.”

“A lot of those are Benedict’s,” Violet said. “He refuses to pay for a storage space so he ends up giving them to me on loan until they sell.”

“I seem to recall some of the paintings around the house are yours,” Agatha noted. 

“You didn’t tell me that,” you looked over at Violet. “Which ones?”

“Anything signed Ledger,” she admitted. “I did them all before I was married.”

You chuckled a little to yourself. There was one painting in Violet’s office, nothing too extravagant, just an assortment of plants in what looked like a wildflower bouquet resting on a table. If something was stumping you or your eyes needed a break from the many hours of staring at the computer, your default was to look at it. You had always meant to ask who the artist was; you just couldn’t seem to fathom that it was Violet. 

“You didn’t think to mention it?” you chuckled, sipping your wine. 

“I didn’t think it was relevant,” she shrugged innocently, and you laughed at the clearly coy comment. 

Agatha watched the interaction between you both closely. There was a certain familiarity, an ease and comfort she hadn’t seen in Violet in a long time. 

“So, I think we now know where Benedict gets his artistry from,” you said. “Does he know where he gets it from?”

“We’ve all made a point to make it very clear to him any talent he got was from me,” Violet teased, and you laughed again. 

“Seriously though, once things settle again and you have more time on your hands, you should consider taking it up again,” you suggested. “It’s good to have a hobby.”

“I agree,” Agatha nodded. “Hobbies are a wonderful way to pass the time.” 

“Agatha’s main hobby is hustling people in poker and pool,” Violet informed you. 

“All the money goes to charity,” she assured. 

“At the expense of the dignity of others,” Violet countered. 

“She lost to me in both,” Agatha filled in the blanks and you snorted while lifting your wine glass to your lips and Violet’s ears became tinged with a soft pink colour. “And made the mistake of chalking it up to beginner's luck.” 

“Oh, Violet,” you attempted to sound sympathetic, but it came off more like pity with the chuckle that was laced in your voice.

“No, I know I brought it on myself,” she nodded, picking up some vegetables with her fork. “I just don’t understand how I fell for it three times, and how you didn’t say anything,” she motioned to Agatha with her chin. 

“You just seemed so determined, I didn’t want to burst your bubble.” 

“Three times? Violet, that’s just…” 

“Embarrassing? Demoralizing? Absolutely humiliating?” she filled in the blanks. 

“No, I was going to say sweet,” you chuckled. “You didn’t give up, I mean, you never do. I admire that about you.” 

“Oh,” Violet was visibly surprised by your response and you were too focused on her to notice Agatha’s knowing expression from across the table. “I-Well, thank you.” 

“I would have gone with humiliating, too,” Agatha teased before eating another spoonful of food. 

“Hush, you,” Violet frowned and sent her friend a playful piercing stare. 

Dinner ended up being very enjoyable, but as soon as the dishes were cleared and you saw the time, you excused yourself from the group. 

“Are you sure you can’t join us for another glass of wine?” Violet asked.

“I shouldn’t,” you shook your head. “My family’s coming to visit tomorrow, and I still have a few things to arrange around the apartment so I should get back to that before it’s too late.” 

“Family? You didn’t mention your family was visiting. Do you need time off?” Violet asked. 

“No, we’d run ourselves mad if we were together non-stop,” you shook your head. “If something comes up, I’ll ask.” 

“Okay,” Violet smiled. “But before you go…” she slipped past Agatha and over to a pan that was by the stove, taking a container from one of the cupboards and placing what looked like a few slices of cake inside and grabbing some food she had packed away from dinner already. “For tonight. A cleaning pick-me-up,” she handed it to you. 

“Thank you, Violet, really both of you for including me tonight,” you said. “I know I was the reason you got pulled away from your tea together in the first place, so I’m happy for the chance at redemption.” 

“Consider yourself redeemed,” Agatha assured you. “I’m sure we will talk again soon.” 

“I hope so,” you smiled. “Goodnight.” 

Agatha and Violet returned your smile and wished you goodnight as you left the room, heading out the front door and going back to your car to head home. 

“So,” Agatha began a moment after hearing the front door close. “She’s quite…” 

She paused in hopes that Violet might fill in the blank, letting her in on what her feelings were towards you. 

“Lovely?” Violet looked up at Agatha with a smile. “She really is.” 

“You seem to have gotten closer over your time working together.” 

“I think we have,” Violet agreed. “It’s odd. It’s almost as though I hired a financial manager and a friend, but it doesn’t feel forced.” 

“It doesn't look forced,” Agatha agreed. “And she’s aware of your…long term financial plans?” 

Violet nodded her head, serving Agatha a piece of cake. 

“Yes, but we still have some time before that becomes a reality,” she said. 

“And do you think your friendship will last past that?” she asked. 

Violet paused for a moment, thinking about the question that was brought up before placing her hands flat on the counter in front of her, leaning on the support of her arms. 

“I really do hope so.” 

TAGLIST —

@paola-carter @madde11 @thesamesweetie @cherrysxuya @philocalistwrites @mako-mermaids2021 @oh-mydarling @courtneyteal @amethyst-bitch @etherynn @lilisdarling

[hozukitofu]

kkir fic idea 💡 might write it or someone else can adopt this and run with it

i work at an australian magistrate court as a paralegal and kkir (my ninja dads) remind me of the police prosecution vs defence lawyer negotiation throwdowns. kakashi is literally all the weird and eccentric lawyer i've ever met (you need to be weird to be sane) and iruka just acts like all the other very nice but firm prosecutors at court to me

imagine hotshot perpetually late but so so brilliant defence barrister kakashi (mr hatake) negotiating a better outcome for his clients. he's always laid back because he knows he's that good, dresses in the same suit every time, gets away with wearing a facemask in court and literally only ever fixes his terrible posture at the bar table and whilst in court. he tried to ask the magistrate to let him salute the coat of arms (instead of bowing like everyone else) when he first got transferred down to the lowly magistrates' court but got promptly shot down (the compromise was the mask). he was working as a top queen's counsel for the private city law firm then got mysteriously transferred to their regional branch in a 'mentoring role' (a bunch of graduated law students interning actually quit their postgrad studies because he was really harsh and had really arbitrary rules tbh). so my man's in a bad mood ALL THE TIME (literally unprovoked) and has no personal assigned paralegals because no one can stand him. his assigned clerk has the patience of a saint and the tolerance for no bullshit (it's rin) he makes outrageous plea offers with prosecution and it's the best/worst time down at court. he also cross examines like the person at the mic personally wronged him, which isn't great if it is a protected person in a family violence case, or any witness at all, but very eye opening to see

down at court you have the sweetest man ever sergeant umino ('please call me iruka') in the dog box(what we call the prosecution office). he has a law degree (admittedly from a nowhere regional university but he is admitted to practice as a legal practitioner) and way too overqualified for the police force, but he wants to make a difference before going to teach full time or practising law full time. he's nice about everything (printers, legal advice, referrals, talking to anyone) except for paperwork which he is anal about. he wields stamps like weapons and every time an informant is shown to have filled out their paperwork wrong he calls them up directly (how does he even have their direct line?) to chew them out, but super nicely. adjournments, unmentionable dates, requests - don't need to provide reasons, iruka will approve. he not-so-secretly made copies of his police badge so paralegals can print documents off the police printers. he always gets snacks and coffees for court registrars and referral officers. he has bags of lollies for little kids. iruka teaches community service and justice studies for the vocational college nearby. he also has the occasional stint as a university lecturer only for first year law kiddies, and teaches also senior high school legal studies electives. beyond stamps and paperwork, he is the law down to the letter, sometimes to the spirit. if the facts look bad, especially if it is family violence or egregious failure to appear/warrants then he would be a hardass to lawyers. my man however is not opposed to diversion especially if the accused are kids.

so like fanon, kakashi brings outrageous plea offers to the dog box whenever iruka is in -- 'can you withdraw [most serious charge]' 'you can't prove that she was fearing for her life' 'he's never had a criminal record so can't you give him a slap on the wrist and send him a bond?' iruka shuts that shit down every time. he has a case of bleeding heart-itis so occasionally they CAN collaborate to help truly at risk offenders to reorient their lives. kakashi complains that iruka agreeing without a yelling match feels worthless but deep down he doesn't mind when iruka isn't in full hate mode AT him. kakashi thought that iruka would be all snobbish because police prosecutors who hold law degrees tend to act like they're better than everyone else but iruka is overall down-to-earth, hi-i'm-here-to-help. can't push him around though, but he's all about the learning experience so he encourages postgrad law kids and volunteers to have a go at him. for the real thing, defence lawyers groan good-naturedly when they hear he's in the dog box. kakashi seems to be the only who delights in riling him up, but in the rare instance that everyone agrees BUT the magistrate says otherwise and hands down a harsher sentence, he would be handing up paperwork for a contest hearing SO FAST kakashi wouldn't have time to consult with the client. there's a deal between him and kakashi for a stack of signs form 11As can be dealt out when absolutely needed. despite going at each other's throats on the clock, sooo many people have seen them getting lunch together or just talking about their mutual student naruto.

in this universe naruto did not complete high school, went through to vocational studies, took a pathway to uni instead. somehow he, sakura and sasuke end up at the same law firm (naruto is a bit older than the other two but acts precisely like a teenage eshay ALL THE TIME). why does he want to practise criminal law? because it looks cool and he wants to make the bar. his mum is a judge and his dad is a speaker of the senate/cabinet member so... it runs in the family. sasuke is following alongside the traditional asian career choice: doctor, lawyer or engineer. my man hates maths with a passion so lawyer it is. i know it's weird that sakura would be doing a law degree knowing she could be doing a med degree but hear me out: i met and know and am friends with girls who studied double degree law/biomed, finish their law degree, said fuck it I'll be a lawyer what's so bad, otherwise i can come back, and now making big massive bucks. though i imagine sakura will specialise in personal injury cases as well as mental health tribunals, then might go back to university for her med degree. she will be that cousin who lived 6 lives already - was a doctor and a lawyer and your mother would not stop comparing you to her. she needs a bit of instinct training but her academics are spotless. sasuke is ruthless but can't connect with clients. naruto maybe brash and loud but he plays on people's heartstrings like a conductor when presenting a bail app or plea. everything is the way it is so that iruka can move naruto's admission to become a lawyer when he applies for admission at the supreme court

anyways iruka will retire from police work to teach full time, maybe sign on to work for a community legal centre to appear for bail apps for remanded offenders picked up in the cells. he accidentally yelled at kakashi one day to go out and kakashi thought it was too funny to not go along with. now they raise 8 dogs, 3 full grown adults and all of iruka's students together. they fight about everything, but might slip into really formal legalese (passover aggressive fuck-you) when they're being annoying or really pissed off. naruto sometimes has to adjudicate these fights and he can't stop being scared for his LIFE.

kakashi: your honour, my learned colleague here had erred in his submission that i had, conclusively, not promised such things

iruka immediately pulling out receipts: your honour, may i submit evidence contradicting otherwise

(they were fighting about whose turn it is to do the dishes. there were only oral agreements in place but once you're both lawyers you just get used to writing everything down and signing to bring up in an argument later)

(iruka also cross examines kakashi for funsies, but they mainly shelf this for when arguments are bad and they need to pull out the big guns)

anyways if anyone ends up writing this please tag me

[starsstuddedsky]

What? Like It’s Hard? [teaser]

gn reader x soonyoung

summary: With the help of a little bit of bleach, Soonyoung is certified legally blonde–complete to last minute-dedication to scoring as high as Elle Woods on the LSAT. While he has no interest in law school, he’s notorious for never turning down a dare. So how does a frat bro in serious danger of failing his senior year get a 179? He asks the smartest person he knows. 

Or, studying for a law test has never seen this much chemistry.

genre: fluff, angst, non-idol au, uni au, friends to lovers, opposites attract

warnings (full fic): swearing, drinking, food, arguing, refusal to acknowledge feelings, what's the word for beyond oblivious????

teaser wc: 1.7k

full wc: ~20k

a/n: hello my lovely readers!! i heavily debated posting this because there's always a chance that i just. never finish it, however i really love this story, so i don't think that will happen. that said, i have no idea when the full fic will be posted. (to my delight) my summer is extremely busy and i fear the fall semester will be as well, but i toil away slowly at this fic and one day it shall be posted <3 i hope you enjoy and are as excited as i am for the full story!

another teaser bc writing this is taking a while :)

want to join the taglist? just send an ask <3

“Nope.” You grab your backpack, shoving your laptop inside, but he gets to your water bottle before you can reach it. 

“Come on.” Soonyoung pouts his lips. 

“I won’t do it,” you say. 

Soonyoung hugs your water bottle hostage against his chest, dark blue against the pale pink sweater he wears. It’s an unusual choice for him, normally clad in baggy jeans and loose t-shirts. Still, the color highlights his hair, blonde bordering on white. Knowing Soonyoung, it was probably a dare. 

“Please! I’m desperate!” He cries again, stepping closer, though he keeps a firm grip on your water bottle. You never should have told him how emotionally attached you are to it; you should have known it would be held against you. 

“No,” you say. You sling your backpack on, just in case he gets any other ideas. You’re starting to attract attention from the people in the library who are actually there to study (which included you, until Soonyoung arrived). So you grab him by the arm, rolling your eyes at how he jerks his water bottle out of reach. 

“Walk and talk, we’re not doing this here,” you say, folding your arms over your chest. 

“Come on, how hard can it be?” Soonyoung asks. “It’s just a test.”

“Just a test?” You snort. “Soonyoung, you are aware that most people that apply to law school don’t do it on a dare?” 

“I don’t have to get into law school!” He says. “Just get a 179 on the LSAT.” 

You shake your head, trying to plan how to get the water bottle from him. Maybe you should consider it a lost cause and just swing by the bookstore to get a new one instead. But that water bottle has butterfly stickers that survived freshman year and a dent from the time Jun tried to use it as a weapon in a fight against Jihoon (that was declared a draw when the bottle busted open and doused both of them equally); it holds memories better than water and you’ll be damned if you let Soonyoung hold it hostage. 

“That’s actually harder,” you mumble. From the corner of your eye, you can see him tucking the blue bottle under his right arm, farthest from you. He won’t make this easy, especially since you saw the poorly disguised thirst trap of him and one of his frat brothers at the gym: those arms are not to be underestimated. 

“I’ll pay you!” 

“With what money?” 

Soonyoung pauses. You’ve reached the exit by now, sunlight warming you through the glass doors. He turns to the sunlight, and you know he’s pretending to be a main character from an artsy film. He takes a deep breath, as if he already regrets what he has to say next. 

“Okay, I’ll offer you the only services I have.” He turns his head to face you, eyes on the floor. 

“Oh my god Soonyoung!” You shove his shoulder. “You are not selling your body for a test!” 

“But it’s all I know!” He says. He pokes your arms. “You could have so much muscle if you lifted just twice a week.” 

“Oh.” You blink at him. “You meant working out?” 

“Wait what did you think I meant?” 

You feel heat rush into your cheeks. You push the door open, praying Soonyoung doesn’t notice. “It doesn’t matter,” you say, not daring to check if he’s following. “I don’t have time to workout.” 

“Then what do you want?” Soonyoung asks. He stays just out of reach, adjusting his grip so that the water bottle hangs from his hand. “Please, I’ll do anything!” 

“Why do you need me?” 

“Because you’re the smartest person I know.” He says without hesitation. In the three years of your friendship, you’ve learned that the only time Soonyoung isn’t serious is when he flirts. 

“You are,” he insists. “Plus you’ve already taken it, so you’re my best chance. My only chance, it’s not like I have a good track record with tests.” He gives you a lopsided smile as he tries to pretend like he’s joking. But Soonyoung has always been easy to read. You can see the sparkle in his eyes dim, and you remember freshman Soonyoung, when he failed the midterm and holed up in his room in the frat house for two full days, not even venturing out to party. It’s that damn sparkle that gets to you. He isn’t paying attention anymore, water bottle hanging loosely from his hand, but you can’t bring yourself to snatch it. 

“You can pass it,” you say with a sigh. “It’s about studying correctly.” 

“I don’t know,” Soonyoung says. “I’ve never really studied.” 

“Well, that’s what I’ll teach you.” 

Soonyoung freezes, grabbing your arm. “Seriously?” When you turn to face him, his smile is so bright it warms you from the inside out, hotter than the actual sun on your skin. He throws his arms around you, wrapping you in a hug so tight he lifts you off the ground. Your heart does this strange thing where it hops into your throat. Your arms come up as a reflex but his embrace is too tight for you to even hug him back.  

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He shouts. He doesn’t let go, even when he sets you back down. He loosens his arms just enough to look at you, the full force of his smile directed at you. “I swear you’re welcome at the frat house any time, I’ll buy you anything you want when I have money, I’ll drive you wherever you want if I can get Seungcheol’s car, I’ll do whatever, just thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

You know you should answer, or say something, but thinking is too much when he’s so close you can smell the strangely sweet combination of laundry detergent, cologne, and sweat. You push out of his arms, snagging your water bottle on the way out. 

“It’s whatever,” you mumble. Though his arms aren’t around you anymore, you feel strangely hot, like your blood is boiling, and your heart still pounds. 

“It is not whatever,” Soonyoung declares. “I swear, whatever you want, I’ll do it.” He holds a hand over his heart and if it was anyone else you’d think they were joking but it’s Soonyoung, which means he’s deadly serious. 

You can’t handle his gaze anymore, turning to study your beat up sneakers. “Really? You’ll get Jun to return my first edition copy of Pride and Prejudice?” 

“I’ll get that book back.” He glances at you. “It is a book, right?” 

“Yeah,” you say. “Though there’s been some good adaptations.” 

“That’s the one with the zombies?” 

“Zombies?” You frown. “Oh my god, do you mean Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?” 

“That’s not the original book?” 

“No,” you say, laughing. “The original is my Jane Austen, in the 1800s.” 

“Oh,” Soonyoung says. 

“I’ve actually never seen that one,” you say. “It’s the only adaptation I haven’t seen.” 

“How many movies are there?” 

“Well, there’s the 1940 adaptation, the BBC series that’s widely regarded as the most faithful adaptation, the 2005 Kiera Knightley movie that stands iconic, plus the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which is a vlog-style Youtube adaptation. Then of course there’s Jane Austen’s other works, like Persuasion, which, the new one, for the record, was a terrible adaptation.” You stop when you realize you’re dangerously close to going on what Jihoon calls ‘an Austen tirade.’ 

“I liked the movie,” he says after a pause. “I don’t know if it was that good, or close to the books. But it was fun.” 

“I’ll have to watch it, then,” you say. “I know it’s the obvious choice, but Pride and Prejudice really is my favorite Jane Austen novel. Good luck getting it back from Jun though. He’s studying abroad this semester.” 

“He’s the friend from your history class?” 

“No, that’s Jihoon, my roommate,” you say. “Jun was in my language class.” 

“I thought you hated everyone in that class.” 

“Oh believe me, I do,” you say. “But Jun is friends with Jihoon, so he sort of just became my friend too.” 

Soonyoung hums, saying nothing else. You don’t recognize the song, though you tend to mostly listen to classical music when you study or whatever Jihoon blasts from his room, so it’s not that surprising. The melody is nice, though. Well, Soonyoung’s voice is. 

“I really am grateful,” Soonyoung says. “I know I was begging, because I don’t think I can do this without you–well, I don’t know if I can do it with you, but you’re my only hope and–I’m rambling again.” He flashes a smile. “The point is, thank you.” 

You shrug, feeling shy under his gaze. “It’ll help me study anyways,” you say. “You learn a lot when you teach.” 

“I thought you already took it?”

“I only got a 150,” you say, sighing. “I need at least a 165.” 

Soonyoung nods, forehead creasing like it always does when he’s lost in thought. “Thank you anyway.”

“Well, you swore to do whatever I tell you,” you say, desperate to change the subject. “Don’t think I won’t abuse that.” 

“Oh, YN,” he says slyly. “I’m counting on it.” He even winks. 

You cough, choking at the outright flirting. Soonyoung hasn’t tried a line on you in so long you thought he’d used them all. He isn’t serious, it was engraved in his DNA the second he became a fully fledged member of Sigma Beta Tau but it’s not like many people flirt with you, so it’s hard to stop your heart from jumping. 

You check your phone, unable to look him in the eyes. It’s 2:18 now, prime naptime if you can get back to your apartment before Jihoon gets back. But if it’s past two, unless he lied to you at the start of the semester, that means Soonyoung should be in his data ethics class. “Hey, don’t you have class right now?” 

“Shit.” Soonyoung takes off. He sprints across the grass, dodging three picnics and narrowly avoiding getting rocked in the back of the head by a frisbee. He pauses at the edge, turning back around to wave wildly at you. 

“Thank you!” He shouts. The picnickers glance between you and him and you can feel the blush returning. Soonyoung doesn’t notice all the eyes on him, waving like a goofball one final time before sprinting off again.

[todaysdocument]

Petition for Naturalization for Alfred Joseph Hitchcock

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United StatesSeries: Petitions for Naturalization

Form N-105 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE (Rev.12-24-52) Form approved Budget Bureau No. 43-R084.7. No. 181253 Original (To be retained by Clerk of Court) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION (of a Married Person, under Sec. 319 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) To the Honorable the U.S. District Court, Los Angeles, Calif. This petition for naturalization, hereby made and filed, respectfully shows: (1) My full, true, and correct name is ALFRED JOSEPH HITCHCOCK (2) My present place of residence is 10957 Bellagio Rd., Los Angeles, Cal. (3) My occupation is movie producer & director (4) I am 55 years old. (5) I was born on August 13,1899 in Leytonstone, Essex, Eng. (6) My personal description is as follows: Sex M, complexion lt., color of eyes brn., color of hair grey-black, height 5 feet 8 inches, weight 195 pounds; visible distinctive marks none; country of which I am a citizen, subject, or national Gt. Britain (7) I am married; the name of my wife is Alma Lucy nee Reville, we were married on Dec. 2, 1926, at London, England; he or she was born at Nottingham, England, on August 14, 1899; entered the United States at San Ysidro, Cal, on May 25, 1939, for permanent residence in the United States and now resides at with me, and was naturalized on August 11, 1950. at Los Angeles, Cal, certificate No. 6924952; or became a citizen by (7a) (If petition is filed under section 319(a), Immigration and Nationality Act.) I have resided in the United States in marital union with my United States citizen spouse for at least 3 years immediately preceding the date of filing this petition for naturalization, and have been physically present in the United States at least half of that time. (7b) (If petition is filed under section 319(b), Immigration and Nationality Act.) My husband or wife is a citizen of the United States, is in the employment of the Government of the United States, or of an American Institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General of the United States, or an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or subsidiary thereof or of a public international organization in which the United States participates; and such husband or wife is regularly stationed abroad in such employment. I intend in good faith upon naturalization to live abroad with my spouse and to resume my residence within the United States immediately upon termination of such employment abroad. (8) I have 1 children; and the name, sex, date and place of birth, and present place of residence of each of said children who is living, are as follows: Patricia; F; Brn, London, Eng; 7/7/28; Res. Sherman Oaks, Cal. (9) My lawful admission for permanent residence in the United States was at San Ysidro, Calif., under the name of Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, on May 25, 1939, on the afoot (Name of vessel or other means of conveyance) (10) Since my lawful admission for permanent residence I have not been absent from the United States for a period of periods of 6 months or longer, except as follows: [none mentioned] (11) It is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce absolutely and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which at this time I am a subject or citizen. (12) It is my intention to reside permanently in the United States. (13) I am not and have not been for a period of at least 10 years immediately preceding the date of this petition a member of or affiliated with any organization proscribed by the Immigration and Nationality Act or any section, subsidiary, branch affiliate, or subdivision thereof, nor have I during such period engaged in or performed any of the acts or activities prohibited by that section. (14) I am able to read, write, and speak the English Language (unless exempted therefrom). [full document and transcription at link]