Chapter 24: Professional Ethics

The full name of the American Teachers Union is the American Federation of Teachers, a member union established in Chicago in 1916 that, after decades of development, has now become a mammoth organization with millions of members and branches in every city across the United States.

Like other industry unions, the teachers' union will strive to fight for various entitlements for its members, put forward various demands, and provide some necessary consultations and guidance.

Of course, enjoying rights means paying a price, and in America, everything is a transaction.

The price that union members enjoy such meticulous care is to relinquish their political stance and leave this issue for the union to decide.

The American Teachers Union is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, or to be more precise, the current union leadership are staunch supporters of the Democratic Party. In every election, the teachers' union donates large sums of political contributions to the Democratic camp.

However, for most ordinary teachers in rural cities, it doesn't matter which party comes to power; after all, those big shots only woo the union leadership and don't make the arduous journey to the countryside to listen to their voices.

As long as they are promised an annual salary increase and can retire with a steady income, it doesn't matter whether a donkey or an elephant rules this country. Anyway, it's not humans we're talking about.

"Miss Melanie Bianconi, as a senior attorney of a law firm that has worked with your union for many years, I've already made it very clear to you last time that, based on the information currently known, those private photos you mentioned haven't been widely leaked to the public eye, and your claim of being deceived into taking some addictive prescription drugs while in a relationship also lacks sufficient evidence. The only reason you could sue him now is for assaulting you without cause and for blackmail. If you're prepared to use that reason to report to the police, then I can transfer you to the police to get involved in the follow-up process, but you're also worried that he would retaliate by publishing all the photos, damaging your personal reputation, so there's nothing I can do," said Andy Nielsen, partner at the teacher union's contract law firm, dressed in a suit and tie, his face full of sympathy, but spreading his hands helplessly toward Melanie, who was sitting opposite him:

"Or, would you prefer to just sit in silence in front of me, not saying a word, for a full twenty minutes?"

Teachers' unions generally sign cooperation agreements with the best local law firms, with the law firms sending a batch of lawyers to the union headquarters twice a week to provide legal consultations for union members. Since this consultation cannot charge by the normal client reception duration, the lawyers providing the consultation only give each consultee a twenty-minute slot.

Unless the teacher sitting opposite initiates a consultation that makes the union and the lawyers keenly aware of the opportunity to bite into and take a large slice of revenue from various levels of government, turning themselves into bloodthirsty vultures, most of the time, the law firms privately ask their members to solve a consultee's issue within five minutes, trying to avoid wasting time on these ineffective consultations.

For example, the problem explained by the beautiful woman named Melanie sitting in front of him right now makes Andy Nielsen not even want to bother thinking. If it weren't for the contract with the Teachers' Union which requires the presence of a partner-level lawyer during consultations, not all to be handled by interns, he wouldn't have come over to listen to a woman talk about such trivialities.

Her ex-boyfriend took some photos of her years ago, and now he has blackmailed and beaten her. She's worried that if she reports to the police, her ex-boyfriend will spread the photos, making her disgraced here, unable to enter any school for a job.

Regarding this case, he had already given a very clear answer last time; she only needed to pay a lot of money to hire an elite lawyer like him to take over completely, and she could definitely teach her ex-boyfriend a tough lesson, and all the photos and negatives would be retrieved before they could be spread.

But the prerequisite is, she needs to walk into a law firm, not the Teachers' Union. She needs to hand over a check for consultation fees that can be withdrawn any time and is no less than five hundred dollars, not present the free legal consultation union membership card she's holding now.

"Sir, I... I don't want to report him to the police because he's... I know him, and he would definitely do that," said Melanie, sitting opposite Attorney Andy, holding her coffee cup, speaking somewhat dejectedly.

Andy Nielsen sighed, about to use the excuse of needing to use the restroom to dismiss this ineffective meeting when the door outside was pushed open, and his assistant walked in from outside: "Mr. Nielsen, the law firm called, asking you to find out about a teacher named Hugh Spade from this state with the union management after you finish consultations here."

At the mention of the name Hugh Spade, Melanie's hand trembled, the coffee cup fell to the floor, and she quickly apologized. Clumsily, she rifled through tissues in her handbag, trying to wipe up the coffee stains.

Andi Nielsen sized up Melanie, whose expression was somewhat abnormal, then turned to his assistant and asked, "What happened?"

"The teacher named Hugh Spade has been illegally selling addictive prescription drugs—a total of one hundred and fifty pills, which means he's violated the Controlled Substances Act," the assistant said, looking at the call log in hand and reporting to his boss.

Andi Nielsen frowned discontentedly, "What does this have to do with the firm? I've said that the firm can't just accept any dirty job. We are the best local law firm, not some street peddler!"

"From what the police have learned so far, these prescription drugs have made their way into Saint Cross High School, and our client, the Saint Cross High School Parents Committee, is extremely dissatisfied with the situation. They are unable to deal with the minor high school student who bought and distributed the drugs there for free, but they hope to publicly punish this guy, Hugh Spade, to make a clear statement to potential drug dealers: they might go sell drugs at other garbage high schools, but if they dare come to Saint Cross, they'll know the difference between a public and a private school," said the assistant meaningfully, "This is the client's request."

Andi Nielsen glanced at Melanie, then pondered for a moment before nodding to his assistant, "Alright, I'll look into it. After all, the client's wishes come first."

The assistant acknowledged and left, closing the door behind him.

After Melanie cleaned up the stains and recomposed herself, Andi Nielsen asked with a smile, "Miss, do you know Hugh Spade? Or rather, is he your ex-boyfriend? I noticed your reaction was a bit excessive when you heard that name."

Melanie opened her mouth, and eventually, she just nodded faintly, her face a picture of anxiety.

Andi Nielsen stared at Melanie sharply. He was well aware of the woman's situation, but he always felt that her panic about her ex-boyfriend seemed feigned. This was a professional intuition honed from years as a lawyer. It's very likely that Melanie wasn't actually afraid of her ex-boyfriend. Her current display might be intended to convince others of her extreme fear—for instance, the exaggerated reaction of dropping her coffee cup when hearing his name.

When France surrendered, the Parisians probably weren't as shocked as she appeared to be.

But it didn't matter, whether her fear was real or not was no longer important. Lawyers don't care about truth or lies; they only care about resolving their clients' problems.

Andi Nielsen's expression went from stern to lively as he smiled brightly, "Miss, it seems before I go to the labor union representative to get information, I could completely get to know this Mr. Hugh Spade from you."

"But, sir, my consultation time is almost up," Melanie pointed out, glancing at her wristwatch to Andy Nielsen.

Andi Nielsen stood up, poured another cup of coffee for Melanie, placed it beside her, and then sat back down at his leisure, "No, I have the right to extend the consultation time. As long as the lawyer deems it necessary, the consultation time can be extended indefinitely, so don't worry about time. Drink your coffee to calm down, then take a moment to recall and tell me about his past, even those details you consider private. I can assure you, if you share some information that interests me, I can help you retrieve those potentially jeopardized privacies. I am a lawyer, a lawyer with professional ethics."

Melanie lowered her head with a self-mocking smile, "Do I look like someone who can afford to buy your professional ethics?"

Andi Nielsen picked up a throat lozenge from the desk, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, easing the discomfort caused by the day's abundance of talking:

"Don't worry, Miss. You must have heard, those wealthy people from the Saint Cross High School Parents Committee have already paid the price for my professional ethics on your behalf. While I help them resolve the Hugh Spade problem, I can also help you escape your nightmare. All I need is for you to have a chat with me, all for the client's satisfaction."