Beyond the Bar (에스콰이어: 변호사를 꿈꾸는 변호사들)

BEYOND THE BAR

TWO YEARS AGO

- -

25SA 2138.

25SA 2138.

25SA 2138.

1-1-9.

The phone. Where did I put it?

Honey, honey, honey. Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?

Oh.

Huh?

Let's go inside. Come on.

Careful, careful.

- - 1-1-9.

Student.

Honey? Are you all right? Are you okay?

- Honey. - Just a moment.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.

- -

That student, right after arriving at the hospital,

he was pronounced dead.

Judging by how the blood had dried,

he had probably been left like that for about an hour.

DEFENDANT

She really struggled with a sense of guilt,

saying if first aid had been...

administered right away, then he might have made it.

She also blamed her condition for what happened.

DETECTIVE UNIT 1

I definitely saw it.

25SA 2138.

It was a secluded place, so there were no cameras around,

and all we had was my wife's testimony.

And you're sure you saw it?

Yes.

My wife was completely focused on catching the culprit.

Whenever she was lucid, she would recall the scene and record it in detail.

To go on the witness stand with a clear mind,

she took her medication diligently

and constantly strived to hold onto her thoughts.

Thanks to her efforts...

that person was arrested.

Ma'am, please answer the counsel's questions slowly according to memory.

WITNESS

We've met before, right? I've introduced myself every time.

Do you remember my name?

- That doesn't matter. - It's Yoon Seok-hoon.

You wrote the plate number in a notepad immediately

after witnessing the hit and run, correct?

Yes.

But then after witnessing the accident in such detail,

why didn't you report it to 1-9-9 right away?

Because...

If you had reported it immediately after witnessing it,

couldn't the victim have lived?

- Objection! - I withdraw the question.

I was going to call them, but...

What's my name again?

What is my name again?

A moment ago I told you, but you forgot, right?

Answer the question, please.

The victim was a middle school student.

I know you taught middle school

before you were diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Is that correct?

Yes.

And that's the reason you knew the victim was a middle schooler from a distance,

because you recognized the school uniform.

Is that correct?

Yes.

How could a teacher who cares so deeply for students not call 1-1-9

even after seeing a student bleeding out after being hit by a car?

That's... because...

You forgot to report it, am I right?

Just like you forgot my name.

Over there in the gallery,

do you see the woman in gray sitting with the man in green?

Who are they?

I've been told they were your favorite students during your tenure.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Their names are?

- You forgot, didn't you? -

You forgot my name, which I just told you.

You forget the names of your favorite students,

and you forget to dial 1-1-9.

How can we trust the testimony of a woman with severe dementia?

In your initial statement, you claimed that,

"Primary responsibility lies with the hit-and-run driver,

and my illness is the second perpetrator."

Surely, you must have had some guilt in your role as perpetrator.

In order to free yourself from your own secondary guilt,

you wanted to identify the primary perpetrator immediately.

Isn't it possible your dementia, coupled with your own wishes,

is only creating another victim?

Don't you think that your illness might be deceiving you?

LOVE IN ALL ITS COLORS

Next is the announcement about our performance and compensation system.

INCENTIVE PAYOUTS

This is the new system that will be active going forward.

FIXED PAY FOR ADVISORS AND FORMER OFFICIALS WILL END

I'm 100 percent against this.

Me too.

Attorney Kwon, how could you implement all this?

You've just been appointed to the position,

so how could you change the incentive system

without getting our consensus?

And how, exactly, would one build up consensus

around a system that's disadvantageous to the partners?

Yet, with this in mind, you still made the decision?

How long are we supposed to just watch this happen?

Our associates bleed dry with low-fee cases.

Because we're relying on our partners' connections

instead of our own skills to get cases,

which means having to undercut our fees, isn't that right?

Then you leave all the actual work to the associates,

while completely neglecting your own duties with "karaoke marketing"

or "golf marketing" and what have you.

Meanwhile, losing touch with the actual work

and all the required expertise.

Are our fees the only place where we're competitive?

Take a look around after hours.

Our associates are working throughout the night.

But even despite that, they don't get properly evaluated.

If one of our associates were to do 100 million won worth of work,

when a partner lowballs the retainer fees to ten million,

their work is undervalued and their salaries are cut.

Tell me what kind of associate would stay at this firm?

It hasn't been long since you made partner,

and you're trying to teach us.

So, what, is there no hierarchy? Huh?

Attorney Kim, you're just going to watch and do nothing?

Come on, please, say something to him.

Ah, yes, well, we should start by sorting out the titles.

Kwon Na-yeon is the managing partner and I'm the chief executive.

Anyways, a law firm doesn't demand absolute obedience,

it's a partnership system.

You're a partner and you're a partner,

you're also one, and I'm a partner as well.

So you're really going to pressure him?

- That's pathetic. -

We make a living being logical, so let's use some logic.

Please, continue.

In the second half of last year alone

do you know how many competent associates left our firm?

The MZ generation went off

in search of their precious work-life-balance.

Work-life-balance wasn't the reason they left.

They left because of work-pay balance.

It was a work-pay-balance issue, not about balancing work-life.

They left because the system of being rewarded

for the work you do is collapsing.

I think that's all we have for today. Let's wrap it up.

As long as I'm managing partner here,

the revised system for compensation will be implemented.

If you have any objections,

feel free to claim the position for your own.

That's all we have on the agenda, so the meeting is adjourned.

Everyone just stood and watched this happen?

Yes, Attorney Kim even went so far as to basically side with them.

But... this didn't come from Kwon's head alone.

I bet, yeah, Kwon's good at her job, but office politics isn't her game.

- Of course, it's Yoon Seok-hoon. -

Work-pay-balance?

He sat there and hid his claws when Kwon Na-yeon was ousted,

then convinced the old-timers to reinstate her as managing partner,

and then what?

What comes next, huh?

Should I try digging up some dirt on Yoon?

It's Yoon Seok-hoon, you won't find any dirt on him.

Well, you never know.

I have someone looking into it already.

If we keep digging,

I'm sure a speck of dirt or two will appear.

Attorney Yoon.

Come on in.

What the... Isn't that Seo Hye-jin? Holy crap, that Yoon Seok-hoon...

So he's getting it on with a second-year associate

while pretending to beyond reproach?

- Man, what is this, huh? - Wow.

What are Yoon Seok-hoon and Seo Hye-jin doing together?

Why else... would a woman enter a man's house at midnight, huh?

According to the firm's internal sexual harassment manual,

partners are advised against dating associates and assistants,

and the person who pushed this through was Seok-hoon himself.

- So it looks like he broke his own rule. -

Man, what a hypocrite, who would follow him?

Right.

We still need more though.

There is an internal regulation, but it's not a disciplinary rule,

and violating a recommendation isn't enough to land the blow.

In that case...

Attorney Kim Bo-yun is repping MGC Securities

- in that incomplete sales lawsuit, right? - Yes.

Isn't Attorney Seo a member of Kim Bo-yun's team?

Oh, yeah, that's correct.

And the opposing party is TS Insurance Company,

but TS insisted on using Yoon Seok-hoon, so we barely managed to get MGC's consent,

and set up an ethical wall to take the representation.

Oh, really? Well, then...

That's right.