All Rise Episode 1 Recap
> All Rise Recap
Jun An Law Firm, one of China's premier Red Circle Firms, launched its inaugural "Talent Hunt Program" to select outstanding interns. Seven top students from prestigious law schools, including Jiang Chen from Haryald, Ren Jiatong from Jingbei, Huang Yue from Arenburg, Li Ke from Jingmin, Yan Fei from the London School of Economics, Guo Xiaoyu from Zhehang, and Wang Lu, were chosen to embark on a three-month professional competition.
Just before her internship began, Guo Xiaoyu found herself entangled in a Warm Nest apartment scandal. A large number of tenants had gathered in the Warm Nest property management lobby, demanding their rights. Liu Ping, Warm Nest's legal representative, emerged to address the crowd, claiming the company was taking legal measures and displaying a lawyer's statement to deter the tenants. The statement warned against impulsive actions, implying severe legal consequences like fines, detention, or even imprisonment.
This tactic was effective, leaving many tenants, including Guo Xiaoyu, feeling intimidated and unsure how to proceed. At this critical moment, Ren Jiatong, as a lessee of the apartment, presented a handwritten letter. She asserted that Warm Nest had committed a fundamental breach of contract and demanded immediate rectification, threatening to pursue full legal liability otherwise.
She also pointed out to Liu Ping that handwritten letters possess the same legal validity as printed ones, especially if the legal principles behind them are sound. Her professional and confident intervention helped the tenants regain their voice, earning Guo Xiaoyu's profound admiration and drawing Jiang Chen's attention. Later, Jiang Chen’s aunt, the owner of Ren Jiatong's apartment, had a locksmith change the locks without notice.
Ren Jiatong called the landlord, informing her that forcibly entering the premises without the actual occupant's permission, even as the owner, could constitute illegal intrusion and a violation of the Law on Security Administration Punishments or even Criminal Law, potentially leading to fines, detention, or imprisonment. She demanded the key, insisting on her right to continue occupying the apartment under her existing contract.
Jiang Chen then appeared, representing his aunt, and explained that their contract with Warm Nest was a sublease, meaning Ren Jiatong had no direct contractual relationship with his aunt and therefore no right to demand continued tenancy from her.
Ren Jiatong countered that based on the principle of contractual relativity, his aunt, as the landlord, also lacked the right to evict her simply because Warm Nest failed to pay rent, especially since his aunt had not yet terminated her lease with Warm Nest. Jiang Chen clarified that his aunt was asserting her absolute property ownership rights to demand she vacate.
Jiang Chen's aunt, frustrated, suggested taking the matter to court and mentioned that Jiang Chen's father’s firm, Ruocheng Law Firm, was equally capable as Jun An. Jiang Chen advised against litigation due to the significant time and financial costs involved. He proposed a compromise: Ren Jiatong would pay one month's rent directly to his aunt, and in return, his aunt would allow her to stay for an additional month, giving both parties time to monitor the situation.
Both Ren Jiatong and Jiang Chen's aunt agreed to this arrangement. That evening, Ren Jiatong faced urgent debt collection messages from her mother and, with only 3,000 yuan left, briefly considered a loan application but ultimately closed the page. On their first day at Jun An, Ren Jiatong was the first to arrive, observing the already bustling work environment.
Yan Fei, whose brother Yan Da, the scion of Xingke Group, had arranged for lawyers and receptionists to assist her, rejected any special treatment. On her way to the firm, Yan Fei's car got stuck in traffic, where she encountered a pregnant woman in labor.
She wanted to help, but Wang Lu, who was carpooling with her, refused to get involved, citing the potential legal risks of assisting a stranger and the difficulty of explaining any unforeseen complications to the woman's family. Yan Fei was appalled by his cold demeanor and proceeded to drive the pregnant woman to the hospital herself.
The remaining six interns gathered in the firm's internal office, where Zhou Nian, a fourth-year lawyer, introduced himself as their mentor and outlined the rules of the Talent Hunt Program. He explained that the three-month internship would involve seven rounds of tasks, with points accumulated based on performance. The lowest-performing interns would be eliminated in each round.
The final ranking, based on total scores, would determine the one or two successful candidates who would receive full-time internship offers, generous bonuses, top-tier salaries, and mentorship from senior partners. To intensify the competition, Jun An introduced a "team system + lawyer pool" dual-track model. After the initial group rounds, successful interns would be selected by lawyers to join their teams for specific cases.
Those not chosen would enter a "lawyer pool," becoming a general resource from which any lawyer could assign work, meaning interns had to proactively seek opportunities to earn points beyond scheduled tasks. When Zhuang Xin, the founder and director of Jun An Law Firm, arrived, Zhou Nian arranged for the interns to introduce themselves. Guo Xiaoyu was the first to speak.
She cheerfully introduced herself as a "weeb" with hobbies like photography and Hanfu, and a self-proclaimed "total milk tea addict," offering to place group orders. She highlighted her "thick-skinned yet resilient" nature, saying that she can overcome most troubles with a good cry and remain happy every day. Wang Lu followed, mentioning his prior internship at Jun An, which he believed gave him an advantage, and offered to assist his peers.
Li Ke emphasized his practical experience and academic achievements, including an internship at a Provincial High People's Court and participation in university research projects, also mentioning he was Zhou Nian's junior from undergraduate. Zhuang Xin then remarked that one candidate had interned at the Supreme Court as an undergraduate and published solo-authored papers in core journals during graduate school, revealing this impressive record belonged to Ren Jiatong, much to the surprise of others.
An assistant discreetly informed Zhuang Xin that Ren Jiatong had previously impersonated a Jun An lawyer, causing distress to a real estate developer who had lodged a complaint, which Zhuang Xin had managed to quell. Jiang Chen then introduced himself, stating he was an LLM student from Haryald Law School and had interned at Latham Simpson Law Firm, known for accepting only T6 law grads. He expressed his hope to find worthy rivals and true friends during the program.
Yan Fei arrived late, and Zhuang Xin mentioned that her brother, Yan Da, had called earlier to praise her for a good deed on her way to work. After the introductions, a disheartened Guo Xiaoyu approached Zhou Nian to ask about her interview ranking, learning she was in last place. Meanwhile, Jiang Chen boldly invited Zhuang Xin to lunch.
Zhuang Xin politely declined, citing a prior client lunch, but suggested Jiang Chen call him to schedule something for the next day. Ren Jiatong, recalling Jiang Chen's aunt mentioning "Ruocheng Law Firm" and quickly researching it, discovered that Jiang Ruocheng, the firm's founder, was Jiang Chen's father. She pulled Jiang Chen aside and privately requested that he keep the previous day's apartment incident confidential.
Jiang Chen initially hesitated, but Ren Jiatong countered that she would, in turn, keep his father's identity a secret if he agreed. Jiang Chen conceded, agreeing to her request on the condition that the matter would end there. Ren Jiatong then reminded him that even oral agreements held legal weight, to which Jiang Chen responded that it was a gentleman's pact. The interns then moved to find their assigned workstations. Yan Fei distributed small welcome gifts to everyone.
Seeing her desk decorations, Guo Xiaoyu expressed her worry to Ren Jiatong that she, along with her decorations, might not "survive this week" given her last-place ranking, to which Ren Jiatong offered a simple "Go for it!" Wang Lu approached Yan Fei to explain his behavior from earlier that morning.
He defended his decision not to physically intervene, stating that as a single male, he would have faced significant legal risks and difficulty explaining matters to the pregnant woman's family if complications arose. He emphasized that the morning was crucial for his career. He then presented her with a note containing the pregnant woman's car license plate and phone number, which he had recorded.
He explained that he intended to follow up with the hospital and the family after his workday, asserting that beyond risk mitigation, a good lawyer must prioritize tasks and effectively gather critical information. Yan Fei's impression of him improved slightly. As most interns left for lunch, Ren Jiatong remained at her workstation, sending self-introduction emails to every lawyer in the firm, particularly hoping to gain the attention of partner Bai Xiao.
Jiang Chen, eager to make an impression, approached lawyer Song Yifan and expressed his strong desire to work with him, admiring his case-handling style. However, Song Yifan merely assigned him the task of printing ten copies of a document for an afternoon meeting. Jiang Chen struggled with the printer, unfamiliar with its operation, searching for solutions online without success.
Ren Jiatong, passing by, quickly diagnosed the problem, pointing out that the printer was simply out of paper and remarking sarcastically about whether foreign printers run on willpower instead of paper. Shortly after lunch, Zhou Nian announced the first assessment task, as Song Yifan had an unexpected client visit. The case involved Li, a delivery driver for Skyline Logistics Company, who, after completing his deliveries, was involved in a collision with Wang's vehicle at an intersection.
Li sustained a severe head injury and a fractured left leg. The traffic police determined Wang was primarily responsible, while Li bore secondary responsibility. Consequently, Li's insurance company refused his claim, citing his partial fault. The interns were instructed to choose either Li or the insurance company as their client and, from that perspective, draft a legal response.
Zhou Nian explained that this was an individual task, and only the top three submissions would receive points: 30 for first place, 20 for second, and 10 for third, with all others receiving no points. He promised to email the firm's template and formatting requirements. The deadline was 6:00 PM, leaving them less than four hours. Jiang Chen and Ren Jiatong immediately began drafting their legal responses, while others started researching and organizing their notes. Guo Xiaoyu, however, sat with a blank document, still overwhelmed by the task.
