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In order to narrow the distance with lawyers, JAVY Law Firm specially launched the "Interview with JAVY" series of columns, let us understand the story behind each lawyer together.

At work, he is rigorous and meticulous, unsmiling, and is a spokesperson for justice; in his life, he is youthful and vigorous, loves life, and is a vitality lawyer in the new era. He is the guest of interview in this issue-Attorney Cao Yuan.

Q：Why did you choose to become a lawyer?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

When I was young, I liked to watch Hong Kong dramas, especially TVB's legal dramas. The images of lawyers in court have always attracted me deeply, the sharp, and calm; and personable image of lawyers has always had a huge charm in my heart. In addition, my own logical thinking is nice, so I decisively chose the law major when I was in university. Later, during my university and graduate studies, I was fortunate to have internships in prosecutors’ offices, companies, and law firms. Combining my own interests and advantages, I chose to be a lawyer. This is a challenging and creative industry.

Q：What was the opportunity that made you choose to join JAVY Law Firm? What is your impression of JAVY?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

By coincidence. When I started to have the idea of practicing independently, JAVY just threw an olive branch. Different from the same high-rise buildings, I feel more humanistic atmosphere here. The beautiful environment here, surrounded by greenery, and the office environment like a single-family villa makes me feel the warmth of home. In addition, support policies such as zero-cost careers, shared office, free canteens, etc.  JAVY provides an excellent growth environment for our young lawyers, and the excellent lawyers around me not only made me feel the professionalism and rigor, but also felt the enthusiasm and energetic spirit of everyone. These all attracted me deeply.

Q：With the rapid development of the Internet, the trial of a case often comes from media and social attention, and sometimes has a certain reaction to the case itself. How do you see the influence of the mass media on the case?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

To quote a sentence from "The Crowd": "The masses have never craved the truth, and they turned a blind eye to unpalatable evidence." Although this statement itself is a bit extreme, many times media reports may seriously affect the direction of public opinion, and then intervene. In fact, to the trial of the case, media reports on judicial cases should be truthful, objective, and comprehensive. However, some media currently only provide people with what they are interested in in order to catch the eye, and ignore the review of the authenticity of the evidence. This is exactly the opposite of the principle of "using facts as a basis, "taking the law as the criterion". I think it will have an adverse effect on the trial process to a certain extent. Not long ago, the All China Lawyers Association formulated and promulgated the "Rules of the All China Lawyers Association on Prohibiting Lawyers' Violation and Speculation of Cases", which undoubtedly is also aware of the adverse effects of some media reports in trial practice.

Q：Some people think that lawyers should be the incarnation of justice and should not speak to bad persons. What do you think?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

First of all, lawyers are not the incarnation of justice, neither are judges, prosecutors, and policemen. Because human beings will make mistakes, but how can justice make mistakes? Even the law itself is incapable of justice. This is not only the worst system. Only God is the incarnation of the so-called justice, which is an unattainable but eternal goal of human beings. The mission of lawyers should protect the rights and interests of clients as much as possible without breaking the law. Even the wicked have the right to be fully defended, and this is the procedural justice that mankind sums up after experiencing countless disputes—it is all freedom without trial.

Q：There was public opinion that artificial intelligence will replace the work of lawyers. What do you think of this view?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

At present, basic tasks such as legal search, document drafting, and case information statistics can all be automatically generated using big data information. Based on this, some people think that the work of lawyers can be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future. But I think this will be impossible in the foreseeable future.

With the continuous development of society at any time, the three major costs of stamina, intelligence, and risk may be gradually replaced by artificial intelligence, and the fourth largest cost—communication cost is still irreplaceable, and this cost is exactly what the lawyer industry will compete in the future with core competitiveness. For example, why is the general response that the effect of video conferencing seems to be less effective than face-to-face communication? The main reason is that you can't feel the real emotions of the other party. For the lawyer industry, especially the litigation business, it is our basic skill to observe words and colors. The first step in all cases is communication, and then coordination. If we have to say that one day artificial intelligence can replace the work of lawyers, then I think most of the jobs in the entire society can be replaced.

Because the law is cold, but the human heart is warm, what artificial intelligence cannot replace is the effective communication between lawyers and clients, judges, and prosecutors. Of course, artificial intelligence is very helpful to lawyers in case search and contract review, but the core part still cannot be replaced.

Q：What are your hobbies outside of work? Are these hobbies helpful to your career?

Attorney Cao Yuan：

In my spare time, I like reading books, playing guitar and playing basketball. I have always maintained the habit of reading, except for books on law, novels, history, and philosophy. I think the profession of lawyers should not be limited to the law itself, but also requires a wide range of knowledge and rich social experience. Insights into the world are all knowledge, a lot of effectiveness is outside of the matter itself, and the knowledge learned will be helpful to the law profession. Playing guitar, playing basketball, and outdoor sports are also my favorites, which help me decompress properly.