Niu Qian, a clerk of the Third Civil Division of the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing, entered the court in 2006 and has assisted judges in the conclusion of nearly 2,000 cases in the past 18 years, and has won many honorary titles such as "Outstanding Communist Party Member", "Star of Clerks", "Excellent Clerk of the Employed System" and "Advanced Employed Staff". In 2022, she was hired as a part-time teacher of Beijing court clerks, and in 2023, she won the bronze medal in the Beijing Court Clerk Business Skills Competition.
What are you afraid of from afar?
In the summer of 18 years ago, Niu Qian was just a 21-year-old girl. But the newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and she is determined to enter the court.
When she received the notice of entry from the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court, she jumped for joy. Mom and Dad saw that their daughter's work had been settled, and their hearts were much more steady. But when it came time to dinner, my mother's expression clearly revealed hesitation.
"What's wrong Mom, what's wrong with your heart?" Niu Qian said quickly.
"It's good to go to the courthouse, but the distance between our home and the unit is a bit far, and you have to commute back and forth for more than three hours every day!" said the mother in her heart.
"What are you afraid of from afar! That's the court, the place where the people seek justice, how honorable it is to work there. Niu Qian didn't care about commuting at all.
Mom didn't say anything more, because Mom knew Niu Qian's "cow" temper too well, and she had been like this since she was a child.
Niu Qian's surname is Niu, which is also a cow. When she arrived at the courthouse, her colleagues called her "Maverick". Master Cao Xin took a fancy to this new apprentice with a straightforward personality and quick work, and before taking her to try the case for the first time, he said a long and long thing about "how the clerk keeps good records". Niu Qian nodded and said, "Yes, yes" and "Okay", but to be honest, she really didn't listen much, she felt that the master was a bit too much. She thought to herself, "I did quite well in stenographing when I was in school, and I obtained the intermediate stenographer qualification early, so can I still write down my records?"
But when it really arrived at the trial scene, when the original defendant began to fight-for-tat, Niu Qian was a little panicked.
"It's over! How is this different from what I practiced in school?" When learning shorthand, the texts used for practice are common sense articles in paragraphs, and they are all read aloud at a uniform speed; but when they arrive at the court scene, the voices and tones of the parties are different, and when it comes to the excitement, they are talking faster and faster, and the most important thing is that the issues disputed by all parties are complex and professional, and they have not been exposed to it before, and it is really difficult to "synchronize output of hands, eyes, and brains".
The first trial transcript of this career, Niu Qian wrote it down. In order to ensure that the trial transcript accurately and completely reflects the opinions of the parties, after the trial, she rechecked with both parties the areas where she was not accurate. After both parties signed and confirmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're the new clerk, aren't you?" asked Niu Qian's lawyer.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry for the delay. Niu Qian's face turned red.
"It's okay, it's okay, everybody has their beginnings. Although the plaintiff's lawyer was very kind and tolerant, Niu Qian couldn't let herself go at all, and she didn't allow herself to "cause trouble" to the client.
She didn't listen to what Master told her before, and she regretted it now. Not only did she go to confess her mistakes to Master, but she also asked Master and several other seniors for advice.
After searching for treasures, Niu Qian has a spectrum in her heart about how to improve herself. She made a plan for herself and rented a room near her flat with a portion of her meagre salary at the time. It's not that she feels like it's hard to commute every day, it's that she needs those 3 hours a day more to carry out her plan.
Keep a record of the trial
It's not just about typing fast
Master and seniors told Niu Qian that to make a good record of the trial, fast typing is the foundation and a necessary condition, but fast typing is far from enough. The clerk needs to carefully read the case file materials before the court session to understand the relationship between the parties, what is the focus of the facts and application of law in dispute between the parties, and what the technical terms that appear repeatedly in the written materials mean...... It takes a lot of work.
As a result, Niu Qian insisted on practicing watching and listening to fights to consolidate her shorthand skills, and at the same time invested a lot of time to familiarize herself with the case file materials in advance. She made a request for herself: when she sat in the clerk's seat in each case, she must clearly know the basic information of the parties, why they came to the court to fight, what main evidence they provided, and where the core differences of opinion were. If she didn't figure out these questions when she was grading the papers, she would see the stitches and ask the master for advice when he was not so busy.
Niu Qian's courtroom is responsible for hearing commercial cases, and there are many first-instance cases with large subject matter, and it is common for a case to have hundreds of pages of dossier materials, and the types of cases involved are also very wide. At first, every time a stack of files on a case was placed in front of her, she felt like a mountain.
"Over the mountains and mountains" again and again, so that Niu Qian's court record skills are becoming more and more proficient. Unconsciously, her transcripts gradually entered the best state of "fast, accurate and comprehensive", and she was able to refine and summarize the statements of all parties when necessary, so that the transcripts could not only reflect the original appearance of the trial, but also be concise and concise.
After a trial, a senior lawyer who has practiced for more than 20 years asked Niu Qian: "Haven't you been in the court for a short time?"
"Years ago. She replied truthfully.
"Reliable, little girl, I remember this record quite well!" the lawyer praised.
This compliment, together with the previous experience of flushing her face, is still fresh in Niu Qian's memory more than ten years later. She said that this made her understand a truth - there is no "reliable" for no reason, and the effortlessness in the court comes from the unremitting efforts of the court.
An excellent scrivener
It's not just about taking good notes
Three years ago, in a very complicated private lending dispute case, Niu Qian was assigned as a clerk. The evidence materials in this case have more than 1,300 pages, and the parties dragged suitcases and original evidence to the court for three consecutive days. There were a few times when the person concerned was a little impatient and thought that it would be almost fine. But Niu Qian thought to herself, how can this matter be "almost", if the evidence is not checked clearly, the facts of the case are prone to problems. "These evidences are closely related to the rights and interests of both of you, let's not worry, take your time to figure it out. While calming the emotions of the client, she accurately and meticulously jotted down 122 pages of transcripts.
In addition to court records, clerks are usually responsible for assisting and clerical work such as notifying the parties to participate in court activities, collecting litigation materials, sorting out case files, and serving legal documents to the parties.
"Although we do not decide the outcome of the case, we are the soul of the whole process of the case. When a case enters the court, we are the first to call the parties to determine the time of the trial, we are the ones who serve the legal documents to the parties after the case is concluded, and we are the ones who contact the parties if they have any questions. We are the bridge between the parties and the judges. As a clerk and part-time teacher, every time she shares her work experience with new comrades, Niu Qian always talks about her understanding of the work of a clerk.
She said that everyone in the trial team is the "protagonist", and only when everyone goes all out towards a common goal can the case be handled best and the feelings of the parties can be the best.
"As soon as we get the case file, we have to read the file and understand the basic information of the case, so that we can communicate with the parties and deal with the matters assigned by the judge with ease. ”
"When the person in question calls and visits, we must be patient. Because whoever encounters a lawsuit may not be in a good mood, maybe they are at a low point in their lives, and our good attitude will make them feel warm. ”
……
Niu Qian is happy to share her work experience with everyone. She said that the reason why she was able to win the award in the Beijing Court Clerk Business Skills Competition and won the honorary title of "Clerk Star" is that in addition to her personal efforts, the most important thing is the guidance and help of her predecessors. Although her own experience is not a standard answer, she is willing to provide a reference to her colleagues, even if it is worth it to let others take one less detour.
More than just a clerk
In addition to working as a clerk, Niu Qian is also the internal staff of the Third Civil Court. The family asked Niu Qian, what does the internal staff do?"The internal service is to ensure the trial team and let them serve the parties without worries. Niu Qian answered concisely and neatly, omitting relatively formal expressions such as "judicial statistical analysis, supervision and handling of preservation cases, case file filing tips, arrangements for education and training matters, and court affairs conference guarantees", which also avoided the "embarrassment" that it was difficult to exhaust the internal work matters.
The simultaneous advancement of multiple matters is the normal state of Niu Qian's work, which is also complementary to her vigorous and hard-working quality. Not only at work, but also at home.
Niu Qian's daughter's favorite thing to do with her mother is to go to the community library to read books. Niu Qian is a volunteer of the Community Children's Reading Club, and is a very popular reader aunt for the children. She said: "This reading club has been going on for six years, and at the beginning we wanted our children to develop the habit of reading and not always stare at electronic products. Later, many activities such as the Red Art Show, learning from Lei Feng to do good deeds, and 'garbage classification I go first' were gradually organized, and everyone helped each other and did their best, not only the children benefited, but also the parents gained a lot. In 2021, Niu Qian was rated as the "Most Beautiful Volunteer" by the community, and in 2023, she was named the "Outstanding Communist Party Member" in the community.
Many things are particularly difficult for a person or a family, but it is no longer difficult for a group of people and families to do together. This requires us to help each other and empathize with each other.
"I want to make the place I am better through my own efforts. Whether at work or in life, this is Niu Qian's original intention, and it is also the secret of her busy but tiring pleasure.
Contributed by Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court
Editor: Ding Jie, Xiao Fei
Review: Zhang Zhongtao