I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 25

『 Translator – Divinity 』

‘ConLaw’ was a short, middle-aged professor.

Appearing in the classroom exactly 7 minutes after class started, with a grumpy expression for some reason, he abruptly spat out,

“I, for one,”

His disgruntled voice settled in the classroom.

“Am not satisfied with this current legal education.”

‘Oh dear, here we go again.’

“Let’s ask just one question. Do you know how the laws of our country were made? Number 3, Go Tae-kyung.”

“Uh, to represent the collective will of the people…”

“Ah, that’s just a general statement. I’m talking about the law of this country, this country!”

ConLaw snapped.

“It’s all copied. Copied from German law, copied from Japanese law. Huh? The very foundation of legal discourse in this country has no roots. Even the judges are just folks who crammed for memorization-based exams, they don’t know legal principles and just hand down rulings however they please. Honestly.”

Correction.

It wasn’t just ‘here we go again’ level.

Today, he was especially full of venom.

“Germany and France are different. They have a legal history that has developed over hundreds of years, interacting with social realities.”

He cleared his throat with a cough.

It was a signal that he was about to begin in earnest.

“To fundamentally understand legal principles, you need to study legal history and be able to examine Roman law, as well as modern German and French law, and our legal system from a comparative perspective.”

And then ConLaw rattled off the names of various renowned foreign legal scholars.

Savigny, Kaufmann, Radbruch, Schmitt…

“Don’t worship precedents as if they’re the holy grail. Last time, a student came to argue with me, saying that a Supreme Court precedent was different from what I explained. Well, I’m right, and the Supreme Court is wrong!”

Ah, so there was a reason he was so angry today.

“…Is it okay for him to say that? That the Supreme Court is wrong, and he’s right?”

Han Seol whispered beside me.

“Well, it’s not entirely nonsense though.”

Actually, no matter how much of a curmudgeon he seemed, the things ConLaw was saying weren’t entirely worthless.

In academia, he was an excellent researcher who had written numerous papers and shown extensive activity.

Just because legal scholars say something different from the precedents doesn’t mean it can be dismissed as armchair theorizing.

The world is constantly changing, and social common sense and moral norms are also fluid.

The crime of abortion, once considered a sin, is now deemed unconstitutional.

In such crucial moments of change, when established positions need to be overturned, the materials that judges and legal researchers refer to are the legal theories researched by legal scholars.

“Perhaps someday, a new precedent will be established that follows our ConLaw’s minority opinion.”

“Hmm…”

If that happened, it would become a brilliant achievement adorning the tower of his academic accomplishments, and ConLaw would be able to boast and swagger during lectures.

‘But that’s that.’

We, the students listening to the lecture, were not academic researchers.

Nor were we graduate students following the professor’s research.

Although the official name of law school is ‘Law School’, it clearly includes the word ‘professional’.

A professional educational institution that trains professionals.

Our goal was to pass the exam and become those professionals.

The problem was that the answers and grading criteria for that exam were based on precedents.

That was the only way to create clear questions without disputes over incorrect answers.

It wasn’t for nothing that the phrase ‘in case of dispute, follow the precedent’ was included in every multiple-choice question.

Of course, it’s important to know the general legal principles behind the issue.

But it was even more important to know the conclusion of the precedent that weaves them together.

Because that’s what determines whether you pass or fail the exam.

Therefore, deeper exploration or acquisition of expertise should be done through practical experience, not in the classroom.

However, professors from academia often failed to recognize this fact.

‘Or maybe they know it but ignore it.’

“I know that precedents are included in the exam and are the basis for grading. But even if you pass the exam by memorizing the answers like that, you’ll never be a good lawyer. Understand? Number 24, Yoo Tae-woon!”

“Uh, uh… But Professor, aren’t you not a lawyer?”

“Cough, wh-what?!”

ConLaw faltered for a moment at Yoo Tae-woon’s innocent question.

Yoo Tae-woon probably didn’t mean anything by it.

But to this proud legal scholar, it might have sounded like a sarcastic remark, implying that someone who couldn’t even become a lawyer was talking about being a good lawyer.

‘Come to think of it, that guy gave up after six attempts at the bar exam and went to study in Germany.’

Then, it was like rubbing salt in his wounds.

“Th-this…!”

Han Seol let out a small giggle at ConLaw’s red and blue face.

Looking around, everyone seemed to find it amusing that the old geezer had been struck, lowering their heads and trying to stifle their laughter.

“Let’s move on! Open to page 64!”

ConLaw’s lectures were always notorious, but today was particularly tough.

He went on and on about the theories of Western legal scholars that weren’t even in the lecture materials, and sometimes he would get fixated on a specific concept and talk about it for an entire hour.

By the end of the lecture, everyone was exhausted and slumped over their desks.

“This is bad… How are we going to study for this class?”

Han Seol muttered in a tired voice.

“We’ll have to study the textbooks separately for the bar exam. What else can we do?”

“The midterms are the problem. With lectures like that, I have no idea what to study.”

“The student council collects and manages past midterm exam questions. Why don’t you look at those?”

“Oh, right, those exist.”

Han Seol opened her smartphone and accessed the database provided by the student council.

Then, from the folders with all the course names, she found the one titled Constitutional Law I and clicked on it.

“What is this?”

Han Seol muttered in a daze as she looked at the screen.

Curious, I leaned over and immediately understood her reaction.

[Question 1. Examine the legislation of Korea and Germany regarding fundamental rights under the Constitution from a comparative law perspective, citing at least two examples, and criticize the following Constitutional Court precedent. (200 points)]

Oh dear. What is this?

“…Should I withdraw from this class?”

“Calm down. You can’t withdraw from this because it’s a required course.”

An essay question like something out of the Joseon Dynasty civil service exam suddenly popped up.

And what kind of instruction was it to use German legislation in an exam about Korean law?

The surrounding students, who overheard our conversation, also opened their smartphones one by one and groaned, clutching their heads.

Even the brilliant students of Hankuk University Law School were at a loss when asked to study the laws of another country.

But let’s think about it from a different perspective.

An exam that everyone finds perplexing and impossible to prepare for,

‘In other words, it’s also an opportunity to easily get a high score if you can somehow prepare for it properly.’

“Han Seol. It’s time for a temporary alliance.”

“?”

“There’s a strategy to do well on the exam ConLaw gives. But I need your help to make it happen.”

“…A strategy? For this class?”

Han Seol looked dubious but soon nodded.

“Alright. What do I need to do?”

“Oh, you agreed quite readily.”

“I don’t know what to do on my own anyway… And the results have always been good when I followed your suggestions.”

Han Seol smiled slightly.

“It’s amazing. When I was first put in a group with you, I felt like the world was ending, but now, with you here, I feel like we can overcome any challenge we face.”

‘…That’s embarrassing.’

It wasn’t a bad feeling, though.

It’s always fulfilling to have the results of my work recognized and trusted.

Especially when that trust comes from someone as outstanding as Han Seol, it holds even greater value.

I cleared my throat to dispel the awkward atmosphere and spoke,

“First, we need to gather people. Roughly… six people would be ideal.”

“Six people?”

“Let’s see. Me, you, Lee Ha-ru. If we call Yoo Tae-woon, he’ll probably come. Can you find two more people?”

I couldn’t gather people myself due to my lack of connections.

Although many people no longer doubted my skills after my performance in the pre-law program and the last Legal Clinic, those who trusted my character were still far fewer.

Even the other day, when I was walking down the hallway without a care, every student I made eye contact with would subtly avoid me.

Among them was Bae Hyun-jung, who had been thoroughly defeated by me.

‘That guy is understandable, but why are the others still…’

“Well,”

Han Seol nodded.

“Even if I tell them that you’re not the same Park Yoo-seung as before, no one believes me. My classmates from the business school asked if you had some kind of dirt on me.”

“I’ve heard that too,”

Lee Ha-ru, who had suddenly appeared, chimed in.

“They said they were telling me because I might not know since I’m from a different department, that Park Yoo-seung is a dangerous guy. If I’m being deceived, I should run away quickly.”

‘These guys…’

I thought my image would naturally improve if my skills were recognized, but it seemed like the rumors about Park Yoo-seung were changing from a good-for-nothing delinquent to a cunning villain who approached and exploited talented women.

Perhaps they assumed that was the secret behind my rapid improvement in skills.

“Anyway, that’s why I want you to gather people.”

Han Seol had been a class representative and a club president during her undergraduate years.

How did she manage her relationships so well while studying so hard?

At least when it came to gathering people, I could confidently say that there was no better choice than Han Seol.

“Okay, leave it to me.”

A cheerful agreement followed.

‘Alright.’

Even with the burden of me attached, with Han Seol’s connections and trustworthiness, she should be able to find at least two decent people.

Of course, whether those applicants would be good enough was a separate issue.

But now wasn’t the time to be picky.

With the situation being so urgent, I should be grateful if anyone joined at all.

However, I soon realized that I was greatly mistaken.

***

“Hey.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

Two days later,

I asked, pointing at Han Seol’s smartphone screen.

Han Seol’s inbox was overflowing with messages from over twenty applicants.

[202×0003 Go Tae-kyung here! Is there still a spot in the Constitutional Law I study group? ㅠㅠ]
[202×0147 Han Yoo-hwa here!]
[202×0091…]
[…]

Each one was filled with pleas to be chosen.

“I did some promotion.”

“This is beyond ‘some’ promotion.”

Honestly, I thought this many people applied just because it was Han Seol who was recruiting.

It seemed like the name value of the top student from Hankuk University’s business school and the second-ranked student in law school was much stronger than I thought.

“V.”

Han Seol held up her hand and made a V-sign.

No matter how I looked at it, she must have picked that up from hanging out with Lee Ha-ru.

Of course, it was a good thing. With this many applicants, we could choose those who would listen well and do their work neatly without having to compromise.

‘But this is too many.’

It seemed like we would have to hold interviews.

I was about to think about a list of candidates in advance and scanned the screen.

“Huh?”

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I had seen it wrong.

‘What?’

Why is this person here?