An Extraordinary Lawyer’s Subspace - Chapter 179
Only Noblemtl
【Episode 179 – Network】
Detroit, Michigan.
Beomsang visited the MG building.
“Hello, how have you been?”
“I’m better than ever. How about you?”
“I’m busy.”
“What’s wrong with you? You haven’t changed at all in the past six years.”
“The same goes for Thomas.”
“You should be this age too. It’s similar to 60 or 70.”
“Aren’t you 80 years old?”
“No. I was wrong. You’ve changed. You’ve aged. Haha-”
Thomas Müller, General Counsel of MG, welcomed Beomsang warmly.
The two sat on the sofa in the office.
Director Thomas Müller brought two glasses of whiskey from the small mini-bar in one corner of the room and offered one to Beom-sang.
“Thank you.”
“How is Boston? Isn’t school life boring?”
“No, it’s fun.”
“I still don’t understand. Why did you go to school?”
In the United States, the culture of going back to school during a sabbatical year to earn a degree was not very common.
Of course, there were American lawyers like that, but they didn’t get a master’s degree for the sake of their qualifications like lawyers at Korean law firms.
First of all, I don’t understand why an ordinary lawyer went to school.
“I’m going to try to work properly from now on.”
“You’re already doing a good job.”
“In New York.”
The ordinary’s two eyes sparkled.
Thomas Müller has a nice, ordinary look.
It seems ordinary, but at times like this, the tragedy becomes apparent.
He is easy to approach and you can tell right away that he is a smart person after just a few words. That aspect is not so obvious that it is not unpleasant. As time goes by, I like him more and more.
“When Kim & Kang said they opened offices in New York and LA, I thought they were just opening liaison offices, but I guess not. So, are you going to stay in New York after you graduate?”
“Yes. I think I’ll probably be in the New York office for a few years, commuting between Seoul and LA.”
“That’s good news.”
I was sincere.
Besides, if we were to jointly pursue a carbon technology project with Aramco, it would be more convenient for him to be in New York than in Seoul.
Thomas Müller raised his glass of whiskey in celebration.
“This is a drink only served to welcome guests.”
“A truly rare wine. Glenfarclas Family Cask Series 1959 Vintage.”
“Have you tried it?”
“yes.”
It’s a precious drink.
The price is the price, but it’s hard to get it these days.
“I helped a friend out in 2007 and received a pair as a gift. At the time, I didn’t know much about alcohol, so I didn’t know how valuable it was. I gave it away here and there, and now I have less than five bottles left.”
“I see.”
“As far as I know, this vintage hasn’t even been officially released. Where on earth have you tried it?”
Oh? Is that so?
In a city in subspace, at a bar near the Capitol Building…
“I went to a friend’s house to play.”
“I see you like whiskey. Anyway, you are quite an enigmatic fellow. Oh, by the way, when did you learn how to hunt?”
“Hahaha- Did you hear that from Andy?”
“Thanks to you, the story will progress smoothly. I hope you can help mediate things in the middle.”
“Yes, of course.”
The two first had a brief conversation about the upcoming carbon project between Aramco and MG.
Then, Beomsang asked the lobby-related question he had asked over the phone.
“How is MG lobbying now?”
“We have an in-house team. They only do lobbying. They’re made up of policy experts.”
“Do you also hire outside lobbyists?”
“Of course. It’s a delicate matter.”
“So, how are you preparing for the carbon technology project with Aramco?”
“Are you asking me to reveal our company’s internal secrets right now?”
“Not to that extent, I just want to know the practical mechanism.”
And two sparkling eyes.
The work of a lawyer and the work of a lobbyist are closely related, yet very different in nature.
Especially, the latter, which takes up 90% of networking, can a foreigner like me do well······
“I feel like I need to have a few more drinks.”
I think so.
To Thomas Müller, Han Beom-sang was not only a likeable young lawyer, but also an interesting subject.
Although he was much younger than me in age, when we talked, there was no sense of age difference at all.
Not only in terms of work-related matters, but also in terms of attitudes toward life and insight, there were many things in common with me, even though I was well into my seventies.
It wasn’t like that when we first met, but it changes every time we meet.
Now, there are times when we feel like friends.
“You’ve never tried this before. I never thought I’d open this for you.”
“It’s Dalmore 50 years old.”
“Have you tried it?”
yes.
There was that too.
In that luxurious sub-space, in a city bar.
-*-
Aramco US has offices in Houston, Boston, and Detroit.
The research center and headquarters are located in Houston, Texas.
Andy Nasser visited our Houston headquarters.
Representative Mohammed called him in on the Omar Sayyed case.
“So, is there a solution?”
Omar Sayed was Aramco US’s in-house lobbyist.
Representative Mohamed was not pleased with Kim & Kang’s suggestion that the company not defend him.
It wasn’t that he particularly cared about Omar Sayed or that there was some kind of deal between the two.
Representative Mohamed was concerned about the void in business that would be left behind when he was gone.
“It’s lobbying work, weren’t you using an external firm anyway?”
“That’s underestimating Omar. I don’t mean to cover up his shortcomings, but he knows how to handle women, so he’s had his moments.”
“It’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that I handled it well.”
“Madi, I didn’t call you here to play with words.”
There is a strange current between the two.
A competitive relationship.
Andrew Madi Nasser, once his subordinate but now in charge of East Asia ventures.
This does not mean that Mohammed personally disliked Nasser.
However, I don’t like the way they keep tackling the acquisition of the Torrance plant.
“Just because there was a gap in work, Omar’s son was too flawed to be taken in. It’s a good thing Han put the brakes on at the right time, otherwise things could have been worse.”
Omar Sayed’s second victim had appeared.
“Kaiser Dutton said that if the first case had been resolved quickly, there would not have been a second victim.”
“Kaiser Dutton would say so. If the first one had been agreed upon, then the second one would have been even bigger. There’s no guarantee that the third or fourth one wouldn’t show up. Samuel said there had been similar incidents before, so I wonder if we should have drawn the line earlier.”
On that point, frankly, Mohammed has nothing to say.
Although I knew to some extent that Omar Sayed was that kind of person, I covered it up because of work.
“What about the SEC hearing on ESCRDI next month? Omar was the one who was handling Rep. Pearson, who was supposed to be on the hearing panel.”
ESCRDI (The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors): A bill to improve and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors.
SEC(US Securities and Exchange Commission): United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“In this situation, would that bastard Omar have been able to lobby properly? I don’t think he could have.”
But Andy Nasser had no proper answer to Mohammed’s concerns.
If ESCRDI passes as proposed, companies will now be required to disclose the carbon emissions they emit across their business operations.
A law already in effect in Europe.
It was clear that it would soon be implemented in the United States as well.
Ultimately, the reason these types of regulations continue to be enacted is environmental issues. For Aramco, which owns the oil energy business, these regulations were a stranglehold on their own.
If so, these were things that had to be implemented as slowly as possible and to their advantage as much as possible.
One of the most important parts of Aramco’s US operations has been opposing, reducing, or relaxing domestic regulations that would be detrimental to Aramco.
Through the lobby.
“So you’re saying there’s no answer? When you suggested the Korean lawyer’s opinion to Vice President Al Zawawi, did he explain all of these things to you?”
This was ultimately why Representative Mohammed had called.
“I did what you said, so if anything goes wrong, you’re responsible.”
That’s what I wanted to say.
As I said earlier, there was a lot to refute.
You are the one who has been holding on to the ‘Omar Risk’ that should have been eliminated long ago.
Even if Omar had not been kicked out this time, there is no guarantee that the lobbying would have been done properly.
However, Andy Nasser does not want to engage in a pointless argument with Representative Mohammed.
Even if I did step in and give him some advice, I didn’t want to become the type of person who would try to pass on the problems he should be solving to his former subordinates.
“It’s something I need to do for you, sir, but if you ask me, I’ll look into it.”
Andy Nasser said as he left the office.
···
Andy Nasser leaves Aramco’s US headquarters office in Houston and ponders who would be most effective to reach out to.
Among his school friends, he has several friends who work at lobbying firms.
However, everyone has a different field.
There is also the option of hiring a firm to do the work, but time is limited.
We need to find the most efficient way.
Tiring- Tiring-
Nasser called his old boss, Thomas Müller.
“How have you been, Andrew?”
“Hello.”
The internal combustion engine automobile industry and the petroleum energy industry share a common denominator.
He may not have the answers, but he can certainly provide guidance.
Nasser, who had little time, got straight to the point.
“I have some questions regarding the ESCRDI hearing at the SEC next month.”
-Hahaha, you’re a little late, Andrew.
“yes?”
-Han came by a few days ago. He asked the same thing you just asked.
‘Han came and went? He asked the same thing?’
Just as I was about to ask what happened a few days ago, a text came in from the main character of the story.
[Han Beom-sang: Andy, where are you now?]
[Han Beom-sang: I have an appointment with Rep. Pearson regarding the SEC hearing. Do you want to come with me?]
‘What? You made an appointment with Congressman Pearson?’
how?
Records of the future
After graduating from law school, I visited Washington, D.C. to take the bar exam.
Overall, the city in subspace doesn’t resemble Washington, D.C.
However, the Capitol Building and the surrounding buildings were exactly as I remembered them.
If it were real, there would be buildings that you wouldn’t be able to enter without permission.
The U.S. Capitol, federal government offices, the Supreme Court, etc.
As I wandered around inside it at my own discretion, I felt a different kind of joy from the feeling of wandering around nature in a subspace.
As I wandered around inside without realizing how much time had passed, a question suddenly popped into my head.
I headed straight to the Library of Congress next to the Capitol Building.
One of the oldest buildings on Capitol Hill, where the nation’s archives are kept.
The archives of the U.S. Copyright Office and where Congressional records are kept.
It was an impressive place.
So I was curious.
Here, in the subspace, there might be records in the Library of Congress.
however···
“2046?”
There was something more interesting than that.