There are a few clauses in here that we'd like to point out first. Since they don't have a case against Riverstone yet (as Riverstone is neither giving them bad contracts nor have they done anything wrong at the moment), most firms, both large and small, around New Amsterdam won't be willing to represent the Displaced. Given the nature of the contracts themselves, which are completely favorable to the Displaced and meeting all of their demands, they'll just look paranoid to most of the firms around the city. In addition, there's the factor that Riverstone is the kind of corporation that no one would want to trifle with given its huge size and power.
The law firms that will actually take on the Displaced's contract negotiations, as well as offer to be a retainer, will be known as War, Babip, and Eckstein. It's a smaller firm that's been operating out of New Amsterdam for the last 20 years. Most of their work involves contracts for small businesses, as well as helping negotiate any convoluted marriage contracts.
In addition, Ian would have to:
1. State, in detail, to their lawyer as to why Riverstone is interested in them. This would include detailing the identities, powers, and capabilities of all of the Displaced involved, including how they got their identities at all (which would potentially put Morningstar and El at risk). All of this would be under a strict confidentiality agreement, but would be more in-depth than any information that has been shared by the Displaced so far, and goes beyond what some are planning to eventually share with the public. It would be required for the lawyer to protect their interests. This is because if Riverstone discovered anything (during experimentation or interrogation) about the Displaced that would void their contracts, the lawyer would need to know. This includes their identities not being of this world, because they're both fraudulent and because they are quite literally aliens to this society. The confidentiality agreement can only go so far, however, and if the situation does turn into a large legal battle, it's entirely possible that some of that sensitive information could get out to the public.
Before Ian decides on how to handle all of this going forward, we suggest that he contact the Displaced who would be seeking out legal representation. Since (as we'll cover below) they'll need to provide that information on an individual one-on-one basis, he'll want to tell them what the law firm would be requiring up front in order to represent them to remain consistent, as anything that could be found to the contrary could mean that Riverstone could nullify contractual agreements.
Obviously, the law firm wouldn't know why Riverstone wishes to experiment on them, but they would ask for all of this information upon entering a legally binding confidentiality agreement and in order to provide proper representation.
2. Help negotiate arrangements for each of the Displaced's contracts: these contracts would be handled on a client-by-client basis. They wouldn't be represented as a group, because they aren't legally defined as a group (/class, as we'll cover below) at this moment. Each of their contracts would have clauses specific to them as individuals. This would end up costing the Displaced a great deal of credits, as the firm they eventually hired would both be charging a lot more (because it's a contract with Riverstone and they want to cover their behinds) and because the Displaced can't be lawfully represented as a group.
This is the more straightforward way of doing it that would probably offer the Displaced more security and allow them to have lawyers on retainer in the future. But still: these would be separate cases since Riverstone is offering this to them as a whole, but negotiating the contracts and having them signed separately.
Now, the firm will also offer the ability to look over the contracts and ensure that it meets all of Ian's requirements. This will be considerably cheaper, though they'll still be charging for each contract to be reviewed on an individual basis. For what it's worth, the contracts do meet all of Ian's requirements, but as we told Laws and Tifa, that doesn't mean much with a business as big and powerful as Riverstone. This particular action would not promise future legal intervention as it would only be paying them to sign off on what's in the contract, as well as make any additional notes. They would not be negotiating with Riverstone in any way.
The firm will provide additional information: if the Displaced do experience the breach of contract that they appear to expect from Riverstone, they will eventually have a class action suit on their hands. On this occasion, the Displaced would be able to represent themselves as a "class," bringing their case together as a united party whose individual contracts with Riverstone have all been breached. They can feel free to return to War, Babip, and Eckstein for this case as they'd be happy to represent them on that occasion. But they would advise Ian that he'd need to keep in mind that Riverstone is the type of corporation that's likely to settle, especially if the Displaced lack hard evidence that any breach of contract has occurred. (Suspicions won't cut it here.)
We're happy to add a blurb about War, Babip, and Eckstein's representation on the mini-event so players can choose if their characters are going in with a retainer, or if they're simply having their contract looked over.
no subject
There are a few clauses in here that we'd like to point out first. Since they don't have a case against Riverstone yet (as Riverstone is neither giving them bad contracts nor have they done anything wrong at the moment), most firms, both large and small, around New Amsterdam won't be willing to represent the Displaced. Given the nature of the contracts themselves, which are completely favorable to the Displaced and meeting all of their demands, they'll just look paranoid to most of the firms around the city. In addition, there's the factor that Riverstone is the kind of corporation that no one would want to trifle with given its huge size and power.
The law firms that will actually take on the Displaced's contract negotiations, as well as offer to be a retainer, will be known as War, Babip, and Eckstein. It's a smaller firm that's been operating out of New Amsterdam for the last 20 years. Most of their work involves contracts for small businesses, as well as helping negotiate any convoluted marriage contracts.
In addition, Ian would have to:This is the more straightforward way of doing it that would probably offer the Displaced more security and allow them to have lawyers on retainer in the future. But still: these would be separate cases since Riverstone is offering this to them as a whole, but negotiating the contracts and having them signed separately.
Now, the firm will also offer the ability to look over the contracts and ensure that it meets all of Ian's requirements. This will be considerably cheaper, though they'll still be charging for each contract to be reviewed on an individual basis. For what it's worth, the contracts do meet all of Ian's requirements, but as we told Laws and Tifa, that doesn't mean much with a business as big and powerful as Riverstone. This particular action would not promise future legal intervention as it would only be paying them to sign off on what's in the contract, as well as make any additional notes. They would not be negotiating with Riverstone in any way.
The firm will provide additional information: if the Displaced do experience the breach of contract that they appear to expect from Riverstone, they will eventually have a class action suit on their hands. On this occasion, the Displaced would be able to represent themselves as a "class," bringing their case together as a united party whose individual contracts with Riverstone have all been breached. They can feel free to return to War, Babip, and Eckstein for this case as they'd be happy to represent them on that occasion. But they would advise Ian that he'd need to keep in mind that Riverstone is the type of corporation that's likely to settle, especially if the Displaced lack hard evidence that any breach of contract has occurred. (Suspicions won't cut it here.)
We're happy to add a blurb about War, Babip, and Eckstein's representation on the mini-event so players can choose if their characters are going in with a retainer, or if they're simply having their contract looked over.
Please feel free to ask any other questions!