In Czech author Franz Kafka’s famous book The Trial, he tells the story of one man’s experience with the labyrinthine nature of the legal system. The main character is surprised to receive a legal summons advising him that he has been charged with a crime, as he has, to the best of his own limited knowledge, committed no such crime. The book progresses with the main character seeking legal advice and ultimately being dismissed time and again by solicitor legal advice as he searches for understanding of this opaque allegation which has beset him. The main character searches for justice throughout the book, ultimately hitting a brick wall on all sides as he struggles to find out exactly what he has been charged with.
He receives summons after summons, where he goes before a judge and is never told of his crime. Ultimately he is found guilty and sentenced for a crime he doesn’t even know if he committed. This book led to the coinage of the term Kafkaesque which relates to the sheer complexity of the legal system and how an individual can be caught up in its mechanisms without a way out, or an understanding of why they are there.
Kafka wrote the book as an analogy to bureaucracy which, at times, seems like it has been designed specifically to confuse and obstruct any possible understanding. No doubt administrators are only doing their jobs and following the letter of the law, but those who create laws often have little comprehension of their real world application.Kafka’s case is but one, admittedly extreme, example of what can face a person who is caught up in the net of the legal world without an end in site.
If we would have been able to help him, this character would have had a clear insight into what he was charged with, as well as clear roadmap to innocence. As it is, the character faces devastating punishment without understanding why – an existential nightmare if ever there was one. By consulting with us, we provide you with a complete run-down of the nature of your case, the specific details, as well as the options you have to defend yourself, or perhaps even to make a counter claim which runs parallel or in opposition to the claim you have against you. Could Kafka’s character have sued for excessive mental trauma, torture or bullying? Possibly. If only he had consulted with us then he certainty would not have faced the predicament he did, that is for sure.
The fictional world is filled with examples like this in which artists and authors seek to represent the inherently unfair and confusing world of courts and judges which place themselves about us, above society and seek to pass judgements on cases that they know little of, often favouring the rich and powerful who seem to be able to act with impunity in many cases for which the normal person would have faced more severe forms of punishment. An example of this is when the Manchester United Football Club manager, Alex Ferguson, was stopped speeding down a motorway in his car and was let off without charge due to a dubious claim he made about having to reach an urgent appointment. Unfortunately, for most of us, we do not have the luxury of fame to use as legal redress; and so it is necessary to consult with legal experts in order to make sure that you get the best possible outcome, no matter what your legal situation or desire is.
Contact us today for a consultation and we can give you all you need, don’t be like Kafka’s poor soul and drive yourself crazy over the opaque legal jargon, let us decipher it all for you and take on your burden. Don’t delay, contact us today.
