Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-26
FACTS ABOUT BIG Fees.

Fortunes Paid to Lawyers-A Few In
stances of Hard Earned Retainers.
big fees said a veteran lawyer. to a
New York SW reporter, "afe generally
the private concern of the client who
pays them and the lawyer who receives
them. II Dorsey saw mt to pay Col.
Ingersoll 100000 for his services in the
star route cases, Dorsey probably got the
worth Of his money. l have Observed
that lawyers do not care to measure the
value OF their services by the amount of
the verdict, except when they win. 1t is
not an unfair rule that LAWYERS fees
should be governed by the Importance of
tne interest involved. Mr.. Tilden re-
celYed fortune for his services in rail
road litigation and negotiation. but as
long as those who paid the money were
satlsHed- dO not see whose business il
was but that OF the parties interested.
Henry l. clinton IS reported to have
charged William II. Vanderbilt over
S2UQ,uuo In the Vanderbilt will case. ana
70 have actually received $40, 900. But
there were millions involved i'm that case.
10 l- common thing FOR biz lawyers to
charge 500 per day for attendance in
court. Practitioners Of the rank OF
Joseph II. ChOate. +. y. Bangs. John l.
BurrIll- illiam Fullerton, y. *. Porter.
ID. ID. Field, Thomas q. sherman. and
many others find no difficulty in collect
iug such fees for actual attendance in
court.
big lees are common in viii cases. but
allowance by the courts out Of estates
are now limited 10 $1,000 "a side Those
were halcyOn days for lawyers, when the
surrogate could divide the estate among
the gentlemen OF the bar, leaving the liti-
giants in debt. In the TAYLOR Will case a
few years ago the lawyers got not only all
the estate, but actually left the widow in
debt after selling her clothes.
lin the Parish Will case Charles
O'ConOF received "a small fortune In the
Hardin Will case John X. Porter got,
believe, about $4,000. He represented
/ the claim of the alleged widow. Henry
NicOl has charged as nigh as 5000 a dav.
/ George Iicknor Curtis had such a big bill
in one OF tine celebrated india rubber
cases that &c charged $1,000 for making il
out.
MANY biz fees have been received by
patent lawyers. Prof. Morse spent
fortune i'm the courts defending his first
patents. uut he got 10 all back in the value
oi the patents. Every invention of im-
I1rtanee has cost its inventor or owner
dearly for legal services. Signal in
stances 90 this fact have been seen ia the
vClcluite rubber barbed iron fence.
1 =
machine, and other patent cases. i'm all of
| which fortunes were paid to lawyers. In
/ such cases the labor Of lawyers is enOr-
| nous, the responsibility great. and the pay
/ % course appropriately large. GOOD
/ patent lawyers get rich. but their br0ws
/ are generally furrOwed with care.
"Mr. Eyarts has had some very big fees
/ from corporations. from will cases, and
/ long contested suits. He could show the
I record of a great many $4,000 fees.
/ When sutton mas hard case he does
/ not hesitate at paving few thousand
/ dollars -o good lawyer. \ poor lawyer
/ IS very expensive luxury. When a
I sutton with O good case has been two or
/ three times T. the Court Of Appeals in
I consequence of his lawyers bluuders, be
begins to- think II pays to get "a good
one.
"Many large corporations have sal
AIRED lawyers to look after their business
Judge Dillon left the bench of the United
states Court 20 take a salary of $4,000
from the Union Pacific Railway Com
pauy. Dudley Field has had enormous
fees out of the Erie Railway Company
and the New York elevated railways.
The lawyers saved the New Ork elevated
railways about million and a quarter OF
dollars in the tax suits with the city, as
Jue courts cut down the bills about that
sum.
The counsel for large corporations like
Trinity Church. the Equitable and Mutual
Life, the Standard Oil Company, and in
situations % like magnitude receive
handsome incomes and devote themselves
! largely 10 the business of one client.
Lawyers like Ben Butler, Roscoe
COnkling, Senator Edmunds. or judge
Jere Black could fiji volumes of records
OF big fees. There is. i'm fact. always a
demand for lawyers who can earn big
| fees. There are SO many novelties of the
law, so many eXPedients and devices to
suit new circumstances, that men Ofpene-
tratiOn and of skill in devious eXpedients
can lind plenty Of scope.
IAN Indiana railroad company once
employed Gen. Foster TO draw up q con-
tract for them. He drew It on one sheet
of paper and charged $3.50. The company
paid and grOwled. He told them TO Try
certain high-priced lawyer the next time.
They did so. The other lawyer sent
around and borrowed the copy of the old
contract, turned i'm a neatly engrossed
sheet, and charged $4,000. But the com
pauy felt satisfied that they had a con-
tract that would hold water.