Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-04-07
'-NLERS ON LAWYERS.
THE PRECAUTIONS THAT ARE TAKEN
 AGAINST 5oRES AND cRaNks. {
How Mistakes Are Sometimes Made. People Who Are Hardest to Get Rid oE Troublesome Women cIients-Desirs for Litigation.

People who visit the offices of prominent
 lawyers find that they are usually cooped up in little denS of their own, and laby-
 rinthine passages and inquisitive clerks
 bar the way. Those who are known to | have important business with the firm | are readily admitted to the inner cham | Der, but strangers are examined and cross
 examined and their intentions thoroughly
 sifted before they can gain access. This ! exclusiyeness Is matter of protection, | and while the inCivility of clerks arsl
 middle men may be trying to the temper of
 a perscn having right in the office. yA such course must be taken or the law yers would have their hands full of busi-
 ness in which there was no money. and
 be driven tO the verge of suicide by bOres
 ''The reception TOOm," said the chief
 clerk of a large law iIm to Q reporter
 ''has many queer people in it at times
 There are set of cranks of the most an-
 moving kind who make the rounds of the
 leading law firms in the city. They are
 born litigAnts. Some of them have
 money; the most of them have none.
 Whenever man comes into an office fOl
 the first time and unrOlls an old map or any other document with the yellow tings
 of age on it the guns are at once trained on him. Mistakes are sometimes made.
 It does not always do to size up a man from appearances. My resignation was asked once because l sat down hard on 6 client who could sign his check for mill ion but looked like tramp. That's ono serious drawback; milliOnaires do not L- ways look like it.
 HARD TO GET RID OF.
 ''The people who own half the city and can prove it and those who are interested in inventions and patents are the hardest Co get rid of. If they can get hold with an eyelid they will never let 20. They have plausible stories all and insist on sec ing the head of the firm. Sometimes they do get an audience, and as long as they pass the cutter gate he thinks they are all right and takes an interest in the busi- ness. One smart fellow got us Co bring suit for damages against . well known business man Our client had dOCumen- tary proof that made a splendid case and | would have stood in any court, but when | the case came to trial it was shown that | the people and facts were drawn from | his own imagination and the case was | thrown out of court. It was the third | tim0 he had fooled lawyer, but as he | paid for hii fun no hearts were broken.
 .'The women clients of this kind are the | most troublesome. They insist on seeing | the head of the firm without telling their | business Co any one else To tell them a | little lie about his being out is no good, | for they will sit the whole day, if ueceS- | sary, Co test the statement There are | three or four women who have money and | spend their time going the rounds of the | prominent lawyers, trying to enlist them | in some imaginary suit. They will put | mp a retainer, if asked to. but woe be to the man who takes it. A trip tO Europe l Is the only means of escape They will | bring a suit on the slightest pretense, but usually there is no ground for complaint.
 "The desire to litigate seems to be over One of the women visits the courts regularly, has picked up a good | knowledge of law and can ask questions | that would make the oldest practitioner scratch his head. Nearly all these pecul- lar people are eccentric or mentally un- sound and most of them really believe hat they have been injured and are en- titled tO redress. At one time there were several fine looking women who sought to get an audience with first class lawyers ss we'll as business men for blackmailing pur- poses, and it is a rule in some offices that strange women are never seen by any member of the firm except when wit lesses are present. It is a peculiar thing hat women clients who have legitimate business in court form a violent autipathy | Icainst any one who is opposed to them md do not hesitate tO make known their | ntense hatred by word and manner "- New York Tribune.