St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-05
LAWYERS IN HARD LUCK.
The Difficult Row They Have tt
Hoe and What il Costs fO Start

Inc DIfncuEt Row They Have to
Hoe and What it Costs to Start.
1t is becoming more difficult every
year for young man to build up
practice as lawyer in New York. An
old lawyer remarked the other day that
100000 was practically thrown away
every year by persons trying to build up
law practice. Unless a man has
money, and a considerable amount at
that, or most influential backing, there
is little chance for him to succeed as
lawyer in this city, says the New York
Graphic.
Take any young man fresh from
law school," said the old lawyer, in dis
cusSing this subject, land unless he has
influence or money it is folly for him to
locate in New York, and even then. I'M
less he has more than average ability,
he had better look to some other place
where there is less competition. Pos
SeSsed of these advantages, his chances
of achieving great success would be
better than anywhere else in the coun-
try. About the only chance for young
man not possessed of these advantages
is to get employment as clerk in law
firm, and then. if he is very bright and
industrious, after a while the firm
may throw some business in
his way or possibly give him an interest
in the firm. But it is almost as difficult
to get position of this kind without in
fluence as 1t is to get practice. These
positions are usually given to the sons
of wealthy clients. Then, again, there
is such large number of lawyers COM
ing here every year who have already
made regulations in other cities. These
lawyers come here with a certain
MT of larrcI nj 10 ~
Usually they are retained as counsel
for some corporation, so that they can
afford to wait for other practice. What
l have said applies to both civil and
criminal law. although it is much easier
to build up practice in criminal law.
particularly should man be unScrupu-
lous."
This conversation with the LAWYER
was suggested by visit to one of the
courts the other day. A young man
was making out very creditable argu-
ment in case. His voice sounded very
familiar to the reporter, and to his great
surprise he found that the lawyer was
the barber who usually shaved him
every Sunday morning. When he met
him again he told the reporter that he
was graduate of the Columbia college
law school and that he had been prac-
ticing law for three years. He had
saved up few hundred dollars, and for
the first two years he had devoted all
his time to trying to build up a practice.
During the whole of that period
he had not made 500. Running
out of money, he was obliged to
find more profitable employment, and
as he had been barber before studying
law he returned to the tonsorial bust
ness. Now he yields the razor nights
tho
time to his profession. He is the coun-
! sci of the BARRIERS association, and as
there are over 12,000 BARRIERS in the me-
| trOpoliS they have, as individuals, con-
siderable law practice. Of course he
did not get all this practice, for if he
did it would be necessary to give all his
time to it, besides employing several as
SiStantS. However. he was now making
twice as much as a lawyer as he earned
as barber. He said there were sew
eral other lawyers in the city who de-
pended upon the barber business for
living.
Among the night operators of the
Western Union Telegraph company i'm
this city at least dozen of them are
| lawyers who practice law in the day
time. One Of them has been a LAWYER
for ten years, and yet his practice will
| not afford him living, although he has
no family. He is the attorney for the
Photographers association, and the sal
airy derived from that position makes I'D
the major part OF his income that he
gets from the law. There are number
of lawyers who make living by setting
type at night, and there are several en-
ployed at night as reporters Oh the
morning newspapers. The majority of
these men are possessed of good ability,
and if they would but take Horace
Greeley's advice they might become
shining lights of the legal profession.