The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-16
TALES TOLD BY LAWYER
of Some Cases in Which Retalners
Were Taken but Never
Earned.
Clients That Were Never Seen
Aftsrward nor More Heard
$500 of Them. lsl.

Retainers, tho Delight of Lawyers, Peou.
liar to That Professionalism Profess
siops Know Them Not.
We LAWYERS especially delight in retain
era; that is. money paid to us when We &C
cent an employment and before we rsndsr
anv actual services er do any work. They
are peculiar to our profession. Th doctors
and ministers know nothing about them.
The ministers come the nearest to them in
the allowance sometimes made for moving
expsnsea when they accept a call to 4 new
field OF labor which was meant 10 be a Q
call. The retainer generally m % only in
cases of great Importance, whore there 10
sure to be much study and work. Not long
ago a legal friend told me of an incident ia
his career, which I repeat as preliminary to
one Of my own. whish. although it has
always been q mystery to me. yet comes up
to memory now and than AS a matter OF
very agreeable retrospect.
His story was of tive travelling salesme IN
Who had entered into a contract for 4 dl-
vision of thor commissions. They lived
in tho east. but accidentally met Ut q hotel
in our weatsrn city one bright morning in
1863. They compared accounts. and soon
fell into a difference of opinion over thelr
financial relations. BsiuR sensible fellows,
they concluded to refer the matter TO shs
courts for settlement. and decided upon q
lawsuit, without apparently letting i ais
turb their friendly personal relations.
They started out to retain lawyers. and
found . bailding near at hand full Of theil
Offices. The proIesed plaintiff entered the
first open Aoor and gave explicit dirsctions'
upon which was Immediately prepared 9
brief p~atitlon. He made affidavit to -
ana paying : retainer, ordered the petition
10 be filed forthwith. and went his way rs-
ioioinp. The other went q little further
down the hall, found my friends office
door omen. eptsreH and announced his de-
sire to fila at once an answer 20 = suit to be
brought that day. A copy Of tbs petition
covering less than . page. Thu visitor
lnly sWore to it. directed its immediate
fling. maid q retainer and went his way re-
Thus the lawsuitswas duly launched, and
each LAWYER duly retained locked forward
to sundry refrssherE and reminders to fol
low. with probably = per diem charge fol-
Attendance and services at the trial. This,
eay. was in 1868. From that day dow to
this naither lawyer has heard q word from
his client. Yhs case still exists. Ths re-
tanners were long since spent. Bat what
has bscoms of the clients remains an I'M
known fact.
nenr the end Of tho war I sat in my office
runrinp over the Newspaper. We lawyers
did not nave much to de then. The wal
seriously affected the law business. Inter
grma silent le9es. Once in 4 while we had
golden opportunities growing out Of dis
putes over government contracts. quarter
n~nasters' allowances, claims against the
poyernment and occasional criminal cases
Bnt these did not occrr oftsn enough tt
prove them q custom.
NV door opened and in came two gentle.
men, entire strangers, who, having beer
seated. proceeded to state the object o.
their visit. A friend OF theirs, whose name
thew must keep concealed for the present
was in 4 situation requiring him to arranga
at once for the aid of counsel IN order thai
he might be ready for an emergency neal
at hand. I had been suggested as one wht
should be secured. I expressed some hest
tation at Hedging my services in behalf O.
some unknown person against some othel
equally unknown. The latter might turr
ont to be one OF my clients. must know
mere ABOUT it.
"Well," they said, "we can lot you know
this much and no more: The opposite
party is to be the United States government
and the controversy is criminal in 1T
nature"
This solved the difficulty, for. like tn
Irishman, I was always ready to be "agil
the government" I accepted the employ
nent.
They then stated that as the case WAS tt
be one Of unusual Importance they desired
to associate with me additional counsel
and asked me to name some one. l sug
gested two or three names, but especial,
that of my friend Judge Jones. They men
toned Mr.. Ledyard, of whose pertinacit.
and bulldog persistence they had hear'
qood accounts. If he were agreeable to me
they desired ne to associate him and Judg
Jones with myself. I a%ssented, and was re
quested to ace the tive brethren and nrranQ
fer a Meeting with them and my visitors a
nv Office two hours later.
We all met at the appointed time. TIL
strangers repeated their story and the stiI
ulatien that until matters assumed q NOR
should come-the name of cur client an
the nature of his case must remain undls
closed.
Thereupon Mr.. Ledyard suggested: 9Th;
10 rather an unusual matter. We are alto
pether ia the dark and hardly know to wh5
we are pledR60. IL seems al AppfOpflal
case for q retainer"
"Ihat ia a very proper suggestion" re
piled the principal spokesman of our visit
ors, land it only remains for you to nau
the amount. What shall it be? Suppof
yon three gentlemen consult over the ma
ter in the other room and let us have yot
conclusion"
We did so. / had previously given I'll
matter of a retaining fee Il little though
With visions Of a possible $50 Ct was young
them.
"Tut, tut!' said Mr.. Ledyard, when
modestly made this suggestions: there
something great as we'll as mysterious abol
this matter; SO great that ! think we mu
not belittIe ourselves by asking too small
sun. We had better name $500 apiece.
they demur to that, ample room is left f
us to come down or to insist upon fuller i
formation"
So. with some little hesitation, we adopt.
his figures and went back to the out
room.
With some preliminary hens, clearing
the throat and suggestions rather tent
tiys in their nature, the $500 apiece W
named.
The visitor Immediately said, "A
right" wheeled around to the table. too
out q pocket checkbook. asked for pen NJ
ink, rapidly filled out a check on a N,
York bank for the 81, 500 and handed
to Us.
Why had we not asked for moro?
"Ihere, gentlemen, L trust that is pc
fsetly satisfactory. You shall have d