The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-04-16
WOMEN AS CLIENTS.
a Course of study Which VIII Enable
Them to Understand Their Lawyers.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
The University of the City of New York
has law class for women. Prof. Isaac
Franklin Russell is its instructor. Women
who attend the course of forty-eight lee
receive certificate setting forth that they
have done SO. AS the possession of these
certificates confers no privileges whatever
on their possessOrs there may be a question
to the practical value of the course for
women who are not very likely ever TO
engage I'm active practice in the courts OF
In al address to the last set of grad
yates OF his course, the other evening,
Professor Russell answered this question.
He gave several reasons why women
should study law, and among them this
very cogent one: the study enables them
TO understand and appreciate the advice Of
Since men are supposed to be able to I'M
derstand and appreciate the advice OF coun-
sci, without first studying law themselves.
this hint that women are not able to do SO
without special education, is not compii-
mentary To the intuitive sex. But all law
yers who have women among their clients
will gladly own that If Professor Russell
and appreciate their lawyers he is capable
of doing q great work for the profession,
and will heartily wish that all their female
clients would attend his course or lectures.
For the woman client furnishes the most
difficult problem a lawyer has TO deal with.
she begins by trusting him entirely. with
out reason, and ends by suspecting him in
everything equally without reason. When
he tries his best TO fully explain to her the
required To execute she pretends to under
stand, without having the first glimmer of
comprehension of his meaning, and resents
any persistency in explanation as insulting
to her intelligence. BY and by she declares
that he never said a word about it,, that
he got her to sign It without explaining il
to her." She honestly feels that she has
been outrageously deceived and has no hes
itation i'm saying so to all her friends. She
never can be made TO understand that a
lawyers services enttle him to CompenSa-
ton i'm valuable cash If she is made an
administrators guardian and is
Quired TO give bonds she regards the re-
quirement as an insult which her counsel
could easily have spared her If he had rep
resented the matter properly TO 1.-The judge"
If she is left by her husbands will n life
interest in his estate no mortal power
convince her that she has not an induoita-
bic right to spend as much OF the principal
as seems essential for her comfort. She
knows that Dear John never meant that
| should suffer for the necessaries of life"
If she is a litigant she is so convinced of
the justice OF her cause that she is forced
To believe her unfortunate lawyer either
incompetent or rascally if matters are not
settled TO her complete satisfaction within
q week. She always wants her opponent
arrested, and considers 1t very strange"
that her wish cannot be gratified. She
thinks it an outrage that defendant should
have twenty days in which 10 answer her
complaint, and II he gets twenty days addi-
tional, he often does especially If he
gets it by consent" she knows that her
lawyer is betraying her interests She
never can understand why her lawyer is
not the deadly enemy of the other lawyer.
and If she sees the two men greet each
other in a friendly way her confidence IN
her counsel is wrecked forever.
These are only few of her pecullarities.
Every lawyer in large practice has suffered
ing law will enable women 70 appreciate
and understand the advice of heir 90 lusel
lawyers viii be the last TO question the Sc
fulness Of law classes for women.