Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1897-07-22
License to Practice Law.


Last winter the Legislature passed
a law providing that license to prac-
tiCo law in this State should be
granted under such rules and rcgula-
tions ~ the judges of the Court of
Appeals might prescribe. The Court,
FOR reasons doubtless satisfactory to
itself, has delegated TO others the
powers and duties thus delegated TO
it, and prcsCribCs, by its rules, that
every candidate for n license to prac-
tice law in this State shall, after a
two years course Of study, go before
the law professors at the State Uni
verSity and undergo an examination
similar to that required Of law stu
dents at the University applying for
diplomas.
We fully approve of the policy of
making these examinations rigid so
that there may be reasonably salts
factory test Of the applicants knowl-
edge of the law, and, if some means
could be devised by which to test the
integrity and other moral qualifica.
tions of the applicant, we would be
better pleased still, Unfortunately
we have at the bar of this State too
many shysters-ignOrant and dishon-
est lawyers sO.called, who are an i'm
position upon rather than an aid to
the people in securing proper adju-
dication Of their rights before the
courts. Such men disCredit the pro-
fession in the eyes of the people and
bring the whole legal fraternity into
dlsrepute. When, for instance, a
lawyer who, ii may he, is utterly in
solvent, collects his clients money
and fails to pay ii over to him, the
people will Censure the whole class
and denounce all lawyers as dishon-
est rascals. This is, of course, un-
just and unreasonable, but il is true,
nevertheless, and good men in the
profession must suffer for the ras.
Ne'ANS VI 'hSil ull"bIlilN dSSOCldleS
at the bar. There is not respecta-
BILE lawyer in the State who would
not rejoice to see all such men barred
out, for they are an incubus upon
rather than an honor to ole of the
most digniiicd and honorable pro-
fcssions known among men.
Whilst all this is true, we do not
think that unreasonable and unnec-
essary obstacles or hardships should
be thrown in the way of young men
applying for admission to the bar
The following from the Uav,e
County NewS shows how the rules
prescribed by the Court are regarded
by that journal:
such rule is not only hard
ship imposed on the poorer class of
young men in the State, but is a
downright outrage and imposition.
The best lawyers in this State never
saw the University nor ever met one
OF Its one-horsc lawyers who claim
10 be professors Of law there. 1t is
all right to adopt such rules and reyu-
latlons for the examination of appli-
cants for law license as will test the
legal qualifications of the applicant.
But why this turning everything to-
ward the State University? There
are hundreds of young men in the
state who are qualified for license
who are not able to take the law
course at the University. They are
not even able to pay travelling ex-
penses to the extreme part of the
State to be questioned by few theo-
retical lawyers who never had case
In Court. If all Of the young men
In the State who desire to enter the
legal profession are fortunate enough
10 be the sons Of such CORPORATION
lawyers asg get on the Supreme Bench,
this rule would not be such a hard.
ship. They have made enough to
enable them to send their sons to the
University or to Morgantown to be
examined"