The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-20
THE LAw-TRADE OR PROBES
SION?

Judge Edward Patterson, OF the
appellate division of the supreme court
of New York, has stirred up the legal
profession somewhat by a lecture he
recently delivered on the subject: The
Practical Lawyer" That which caused
the stir was the remark that the legal
profession is no longer a profession
but a trade. There is nothing in the
remark that should cause any stir or
wrath To call the law trade and not
a profession is to speak of it in what
would generally be thought an undigni-
fled if not unjustifiable term. Judge
Patterson's remark carried the idea
that it had degenerated. But after all,
it is more or less a question of names
Profession sounds much better than
trade and will generally be understood
to mean higher attachments and a
better tone in all things than trade.
But those who follow the law either as
a profession or as a trade do so gen
orally for the same purpose; gaining
livelihood. The law as a profession
still carries with it some idea of wigs
and gowns; the law as a trade could
never do this. The comments of Judge
Dillon on the remarks of Judge Patter-
son will be generally accepted as very
common sense-like and about covering
the case.
ITO some extent" says Judge Dillon,
''in certain portions of the country the
character of the profession, or, per-
haps, I should say, the conditions in
some places are such as to effect some
change in the character of the profess
sion. In former days-and in some
parts of the country at the present
time the same is true-the courts had
time to hear full and thorough argu-
ments, and before pronouncing final
judgment for subsequent elaboration.
1t will be seen that such conditions are
highly favorable to the intellectual de-
velopment of the bar.
Moreover, the judges, giving full
time for study and consideration, also
reach the best results. Judge and
lawyer interacting thus develop the
highest excellences of both. Unfortun-
ately, in the crowded commercial cen
tiers, and to considerable extent else
where, the volume of litigation is SO
maintained that the courts have to
limit the time, and often are more
anxious to despatch the docket than to
thoroughly hear the case. Under these
circumstances the lawyer has no in
ducement to make the best argument
ne is capable Of because the oppor-
tunity for delivering it is too brief and
precarious. And in this way, while l
do not think there is any deterioration
either in the intellectual or moral
qualifications of the bar or of the
Judges, yet some deterioration has re-
suited from the conditions which have
! sketched.
In addition to this there is a COM
mercial tendency in the larger centers
not favorable to the best professional
results Law in all it's departments is
an allied science. In great cities it is
more or less specialized. But the
really great lawyer is one who is con-
versant not only with admiralty and
with commercial and corporation law,
but who is also thoroughly grounded in
| the principles of Jurisprudence and in
all of its branches. He is thus en-
abled to view legal questions and
principles in the very best light which
| is reflected upon all subjects"
One thing that makes it appear as
though the law had to some extent be-
come a trade instead of being pro-
fession, is the fact that the number
who follow it has greatly increased, and
when any class ceases to be small and
more or less exclusive it seems to lose
caste. This has been the case to some
extent with the law as a profession
There are just as great judges and
lawyers today as ever there were, and
should occasion arise to bring them out
it would be so proven. Whether or not
the law is a trade or profession de-
ponds very much upon the individual