The sun., 1897-03-14

with the Importance OF the facts and cir,p,,-
stances which, through Gorard's admissions r..
had got in evidence and without hcsi,a,ios
they rendered verdict for the defendant,
Another incident Is cited by our author i,,r.
tratc the extraordinary contrast between ,,o,.
two great lawyers. II appears that a yr,,,I,,,,s
Of wealth applied to O'Conor for advice os -
whether he had good cause OF action nrnins,, u,
certain person growing out OF business tr,,'
saction, the details OF which he ,pcri,oI
O'Conor gave his opinion to the effect Tim, ,t,
gentleman had no cause OF action. Tho la,,cr
nevertheless. told O'Conor that he drslrcl hi,,
to bring tho suit stating that h. was oui,.
willing to incur tho risk and take the con,o.
quonccs OF an adverse result. O'Cono,
explained that thoro was no po,sihl.
chance OF success, and therefore il ,,,,,,a
DO worse than useless to bring n AMI,
Tho client was unwilling TO act on this ,dyico
and seemed determined TO have his right q, ma
tion tested In the courts. Finally O'Conor Garv
refused to institute tho proposed suit tn.
client said: II you will not act for me- can vou
not name some lrst-class lawyer who win
O'Conor. in a vein OF sarcasm and irony, said.
II know OF mono such. unless 1t be Jamo, "
Gerard. advise you to apply to him" Tn,
client took O'Conor seriously and retained
Gerard, who brought tho suit as tho client ds
sired; and, strange as It may appear he. BY som.
means. actually pushed 1t to a successful result
VII.
Among the Now York lawyers OF Irish parent
age the most conspicuous in the period covered
by Mr.. Clinton's Rccollections were Charlie,
o'Conor and James T. Brady. Ho remarks that
tsnth al in hoin Il,
were wholly unlike in their chief characteristics,
and personal appearance. O'Conor was tall and
well proportoned. with little that was remark.
able In his general aspect, except that his coun.
tenance usually wore an extremely thoughtful
expression. Brady was short, rather small well
proportioned except his head which was very
large and out OF proportion TO the rest OF hl,
body. On account OF the great size of his head
Brady could only wear hat made especially for
him. ANY one who for the first time saw O'Conor
engaged In an argument or trial would Recognize
him as man OF decided ability and OF deep stu.
diousness, thoroughly prepared for the work hs
had In hand and wholly absorbed in his case
but otherwise not presenting very imposing
appearance. On the other hand. ono who first
saw Brady thus engaged would be struck with
his dignihed and commanding presence. and tho
Observers oyo would be at once riveted upon his
n
striking figure which would command attention
anywhere. His serene and captivating manner
would indicate extreme confidence in the merits
and success OF his case. OConor's manner. on
the contrary. would bctray anxiety as TO the re-
suit and n determination to do everything in a
lawyers power to achieve a victory for his
client. Their habits, also, In respect OF
preparation for trial presented an cxtraor-
dinary contrast. O'Conor spared no labor
in the preparation all the preliminary
work was performed or supervised by him, even
to the smallest detail. 1t seemed almos, impos.
sible that any other lawyer should prepare him.
self as thoroughly as he did with regard TO both
the law and the facts. Bradys habits were the re.
verse; ho went TO the very opposite extreme. In
the early part OF his professional career indeed,
he is said to have been quite studious After
ward. however. and especially during the last
twenty years Of his life (he died in 1868 when
81 years Of age). he made rs rule. no prepare
tion for trial. When consultations wcrs ap-
pointed for the lawyers on his side OF the case he
failed to attend them. But, on the morning
when the trial began. he promptly appeared In
court. AS soon the trial had started, he gave
close attention. He was quite likely TO learn for
the first time something about the side
no represented when the case was opened
TO the Jury by tho attorney or junior
counsel associated with him. After the trial
had progressed a little, he would grasp. as II by
intuition, the leading features and the turning
points OF the case; any one who did not know tn
the contrary would suppose that he had made as
much preparation as OConor before trial. As
Mr. Clinton puts 1t, oConor succeeded by reason
OF his almost superhuman assiduity in preparing
his case. James T. Brady succeeded In spite Of
his Incidence and lack OF preparation. OConor
was a good speaker; Brady was born oraoor.
In addresses to jurics and public assemblies the
one was powerful, the other was magnetic.
When O'Conor closed public address, the audi.
enco would applaud with considerable enthu.
siam. When Brady. on tho other hand, wound
up his speech, the entire audience would yell:
Go on! Go ont" and continue to yell so long
as there was the fnintest possibility that their
demands might be complied with. In large POI
litical meetings. when Brady was to speak, tho
managers would put him down as the last
speaker in order to hold the audience, for the
vast crowds assembled would wait TO hear
Brady II they had to remain all night He was
the pet and idol of tho bar as well as OF public
meetings.