The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-08-03

your authority
To do great right do a little wrong
And curb this cruel devil Of his will.
To which Portia. the fair young
Judge and explunder Of the law, re-
plies
1t must not be;
There is no power in Venice can
Alter decree established
Twill be recorded for a precedent
And many an error by the sane ok
ample
Will rush into the State.
Another object Of this association a.
declared IN It's constitution Is 30 up
hold and elevate the standard ~ honor |
integrity and courtesy in the legal pro-
fession When We were admitted - the |
bar and enr, led as practising attorneys,
we took an oath ID support the clnstitu- |
tion and 10 demean ourselves properly |
IN the office uf attorney What Il the |
meaning OF this obligation: II mems |
that we Will conduct ourselves with |
scrupullus fidelity and honor. II means
that we will observe oil the well es
tablished ethics Of the profession. We |
not only owe duty 20 the state and to |
the courts before which we are called |
O. practice but we are placed under |
special obligations 10 our clients IL Is |
great mistake - suppose that law
yer is bound % accept employment IN
every case that Is offered 10 him. lie Is
the keeper of his own professional con-
science and is no mans man. | Am
one Of those who believe that DR..
Paley uttered great libel upon the
legal profession when he wrote Of law-
yers that "nO promise % speak the
truth Is violated because none Is given
or understood to be given. Nor have
| ans sympathy with the sentiment ex-
pressed by Lord Brougham IN his de-
Tense u Queen Caroline that il is the
duty Of the advocate II need be 20 in
volve his country In confusion for his
clients protection. But / maintain
! that the obligations Of the attorney 70
his client ara Of the most delicate
/ character lie is made the depository
/ II the most important secrets involving
| fe, liberty, property, character, repu-
| tation. everything that his client Ids
most dear upon earth If he shouli be
willing TO digulge those secrets, he
would not only lose caste as q man but
he would be disbarred a. unworty Of
| association with honest and honorable
men The llw itself recognizes and
enforces this confidential relation be-
/ tween attorney and client. and Will not
permit il 70 be invaded OF violated un-
der any circumstances whatever. The
| sanction Of the law is thus superadded
| % the sacred tie o. honor In order that
| the attorney may be irreyocably bound
To- trfr "A raf
| from our client and thus become iden-
| tilted with him. we are bound by every
consideration Of duty and Of honor 10
| protect and defend his interests by all
legitimate methods 1t may be that in
/ doing so we will sometimes incur the
| displaasure Of the court In may be
! that We will sometimes encounter the
/ frowns Of the multitude, but neverthe-
| less we must assert the dignity, inde-
pendence and integrity of the bar, with
OFT which impartial justice can have no
existence whatever. Unswed by power,
unintimidated by threats and unsedu1ed
| by Establishments, we must remember
| that our clients cause has been entrust'
ed [ our keeping, that he has singled
as ont from all the world to stand be-
tween him and impending danger, and
we must be prepared to maintain and
defend his cause against all comers and
goers and at all hazards and to the last
extremity. Before dismissing this
branch Of the subject, permit me to say
| that it is our sacred aud imperative
| duty never 20 use, under any clrcum-
stances whatever. the money OF our
clients Il is far better to borrow from
anyone else than to borrow from our eli
ents, especially when they are not
aware Of the transaction We may not
intend to do anything wrong We may
honestly intend 10 account for the
money thus appropriated, but some
unforeseen emergency may arise
that may place it out OF our
power TO do so. Occasionally II
has happened that an attorney, by
yielding 60 temptation and by appropri'
ating to his own use his client money
has brought reproach upon an honorable
profession and subjected it to uufriendly
criticism. Amongst the Romans the
relation Of patron and client was re-
garded as 50 sacred that if either abused
It he became infamous and might be
.lain as sacreligious And Virgil has
assigned to the patron deceiving his
the other world, along with the parrl-
eide.
Having discussed to some extent the
aims and objects of this association, let
us consider briefly some Of the magnifi.
cent rewards that are held out to the
faithful votaries Of our noble profess
sion 1t must be conceded that the
number Of lawyers in this country who
accumulate great wealth by the legiti-
mate practice Of their profession is not
very large But while lawyers as a
class do not amass large fortunes, they
realize, as a general rule, comfortable
support from their labors and are en-
abled to meet ell reasonable demands
that are made upon them. To the honor
of the profession be it spoken, however,
that the upright, conscientious lawyer
does not consider that the only purpose
Of his existence is to put money in his
purse" He understands fully that
while money is not to be altogether de-
spised, there are some things in life
that money cannot buy. | hope 1t may
never be said of the Virginia lawyer
that in a sense never contemplated by
that author, the language OF Blackstone
| is still true: &" A fee is the highest and
most extensive interest that man can
have in feud." He would not ex-
change the good name which he bears
and the esteem Of honorable men which
he enjoys for all the jewels OF Golc0nda
or all the wealth Of the Indies. What
other class in the community enjoys to
a more unlimited extent the confidence
of their fellowmen? What other class
| ;s mora universally trusted and that too
without any security except the tradi-
tional honor and good faith OF the
profession? What other class exerts
a more potential influence for good in
all the diversified concerns and intri-
cate affairs Of human life? / am some
times inclined to believe with Lord
Erskine that more instructive lessons
are taught in courts of justice than
even the church is able to inculcate.
Morals, said he, come in the cold alb
stract from pulpits, but men smart
under them practically when the law
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