The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-12

1 There are numerous instances everywhs e | of lawyers who are fine theorists and | doctrinaires who are in a starving con- | dition simply because they are not busi- ne js men.
 several other requisites. He must bs more than commo lily quick in his ment Il perceptions and operations, and as ready
 in speech as he Is quick in thought. He must possess confidence in himself, an air of assurance and boldness, a natural tact and generalship, aggressiveness an } a bulldog tenactty. On the other han ], he must have himself under control. A nervous, excitable and irascible lawyer will always lose his case before judge or jury. A good court lawyer will get his antagonist rattled and keep cool him. self.
 The most important qualification of all for a lawyer is one which If he does not possess 1t naturally he can never acquire, and that is the faculty of get ting business. The most important diff own prosperity is concerned, is the abjl- ity of some and the inability of others 10 attract clients. For those who cannot get business. however great their talent and learning, are apt to become the servants of the other class, however incompetent
 "No one has ever been able to analyze perfectly the characteristics in lawyer which inspire confidence and attract clients. But they manifest themselves in any other walk of life as well as in the practice of law. If, therefore, a young man sees that he is not popular With his associates, that he makes no fast friends, that he has no leadership In him come to him for advice and lean on his judgment in the sphere in which he now lives, let him beware of the law.
 Inducements for Young Men.
 "I have been asked how far young man should be influenced to study law by the consider ation that he has family connections and friendships by means or which he will get business and the an swer must depend on the character or these connections. If some large firm or corporation which has a large amount or law business is going to keep him sup piled, that is proper inducement TOT him to become a lawyer. but tne nac. and who will introduce him into the prac. tice is a poor reliance. and the nope or sporadic patronage from a number or ln- be folly in any young man to adopt the profession because he has swarm or such friends.
 Tt Is not uncommon for a man who is a good office lawyer to be good court lawyer also but have been asked which is the. more important of the two and my opinion Is that 1t is more important to have the qualifications of good office yers than there are good office lawyers, but a good office lawyer Is necessarily pretty fair court lawyer and it must not be forgotten that the money Is made in the office. In important cases it Is not difficult for either an office lawyer or a court lawyer to ally himself with a lawyer of the other order of talent.
 Opportunities for Wealth.
 'In conclusion let me warn young men that no man should study law in the hope of getting rich by the practice: l any man rich. There are rich lawyers. but they get their riches in some other ways. Moreover, the man who has an ambition to be rich lacks the ambition to be a good lawyer. without which he will not succeed. Least of all should anyone enter the profession with disho T. est purposes or even with dishonest nature. The law is the science of justice and right and the shyster will soon dis cover that he is a misfit and failure.
 Now. what is my advice to a young man who is thinking of studying law? The greater part of those who study law take it up as an accomplishment to aio them in the pursuit of some other line of business. This Is an eminently wise thing to do, and of course no young man should be discouraged from doing it. But to those who are thinking or studying law with a view to practici 1g it for a living, I would sound a warn ing. @Unless some great establishment ia going to keep them supplied with busi- ness, or unless thev have In an extraor- dinary degree the qualifications which I have named, it will be folly for them to study law.
 Tt has come to pass in our day, know not how, that the amount of busl- ness a lawyer gets depends less on his ability as a lawyer than on accidental connections and advantages. Unless n young man poss esses some advantaFss of this kind, or else the most shining and exceptional gifts, let him not co1i- init the folly of choosing the legal prof sSA sion as a means of making living"