Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-08-13
GOTHAM'S FAMOUS LAWYERS
Arc Lights of the Profession and
Where They Shine.
CONSPICUOUS FIGURES IN GROUP
Men who steer Corporation Craft
Around and Through Legal
Rnpids-AchievinE Fame
and Fortune.

/
world, assuring legal stature by the ac-
complishment and by the reward, are the
| legal magicians whose offices lie within a
stones throw Of the New York Stock eX-
change-the group Of corporation lawyers
who are popularity known as the trust
builders"
The most conspicuous figure OF this
| group is Francis Lynde Stetson, who Is
reputed to be the wealthest lawyer in the
| world According to well authenticated
reports. his fee for organizing the United
States Steel corporation was S50O000 This
was considered moderate in view of tho
/ fact that the securities whose legality he
guaranteed were worth sl.4OO,O 10000 In ad-
dition to his legal fees in the matter he
figured also as one of the underwriters Of
the syndicate, which cleared something like
! S4O.OOOOO0 He has reorganized many rail-
roads. notably the Northern Pacific and
the Southern railways; he has formed In
dustrial combinations almost without num-
| Der, corporations whose aggregate capitali-
! cation runs into billions of dollars Aside
! from all these vast enterprises he is the
special counsel Of a large number of inn
| portant concerns. 1t Is said In Wall street
| that Mr.. Stetson has never made mistake
in an important matter. He ranks as the
| greatest of the new school of business
lawyers-men who are experts first and
lawyers afterward. This does not mean,
however, that he is not a great lawyer. 1t
indicates that his business talent Is so re-
markable that 1t overshadows even his
recognized legal ability. 1t is the combina-
ton of the two that has brought him a
fortune that would have been impossible
TO man who was merely a lawyer.
Legal Genius of the Canal.
| 81 he h,,o In fo
William Nelson Cromwell His executive
and organizing talents are extraordinary.
The list of his achievements is long one.
| Some years ago he conducted the negotia-
| tons covering the transfer of the Panama
canal from the French owners to the
| United States This was a transaction in
| volving $40000,0o0, and Mr.. Cromwelrs fee
must have been very large. He was also
prominent in organizing the United States
| Steel corporation, the American Cotton Oil
company and the National Tube company.
He is especially noted as a constructor and
4 rebuilder. Probably he has reorganized
and resuscitated more sick corporations
| important enterprises that have gone to
| pieces through Recommendations any
other man in the world. This has earned
| him the title OF 1.-The physician of Wall
street" He is the director and counsel in
1
tons in America.
Senator Elihu Root is recognized as one
of the leaders of the American bar. Like
other eminent and highly paid practitioners
| his work has been constructive instead Of
| merely negative. When he was in the
! active practice Of his profession he is
| reputed to have had an income three times
as great as that of the president of the
| United States. II is said that Mr.. Roots
| fee for acting as counsel for James Hazen
Hyde during the Equitable Life Assurance
| society disturbance was at the rate OF 81, 900
day. He has been identified with much
| of the most important litigation before the
! New York bar. He was the leading counsel
for the estate in the famous contest that
grew out of the will of the late A. T.
| Stewart through the schemes OF alleged
Irish heirs; counsel in the Broadway Sur
face railroad litigation, the sugar trust con-
test the aqueduct litigation and other large
| legal affairs. AS secretary of state under
| President Roosevelt he dealt with many
| important questions bearing upon our rela-
tons in the orient, the Russo. Japanese war
and its termination, the situation in Cuba,
etc
| Big Insurance Deal.
Paul d. Cravath, although he has been
eminent as corporation lawyer for many
years, came into especial prominence
| through his connection with the transfer
OF the control of the Equitable to Thomas
F. Ryan several years ago. His annual
retainer from Mr.. Ryan is said to be
100000 a year. Mr.. Cravath's fame is local.
but his activities concern as many millions
of people as those Of some of the more
famous men of the profession.
Two of the greatest corporation lawyers
| OF all died raCpntlV
Samuel C. T. Dodd.
When Mr.. Dill resigned from the direc-
torate of more than a hundred corpora
| tons, few years before his death, to be-
come judge of the court of errors and
appeals in New Jersey, at a salary of
1900 year, he was a corporation attorney
in New York who commanded enormous
fees. He relinquished an income of 1900 600
year to accept the judicial position. He
was popularity known as the father Of the
trusts" on account of his having framed
the famous corporation law of the state
OF New Jersey One OF his most remark
able achievements was the settling Of the
Carnegie-Frick steel dispute when more
than quarter OF million dollars had al
ready been spent on lawyers. The fight
between these, two generals Of finance was
involving hundreds CT others Mr.. Dill
showed the disputants that the ten-million-
dollar property at stake would soon be
totally DESTROYED II the matter could not
be settled He also showed them how 1t
could be made worth more than ever by
a certain agreement. HIS plan was ac-
cepted and he was instructed to draft the
new corporation. which he did to the salts
faction OF all concerned. For this he is
said TO have received a fee Of 100000
Standard OIL Genius.
Samuel c. T. Dodd's most celebrated case
was the forming Of the Standard OIL COM
pany. This vast organization always has
been considered the most perfectly con-
structed legally of any of the great cor
porations. Had II not been for Mr.. Dodd' s
skill. doubtless II would not have reached
the huge proportions that 1t has attained.
He was its solicitor and was in charge of
all its litigation from the beginning up TO
the time Of his death a few years ago
Another New York lawyer was Mr..
Dodd's successor John G. MiIburn. As
the chief counsel for the Standard OIL COM
pany he has won much fame. Associated
with him in the companys legal depart
ment Is Mortimer F. Elliott. The annual
salaries Of these two great lawyers. whose
personality is little known IN the nuhItc