The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-16
One Lawyer Got S5O,OOO for Answering ''Yes" or 'NO"
 to Certain Question
BUT IT INVOLVED
 WORK OF LIFETIME
Another Got $2O,O ,OOO for Two Months Work But Utilized Knowledge of All of the Worlds
 Legal Lore
By HOLLAND

4
 it were not for the magnitude of the
 figures which represent the financing
 transacted by the company that is build
 ing the new subways in New York city
 and also the large emoluments which
 some of the lawyers received, little heed would be paid to the investigation by
 a legislative committee which is now in
 progress. The mere statement that the
 house of J. P. Morgan & Co received
 $5OO,000 for such services as it gave while
 this transaction was being financed
 caused a nasty judgment that these fig
 ures represent what used to be known
 as Thigh finance"
 The entire transaction, from the financ-
 ing point of view as well as from the engineering, is one of the largest ever
 undertaken in the United States. Some of the engineering problems worked out were very difficult, and one of them, which involved the discovery of the
 means by which could be erected upon which the elevated railway company
 could operate express trains and so erect
 ed as not to interfere with heavy traffic,
 is regarded by engineers as worthy to
 be ranked with some of the best achieve
 ments in modern engineering science. 1 In order to execute the contracts which
 the builders of the vast subway system made with the city, it was necessary that
 there should be agreement or negotia- tions with bankers who could command large capital. Apparently what the house
 of J. P. Morgan & Co. did was to in-
 sure the financing of a proposition which | inv l OO0. In other words this house under 1 took to provide the funds if it were nec- 1 essary to call upon the house to do that, and for such service in the nature of in- surance, fee or commission or what | ever it may be called of $500000 was paid. 1 In comparison with other transactions involving millions this fee was not, so far as the figures show, excessive
 | Surface, elevated and subway systems | in large city are from one point of | view the most difficult to operate. They meet constantly with difficulties which l the trunk lines and ordinary railway | lines do not experience. They are always in litigation brought by those who claim | that they have been injured physically | by the operation of the trains. Many of | these suits are brought by lawyers upon contingent fees, and the disposition of | juries to make large awards has taught \ the railway managers that it is expedi- ent to make, if possible, private settle ments. That is why these railroads not
 only in New York, but in other cities, find it necessary to retain good many 1 lawyers, seeking always lawyers who have ability to defend these suits. That 1 explains what upon superficial reading
 seems to be a greatly exaggerated al-
 lowance or payment to lawyers.
 l LARGE COUNSEL FEES
 i Francis Lynde Stetson, with character ! istic frankness, defends a fee of $50,000
 which he received in payment of his pro- longed and difficult legal work in draw ! ing up a certain mortgage bond for the company. The bond itself, If put into book form, would make a good-sized work.
 The fee is measured not merely by the ] actual work, but by the knowledge and 1 learning in the law which the drawing | up of it entailed. One of the most diff l ficult and at the same time unprecedent- | ed draftings of mortgage bond was 1 that which skillful lawyers performed at 1 the time the original subway system in | New York city was authorized by the l Legislature. It was a task which involved | all the skill the most profoundly learned l lawyers possessed. It was said at the l time that it was the most intricate in-
 strument of that kind ever drawn up in the United States, and it was in recog- milton of that fact that an unusually large fee was paid. Fees of $50O00 for 1 legal services, while uncommon, never theess have from time to time been paid. William M. Evarts was according to
 common report, the recipient of a fee of $50 GOO, although the service he performed was to answer categorically either yes lor no question put to him by men of capital who were contemplating invest
 ment aggregating millions in a certain proposition.
 MT. Evart's opinion was, according to common report, confined to single word i-whether that was yes or no does not matter. But in reaching that opinion, MT. Evarts delved into almost all de- partments of the law The opinion con centrated not only the experience of a lifetime in the practice of the law, but also comprehensive knowledge both of the common law and the statutory law. | lawyer who was called in by the re- ceivers of bankrupt firm of brokers to
 aid the receivers, if possible, in reorgan-
 izing and revitalizing the firm brought to that work the experience and knowl- edge of the law gained in many years parctice of his profession. This made it possible for him so to act that he was able to bring health and vigor back to the firm, restore it's credit and put it on it's feet doing that in less than two | months time And it was substantially upon the motion of the court itself that | he was awarded fee said to have been S200, 900, the court saying that the skill | and energy which were utilized by this l lawyer were so great that he was able to perform this service within a few weeks time, and that the shortness of the time | vas to be taken into consideration when