Evening star., 1924-03-09
Lawyers Straying Far Afield
From Proper Professional Lines

ton or party Or witness unless re-
| quired by the Justice of the cause
with which he is charged.
Seven-Not to encourage either the
| an action or proceeding from any
| motive OF passion or interest.
Eight--Never to reject, from any
consideration personal to himself, the
| cause OF the defenseless or oppressed.
X Il X II
1t will be observed by the lay mind
. that these duties embodied by virtue
OF law in the oath which a man takes
when admitted to the bar have OK
clusively to do with litigation, pro-
| posed or pending. Nothing else what
ever is involved. Drawing a contract
Is not discharging any of the duties
OF an attorney-at- law. He who draws
| contract Is a mere scrivener. The
work which he thus performs has
nothlng to DO with his duties as an
attorney. My personal opinion is
that II litigation should subsequently
arise over the terms and conditions
or a contract. a high sense of ethics
on the part Of the man who drew IL
would suggest that he should have
mourning to do with the litigation.
Yet, have heard of an alleged law
yer. one who is q lawyer If admission
to the bar spells being a lawyer, who
appeared before men whom he him
sell had appointed to office, and en-
deavored to procure an opinion favor
/, , able to his clients upon the state
ment that he himself had drawn the
statute which he was asking them to
construe, and that they ought to be
willing to accept his Interpretation of
it.
1 find that there has slowly per-
neated into the profession an idea
that anything that a man may do in
the business life of America, if he has
been admitted to the bar, constitutes
the practice of law, and that for his
conduct in any particular matter he
Is not to be called in question by the
court nor the general public. With
| this has come an idea that it is prac-
tice of the law to endeavor to per-
suade public officials to do or not to
do certain things. Moreover, it is
| called legal business to act as
broker in the procurement of con-
! tracts for a client. Recently my at
tention was called to a lawyer who
procured a contract for the transpor-
tation and delivery of certain articles
OF merchandise and received the usual
and ordinary fees which are paid to
brokers or commission merchants.
\ y y
Indeed, so far as the bar itself
/ is concerned or so far as the view
of the general public obtains, a law
yer nowadays can do almost anything
he pleases-seil stocks and bonds and
mortgages, negotiate the transfer of
a carload of bananas tif we have
any 'bananas), organize blue sky cor
porations. or seek concessions from
the general government. Lawyers
seem to be wandering up and down
the business and political avenues of
America with letters of marque and
reprisal in their pockets. OF course,
any real lawyer knows that none
| of this Is the practice of the law.
that none has anything to do with
the duties of an attorney, that these
activities are simply the by-products
of the public service and private in
fuence of men who have been ad-
| mitted to the bar.
Without laying claim to being a
| lawyer myself. l think l know the
duties of lawyer, and 1 have al
! ways been jealous of the reputati ion
of the American bar and anxious
that it should not be brought into
disrepute by the activities of some
who have been admitted to practice
My hope while writing this article
is that. the American people will be
enabled to understand the duties of
lawyer and refrain from throw
ing brick bats at the profession when
they observe the conduct of individ-
uals who have been admitted TO the
bar.
Copyright. 1924. by Twenty first Century