Milford chronicle., 1931-10-30
PENNEWILL CITES
BARS IDEALS TO
new LAWYERS
CCOnfinued from First PageI

, law firm of Marvel, MOrfOrd, Ware
and Marvel, Wilmington.
After the nine were sworn in by
a court officer Chief Justice Penne-
will explained that yours will be
the first admissions to the bar OF
this State under the new rules OF
court recently adopted. Heretofore
applications have been made to the
Superior Court of each county and
the proceedings have heen very in
formal. Under the new rules, appli-
cations will be made to the Supreme
Court sitting in Dover, and the
judges think, in view of the impOr-
tance of the event to the applicant,
the bar and the State it should not
be so perfunctory as it has been in
the past.
1T has occurred to the chancellor
that those who have shown them
selves qualified to become members
of the bar and are seeking admis-
sion, should receive from the bench
some words of counsel respecting
their privileges, rights and duties
| as members of the profession. This
| thought is heartily cOncurred in by
| the other judges and | have been
| asked by the chancellor to address
you for a short time aOng the lines
indicated. 1t did seem that the mes
sage should come from the chancel-
lor, our presiding judge, but he
thought otherwise. Perhaps | have
been assigned to perform this duty
because of my long service on the
bench At any rate l have been as
signed the task and it is my duty to
perform it as best | can an4 son,
you see that even on the bench
there is not entire independence be-
cause each member must respond to
the proper authority.
But let me get away from gener-
alities and speak for a little while
about some practical things. One of
such things that should be empha-
sized is the Importance, yes the ne
cessity, of treating trust funds as
sacred. Make it an infleXible rule in
your professional life never to use
your clients money as your own,
even temporarily. No doubt the
temptation to so use them is strong
in times of financial stress, when
business is slow and demands are
pressing; and it is always the in
tentiOn to replace the money in
short time. But the act is danger
GUS and never eXcusable, and l want
to tell you the serious troubles and
complaints that have come to the
court respecting unprOfessiOnal con-
duct on the part of attorneys, have
resulted almost entirely from such
acts. The duty of the court in such
cases is painful, and the act ruin
GUS to the attorney. We can give you
no better or more timely advice,
than this: Keep a bank account dis
tinct from your own for your eli
ents money, and any other funds
entrusted to your keeping. And let
there be no exception to such prac-
tice at any time for any cause.
Discusses Fees
"One more observation of an eX-
ceedingly practical nature. | know
that in the matter of fees the prac-
tice has changed somewhat in COM |
paratively recent times. Economic |
conditions are different, expenses |
0lO III OOAAAC NeAoNO NCA /
large amounts of money are involV-
ed, and competition is more severe !
than it used to be. But justice has |
not changed, and the moral code /
that should govern any mans acts |
remains the same. Now as always |
an attorneys charges should be
based on service honestly rendered |
and not on the clients ability to
pay. But so much depends upon the /
conscience in this regard that moth
ing more need be said Do not gain
the reputation of charging excessive
fees. Rather than that strive to
gain and deserve the reputation in
your community of being fair, just
and reasonable and you will have
acquired a professional asset of
much value. And this much more
may be said: Give your best services
to the poor and deserving man who
needs assistance even though you /
know you will receive no financial
compensation, there are other COM
pensations just as great.
Gives Three Essentials
''There are three things, at least
that are absolutely essential to sue
cess and they are industry, fairness
and good character. Without them,
or any of them, one must remain in
the crowd, he cannot hope to reach
the top. 1t is not necessary for me
to elaborate on the Importance of i'm
dustry and good character. You
know perfectly well what is meant
and it would be trite for me to tell
you.
But l may enlarge little on the
word fairness. By it is meant that
you should always be just and cour-
teous to ether attorneys, to the
Court and your clients. Do not at {
Tempt to deceive or mislead anyone,
even in matters seemingly unimpOr- s
-ant, in order to gain an advantage; {
and never misrepresent to your eli {
ent the service you were required to
render. If someone comes to you for i
advice about bringing a suit, and t
you become convinced that he has
no case tell him so frankly, and do 6
lOt hesitate to fail because of the I
thought that some other attorney
nay advise differently, obtain the
business and receive the fees that +
night have come to you. And re- s
this A fair settlement is
Usually much better than expensive :,
md doubtful litigation"