The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-01-24

no fear of your intimate success as a lawyer.
 Success as a lawyer is measur- ed,. not by money, not even pri- marily, by the number of cases you win, but by the character which you develop. A good, strong char acter, tried in the fires of exper- fence, marked by a fidelity to the principles of truth will not only make you an outstanding member of your profession but will result in more personal satisfaction and happiness than wealth or a mere reputation for brilliancy. Without such character, wealth and foren- sic success are mere dust and ashes.
 Practical Aspects Taken Up
 "Your oath concludes: with fl- delity, as well to the court as to your client; so help you God
 "So we find the thread of truth, sincerity and fidelity with which the oath starts running through to the end. It is surely the founda- ton of the whole matter.
 Coming now. to the practical as- poets of the practice of your pro- fession, the first difficulty which you will encounter will be the ap- plication of the theories with which you have been saturated to the &C., tual questions of fact and law with which you will now be confronted. Lawyers prepared in offices under the old system had much less diffi- culty here. No matter haw many moot courts you have attended, how many records of pleadings you have studied and prepared, you will find the atmosphere of the court strange. You will, however, find both the judges and the older members of the profession anxious to put you at your ease. A reasorl- able amount of experience in try ing cases of even of assisting or observing more experienced coun- sel will give you the feel of the court room. As this can be attain ed only by actual practice, I urge you to try your own cases as far as the interests of your clients per init. The habit of calling in trial counsel is growing and is, in my opinion, unfortunate. Nothing quite takes the place of actual personal experience in trying cases. This is true even if you intend to special ize in office practice. ...
 Duty to Public Also
 q noticed the other day that President Roosevelt again used the phrase new era After the new era. There is now, as there always come into being in 1929 I assumed that that phrase had been perma- nently discarded. There is no new rouay. hoe hoaY1 O nnw era. Ther eis now, as there always has been, the memorable applica- ton of old, tried principles and nat ural laws of differing states of fact. Lawyers. through the ages, have have been and should be leaders in seeing that this application is made to the best advantage of the par ticular generation involved.
 '"This is only another way of say ing that in addition to your duty to the court and to your clients you have a duty to the public. Public service is an honored tradi- tion of the bar. You will find law yers actively engaged, not only in politics, but in educational and welfare work.
 "You need human contact. You need acquaintances. You need the ability to deal as man to man in personal and business relationships as well as in legal matters. There is no way in which you can get the broader contacts which result from experience in handling every day affairs with other men and other lawyers better than by en- gazing in some form of public ser vice. The fact that this is a by- product of your efforts to serve your country, your state or your municipality does not render the experience less valuable"