After a few years of such practise you will have acquired a
moral influence with court, jury, and people which will be, even from
a money point of view, the most valuable item in your equipment.
Public confidence is the young man's best asset. And you will be
surprised to find how little you will lose, in the way of fees, by
this course.
Of course there is a large class of cases in which the correct
application of the law is very doubtful, with lines of decisions on
both sides; as, for example, in cases of the distribution of funds of
an insolvent corporation, constitutional questions, and the relative
equities of conflicting interests. These are fair examples of
controversies where a lawyer may rightfully and righteously accept a
retainer upon any of half-a-dozen sides. But in the ordinary course of
practise perhaps it is better to stick to Horace Mann rather than to
Lord Brougham, and reject employment in a case you believe to be
wrong.
While the law is not a money-making profession, either in theory or
practise, the young lawyer should begin by charging every cent his
services are worth. It is not only degrading, but reveals a base
attitude of mind and character, to charge a little fee in the
beginning as a bait for a bigger one in future cases.
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