SHOWS ADVANTAGES OF LAW AS A PROFESSION

Mr. Storey is one of the most prominent lawyers in the country and has been at various times president of the American, Massachusetts, and Boston Bar Associations. Among his writings is a life of Charles Sumner, to whom he was private secretary from 1867-1869. Last year Mr. Storey delivered the Godkin series of lectures on the general subject, "Duties of the Citizen."

A great many men in Harvard College as they approach graduation are considering what profession they shall adopt, and upon a correct answer in each case depends a man's future. Some doubtless would like to know what the law offers.

It is not every man who is fitted to practice law. There are some whose tastes for other sorts of work are so clear that their careers are determined for them, but there are many on the other hand of widely differing gifts who will find in the legal profession all the opportunities they can ask. Any man who has a clear head, willingness to work hard, courage to meet men in controversy, and if possible an even temper, can make himself a lawyer. To it as to many other things applies the homely proverb "It's dogged that does it". Eloquence, a retentive memory, a quick wit, a sense of humor, a good voice and good presence all help, but men have succeeded in the law who had none of these advantages.

The law is a great profession and it offers greater and more varied opportunities perhaps than any other, opportunities of private usefulness, of public service, of distinction.

Law Regulates Business of Life

The Lawyer deals with the rules by which the world is governed. The members of the community live in a network of regulations without realizing how many there are. Some are old customs which have become the law by the habits of the community and are found in the decisions of courts. Others are new laws passed by legislatures to meet exigencies as they arise, of which the crop is unfailing. The man who lives among others, no matter in what business he is engaged, has constant occasion to inquire what are his rights and what are his obligations to his fellow-citizens, what are the rules which the community has established to control his action, and what will happen to him if he breaks them. The automobilist needs to know what the law requires of him. The farmer who is selling fruit or vegetables must learn how his apples must be graded. The young man who is to be married must find out what licenses he needs. Birth, death and every step between is regulated by law, and the lawyer is the man whose duty it is to know what the law is, and to stand ready whenever difficulties arise to advise his fellow-citizens as to their rights and their duties.

Good Lawyer Acts as Peacemaker

He is often charged with being a fomenter of disputes because a law suit gives him business and enables him to earn money, but the good lawyer is a peace-maker. Men come to him inflamed with passion, feeling that their rights have been trampled upon and that they must have what belongs to them at the expense perhaps of long litigation. The lawyer in the first place is a buffer, because after he has heard the story he tells them of the various steps that must be taken to assert their rights and the length of time required for each, and he makes them understand that whatever the outcome of the litigation may be, the end is not likely to be reached for some years, the result is doubtful and the expense certain. He may be obliged to tell them also that their view of their rights is exaggerated, and that they have not been wronged to the extent that they have imagined. Wrath has time to cool, common sense regains its sway, and if the outside is represented by a good lawyer the two together can adjust the dispute and save their clients time, strength and money.

Stands High in Community

A lawyer in any community who is a man of high character gradually commands and retains the confidence of his neighbors. They turn to him in their difficulties, his wise counsels smooth over many difficult places, and there is no one in the town or city that can guide his fellow-men in times of trouble more effectually than the lawyer. In these ways he is a most useful citizen, the guide, philosopher and friend of his neighbors.

In the next place a man, whose function it is to advise, lives among others whose daily lives are spent in various active pursuits which perhaps take all their days and fill their minds with one subject so that their horizons are limited. If any public question arises in the town men are apt to turn to the lawyer as a person of trained mind, wider view and better able than most men to control his time. Therefore he finds a place on the local committees, in clubs, churches and other organizations. He is chosen to town office or is sent to the legislature or to Congress, or he is called to some executive position. The door from legal into political life always swings easily open, and hence in state or nation the lawyer is more often found in high office than men from any other walk in life.

Natural Leader for Government

If laws are to be framed which is the work of the legislature, the lawyer who knows what laws have been and how they have been interpreted, what questions arise under them and how important is accuracy of language, is naturally the man who is asked to frame them. If speeches are to be made the lawyer is more in the habit of public speaking than most men, and is therefore the person to express the views of his neighbors. Hence in political campaigns the speakers are largely lawyers, and in that way they exercise a great influence in politics. Out of twenty-eight presidents of the United States some twenty-two have been lawyers, and governors, cabinet officers, foreign ambassadors, senators and representatives are taken from that profession in a very large proportion of instances.

Again the trained lawyer is often called to lead great corporations or business enterprises, and in this way great opportunities are open. Judge Gary, the head of the United States Steel Corporation, and Mr. Lovett, the president of the Union Pacific Railway, are conspicuous examples. Therefore if we are considering in what walk of life a man can exercise the greatest influence, acquire power most easily, or attain high place, the law offers ample opportunities for all these.

But if opportunities for distinction are disregarded and a man determines to give his life to his profession and not to be diverted from it by other calls, practice itself is full of interest. The lawyer meets men as they are in every station of life. A doctor sees men when they are ill; a clergyman when they are putting their best foot foremost and trying to seem good. A lawyer sees them at their worst as well as at their best. As an old lawyer once said, "The business of a lawyer is to keeps the fools out of the hands of knaves", and in the effort one sees much knavery and much folly. That gaudium certaminis which we all seek in athletic contests and in games like chess and whist the lawyer finds in daily life. The successful cross-examination of a witness, the sudden and surprising turn which a case may take, the quick retort, the eloquent argument,--all these are interesting as they occur from day to day, the victories when they come, the unmerited defeats, lend a constant zest to life and are pleasant to remember, for even of defeats the lawyer finds the prophecy true "Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit."

Opportunities for Social Life

The law is a social profession. No lawyer can practice long without having his weaknesses and defects pointed out to him with unsparing accuracy by some opponent, and in this way he learns how to deal with men. His life is one long training, and bitter as the conflicts in courts may seem to be, the relations between the members of the profession are as a rule cordial, and grow more so with years.

The education of a lawyer takes time, but so does a proper education for any other profession. The young man who takes a good rank in college and at the law school is pretty sure on graduation to find a place which immediately affords him some income, and if he begins well and shows ability in his profession he rises rapidly. There is always a place in the world for any man who can do anything well.

The only sure foundation of success in the law is character, and for character there is always a market. With that and industry one need not wait long for a livelihood, while to the brilliantly successful lawyer come large pecuniary rewards.

In a word the profession of law offers a man the opportunity for great usefulness wherever his lot is cast, for wide influence and for distinction in many ways, and he will find in it constant interest and what is more important, independence. In business a change in methods, a change in the control of a corporation, various disasters may wipe away the fortune accumulated by years of labor, and vicissitudes are common, while though a lawyer may not reap as large returns as are gained by bankers and merchants, the results of his labor are more uniform and more steady, and his life is always interesting and as independent as the lot of humanity will permit