English Lawyers

A barrister s fees ai-e sinall, and they are always paid in advance, and the aum is recordad under the title of the brief. A frieud who has alarge practice showed me his feebook yesterday. The largest item was 38 guineas, which is less than 200. The average was about $50. Fres are regulated by the benchers of the inn according to the service performed, and no contingent fees are allowed. A barrister may accept a case íor uothing or return the fee in cases of charity, but he caunot without violatiug his oath, direetly or indirectly, accept any greater compensation for a legal service than is allowed in the regular schpdnle flxed by the benchers of his inn. If he does so, he is debarred froni practice. It is a commoii custom in America for a lawyer to undertake a suit for the recovery of damages or a claim of any kind with a contract that he shall receiveacertain percentage of theamount of money recovered. Iu England such an act wonld be considered disreputable, and any barrister fonnd guilty would be expelled from his inn. The fees are regulated by the amount of time and labor required, and not by the amount of money involved. A barrister may receive a fee of $250 in a case involving only $500, and he may receiva a fee of $25 in a case involving $1,000,000. All legal business originates with solicitors. They bring to the barrister's office a case all prepared after certain forms and written in manuscript. The British courts do uot permit typewriting. The solicitor requests the barrister to nndertake the case, and the fee is marked plainly upon the brief. If the barrister does uot care to undertake the labor for the amount of money allowed or for auy other reason, he advises the solicitor to go elsewhere. If he accepts the responsibility, the solicitor leaves the amount of the fee in coin with the brief, so that the barrister has his pay in advance. This is the almost invariable custom. The only exceptions are in cases of close friendship betweeu the solicitors and barristers and where there is a large amount of litigation in which both are involved. Then it is customary for the barrister to make up his bill at the end of the month or the end of the quarter, bnt the fee in each case must nevertheless be written npon the brief and recorded in the books of the court. It is customary, also, for the solicitor to leave a fee for the barrister's clerk at the same time, which must be a certain percentage of that paid to the barrister. When you dine at a hotel or a restaurant in England, it is customary to tip the waiter an amount equal to 5 per cent of your bill for the same reason. The waiter receives no compensation from his employer, nor does the barrister's clerk. His pay comes entirely from the clients, and if his principal has no clients he gets no pay. On the other hand, if his principal has a very large and profitable practice his fees are enormous. They say that the olerk of Sii Charles Russell lives in a handsome villa down in the suburbs, is driven to and from his office in a brougham and hires a box at the opera for the