University of Nebraska College of Law - Yearbook (Lincoln, NE)

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the judge. Now, it was the judge's idea that a lawyer not only ought to have a reasonable knowledge of technical law, but that he ought to have some general information outside of the law as well. Therefore, he often asked questions upon matters wholly outside of matters legal. In this case, the judge leaned forward, toward the candidate, with savage mien, and shaking his head until his long hair was extended into the surrounding air, in stentorian tones pro- pounded the following: 'fMr. Candidate, where is the Amazon P If this particular candidate ever had any acquaintance with geog- raphy, the manner of the judge entirely frightened it out of him, and he promptly answered, In Africa. The subsequent career at the bar of this particular candidate shows that one may be an effi- cient lawyer and achieve high place at the bar, and still carry the impression that the Amazon is in Africa, for the committee did not by word or act indicate that the answer was wrong. Wliile in those days candidates for the bar were usually very ill-prepared and the examinations scarcely more than a farce, yet there were often exceptions to this general rule. There were am- bitious young men in those days who, in the absence of advantages furnished by a course of study in a college of law, yet mastered the elements of law under the guidance of some friendly practitioner, and were able to pass with credit the most rigid examination. How- ever, the fact that these examinations were usually nominal, and that candidates were seldom rejected, deprived students of those days of one of the stimulants to thorough work, and the busy law office is in many respects one of the worst places in which to pursue the systematic study of the law. fi' Oiling the Magna Charta 86

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EARLY BAR EXAMINATIGNS IN NEBRASKA BY PROFESSOR HENRY H. NVILSON 'Until a few years ago the district courts of this state had the power by law to admit candidates to practice. Often, these exami- nations were little more than formal, and, indeed, in some cases, there was no examination at all, but merely a report of the commit- tee recommending the admission of the candidate. It was quite the custom, at the opening of each term of court, for some lawyer who had a student in his ofice to move the appointment of a committee for the examination of candidates for admission to the bar. The court thereupon usually appointed the mover and two or three other members of the bar to hold the examination. Some of the judges took a very serious view of this proceeding, and ordered that the examination take place in open court, and that the ofhcial stenog- rapher take down the questions and answersg but, ordinarily, the judge paid no further attention to the matter, and upon the coming in of the report of the committee, admitted the candidate, if favor- ably recommended, without personally having any knowledge of the examination. Candidates were not infrequently admitted to practice who had never given any serious study to the law, or, indeed, to anything else. The chief feature of the examination was sometimes a dinner set up to the committee. Candidates were usually informed by their friends that they certainly would be asked for the rule in Shelley's case. So the can- didate was always prepared to give the rule in the abstract whether he understood its meaning or not. In order to ascertain whether the candidate really understood the rule in Shelley's case, a member of the examining committee once put to the candidate a question involving a concrete illustration of the rule. The committeeman asked the following question: Mr. Candidate: If A were the owner of a farm and he should convey it to B for B's life, then to C for Cys life, with the remainder over to the heirs of B, what estate would C take under the rule in Shelley's case? The candidate, wholly unconscious of his wit, blandly answered, Real estate. At another time, the late Chief justice Oliver P. Mason was a member of the examining committee. After the younger members of the committee had plied the candidates with a large number of questions on the law, he was turned over to the tender mercies of 85

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A 'WORD OF ADVICE BY PROFESSOR GEORGE D. AYERS It goes without saying that a professor will wish his students, about to enter upon the practice of the law, the greatest possible success, and will advise them to keep their studies always in mind. There are other things, however, trite and commonplace, if you will have them so, that ought to be said-things, perhaps, that can be said more effectually now than at any other time. Some of these things have been set down herein-not as matters about which infor- mation is sought and given, but as points upon rules of life and conf duct which all know, and, knowing which, should try never to forget. Primarily the law is not a business but a profession, and every lawyer is the sworn officer of the court, as well as the attorney. solicitor, and counsel of his client. Besides these relations, he occu- pies one towards all other lawyers. Since they all must be admitted to the bar and take their official oath-which is not a mere form- before they can practice, they belong to a quasi-fraternity, and are, as it were, brethren of the same order. From these facts it follows that every lawyer, as a lawyer, owes obligations to his brother law- yers as well as to his clients-obligations also to the court and through as well as outside of the court to his state and country. A lawyer never should forget that he belongs to a profession of gentlemen. All men ought to be gentlemen. A lawyer should take the strictest pains never to be otherwise-a true knight, faith- ful, painstaking, patient, courteous, and yet firm with his clients: just and honorable in his dealings with counsel and attorneys of clients opposed to his own, careful not to infringe on the rights of the court and to give it due deference, honor and respect and be as prompt to defend and protect the laws of his state and country as he is quick to see that his client obtains all that law, justice, good faith, and honorable dealing require. A lawyer always should bear in mind that not only is he his client's attorney,-his agent before the court and otherwise, to rep- resent him in his just desires and in his endeavor to secure his rights, but also-what is far more important-that he is his client's counsel. He is not merely an attorney. He is a counselor at law. As such, it is his duty, not merely to advise his client as to his legal rights, but also never to forget that his client owes legal duties. No 87