True, some of the lawyers are free lancers, but
the majority have the sentiments and standards of their class. There
is a natural class antagonism between the client and the lawyer. The
client is afraid and mistrusts the lawyer; and the lawyer feels that
he must act for an unintelligent client who is ignorant and inexpert.
So long as the courts continue to exist on their present plan the
difference between client and lawyer will be marked.
An example of a return to formalism and a reactionary development has
been the change in what is known as the Poor Man's Court of New York
City. It was originally planned as a court where the client or man
unlearned in the law could come in to sue in a simple way. They were
simple justice courts. The limit for which he could sue was $100, then
$250, then $500, now $1000. Formerly the judges need not be lawyers. A
trial was an informal affair. The judge would line up both the parties
at the rail. One side would tell their story, the other side would
interrupt and finally get a chance to tell theirs. The judge would
figuratively pat them on the head, decide the case, and tell them to
go home and be good.
The New York Legislature recently passed a law making the court a
court of record, and making all the provisions of the Code of Civil
Procedure applicable.
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