Occasional Papers and Addresses of an American Lawyer (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Occasional Papers and Addresses of an American Lawyer An interruption of professional activities is generally detrimental. There are so many competent lawyers that there is little difficulty in replacing those who forsake for politics their practice at the bar; and a lawyer who yields to the allurements of public life by accepting office generally finds that the political prestige he gains is of little practical use and that on returning to the law he must make new professional connections. In England the case is quite different and leaders of the bar may continue to practice their profession while they engage in parliamentary activities. To participate in partisan politics in a great city like New York, and, at the same time, build up and keep together a law practice, is most difficult. It is surprising how few men of real talent have performed the double role of lawyer and politician. This always becomes manifest when the state or federal appointing power seeks to fill vacancies on the bench. Lawyers of eminent qualifications for such positions are numerous, but to find those who are politically anything more than ciphers is most difficult. And yet it ought to be possible to maintain a first-rate position at the bar and at the same time acquire an influence in politics of sufficient importance to enable a lawyer to contribute something to the elevation of the tone of our public life. By training, environment and aptitude, lawyers are usually well equipped to engage in political activities, and if circumstances do not permit them to hold office, at least they may and ought to devote a substantial part of their time to the discharge of the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. Conspicuous examples show that this can be done without detriment to professional success. The career of Mr. Elihu Root is a striking illustration. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.