LAWYER’S SUICIDE

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 March 1926, Page 2

LAWYER’S SUICIDE

overcrowded profession. The tragedy of the clever yoiiilg barrister who took his life at Stoke NeivingtoUj following worry through having been unable to secure sufficient work, has drawn attention to the overcrowding of the legal profession m England;, ....... “The Bar is cijbwded to all unparalleled extent,” said .a well-known,bar-rister, in commenting on what he called “The Mirage of the Bar.” “I have no special knoweldge of this case, but some particulars disclosed at the inquest have a painful bearing upon the experience of the older members of the Bar. We are continually watching cases of young barristers who like the dead man, have started with a rush of work but have had to settle down after a short flutter into the steady and heartbreaking wait which is the normal lot of the barrister. “Modern conditions have immensely increased the strain of this experience. Tjie war introduced to the Iliiis of Court hundreds of ex-officdrS froin the Army who were assisted from the public funds to get ‘called’ to the Bar. Many of them have passed into the public service, but those who have remained in the profession are finding the greatest difficulty in keeping going.” The barrister continued: —“Not only does the competition become keener, but the glamour soon wears off, and the ..realisation that the necessary qualities are not possessed is a bitter experience. It is becoming increasingly clear that unless the. barrister has the making of an advocate he is out of place at the Bar. You have only to listen to some of the attempts in the courts to understand how past neglect, uncorrected by natural aptitude, is going to be responsible for a good deal of disappointment. “Further, changes are inevitable in the relations between two branches of the legal profession. The exclusion of solicitors from courts in which the right of audience is at present restricted to the Bar, is neither desired by the public nor approved by up-to-date requirements. “On the other hand, the enforced intervention of the solicitor between the lay client and counsel in numberless small cases on both the civil and criminal sides is unwarranted, and involves needless expense on the citizen which he cannot be expected to tolerate much longer. “These and other practical considerations make the choice of the Bar as a profession a greater lottery than ever, and this unfortunate case should make a good many aspirants pause.”