thing that others could devise for him, the parent replied:

"Oh, he does n't care what he does. He wants to make lots of money as quick as he can; that is all."

The parent was advised to consult with the son soberly and earnestly, and if this was the real reason for his decision to study law he should be advised to give up the idea and enter some congenial business in which the returns were more certain and less remote.

§ 110. THE LAWYER SHOULD NOT OVERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF SERVICES RENDERED.

It is perhaps natural for any man to overestimate the value of his own services. This is especially true of lawyers. It is often not a question with a lawyer what his services are actually worth, but what charge will his client pay. The fact is lost sight of that the client may pay a fee without protest and yet realize that he has been overcharged and resolve in his own mind that he will never be overcharged again by the same lawyer.

The client must be satisfied, if he is to return with future business or if he is to send other clients to the lawyer. There is no surer way of satisfying the client than to regulate the charge by the actual value of the services rendered.

Because the client is wealthy does not justify the lawyer in making a fifty-dollar charge where but twenty-five dollars would be charged ordinarily.

It is true that a lawyer's services cannot be accurately measured in dollars and cents, for the circumstances of the case render it different from every other case. The various considerations entering into the making of a charge for services will be considered hereafter, but the thing to be remembered by the lawyer through all his deliberations as to charges is: "What can I conscientiously, as a public servant, charge this client for the services I have rendered him?"

§ 111. ACTUAL OR IMPLIED AGREEMENT AS TO FEES.

If, before services are rendered, the lawyer has indiscreetly offered to perform the necessary services for a fixed sum, without really knowing the extent of the services to be required of him, the only honorable thing for him to do is to abide by his agreement, unless the client will voluntarily release him therefrom. If the client is willing to disregard the agreement and pay a reasonable fee for services rendered, well and good, but if he insists upon the agreement being lived up to, the lawyer's duty is fixed. He will be wiser another time.

Even though there be no definite agreement, there is still the possibility of an implied agreement, or of the client's honest misunderstanding of estimates made. Bearing in mind the fact that the lawyer should never allow a client to go from his office dissatisfied, or with a feeling that he has been wronged, if such a state of mind on the part of the client can be dispelled by reasonable concessions, the lawyer should ordinarily abide by the supposed agreement.

For example: A client who had engaged a lawyer to render a certain service earnestly requested an estimate of expenses. There was a court fee of thirty dollars to be paid. The lawyer explained this and then estimated the cost of services to be rendered, provided the case developed no unexpected difficulties. Through a misunderstanding, the client carried away the impression that the estimate of cost of services contained the court fee. Later he sent the lawyer the amount of the estimate, and the lawyer accepted it on account, paying the court fee from it.

When the case was closed the lawyer presented a bill for a balance, thirty dollars. The client of course disputed the claim. He had made a memorandum of the amount of the estimate upon leaving the lawyer's office, and felt certain that his version of the matter was the true one. The lawyer became convinced that the client

was honest in his belief and, rather than antagonize a desirable client, let the matter drop, assuring him, however, that his demand was just and honorable but was abandoned merely because of the misunderstanding.

§ 112. CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD GOVERN CHARGES. A lawyer's charges for services rendered should be fixed with a view to all the circumstances of the case. If his client is wealthy he can afford to pay liberally for services rendered, and charges may be made accordingly, but never in excess of their real value. If the client is in humble circumstances, charges should be made considerably less than would be made ordinarily. If the client is a proper object of charity, or is a widow or orphan of a deceased lawyer, services should be rendered gratuitously.

The personal element is therefore an ever present consideration in determining the size of a lawyer's fee. There are various other circumstances that may or may not be present in a given case, but which, being present, must be taken into account in determining the fee. Taken all in all, the question of an attorney's fee considered abstractly is a most baffling one.

A schedule of fees cannot be satisfactorily established because no two cases are exactly alike. It cannot justly be said that because the charge

for a trial that occupied less than one day is set at fifty dollars the same charge is adequate for all trials of no greater duration. Another trial of the same length may involve ten times the amount of money and have required far more extensive preparation for trial.

Neither can it be said that because the fee in a bankruptcy case was one hundred dollars, all bankruptcy cases should be handled for that figure, for the first case may have involved a small estate, and have been uncontested, while others concern larger estates and are hotly contested. So also, if the fee in a later case were five hundred dollars, it would be unjust to fix that as a standard, because uncontested cases would not demand so great a charge.

Thus it is that charges must be fixed in view of the circumstances of the particular case and at the discretion of the lawyer concerned. It would be equally unjust to the lawyer and to the public to establish inflexible standards of charges.

Let us consider then in detail the various circumstances that enter into the fixing of a legal fee.

§ 113. THE TIME AND LABOR INVOLVED.

The time required of a lawyer in which to effect an adjustment of a case always enters into consideration. Did the case require a day, a