WRITTEN LEGAL OPINIONS The fees for written legal opinions may range from ten dollars up to hundreds and thousands of dollars, according to the importance of the question involved, the amount of labor necessary, and the standing of the lawyer in the profession. FEES FOR EXAMINATION OF TITLE The charge for examination of title depends of course upon the amount of time necessary to make a proper examination. Lawyers employed by title companies and banks usually receive anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five dollars. a day for research work. The charge for examination of a title is usually based upon the number of days' labor involved. FEES FOR DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS The ordinary fees for divorce proceedings range anywhere from fifty to five hundred dollars, according to the difficulties encountered. § 117. AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED. The amount of money involved in litigation has also a material bearing upon the size of a lawyer's fee. Obviously a client could afford to pay more handsomely for a service if ten thousand dollars were to come to him as the result of it than he could pay for the same service if it resulted in a gain of only one thousand dollars. Whether money is coming in or going out is another matter to consider. A client who has won a large sum of money through the efforts of his lawyer is more inclined to be liberal than is a client who has been successfully defended in a suit involving the same amount. It is human nature to be more reluctant to pay out a sum of money already possessed than to share with another a sum that is to pass through the other's hands in coming into possession. In event of defeat, however large the amount involved and however ably the case may have been conducted, the lawyer cannot hope for a very liberal fee. To a client who has lost a large sum of money through the suit, it would seem like adding insult to injury for the lawyer to charge a considerable fee. § 118. WHETHER FEE IS CONTINGENT OR CER TAIN. If the case is taken on a contingency, so that the lawyer is rendering services without a certainty of ever being paid therefor, it is proper that he should receive a very liberal fee in the event of success. So long as contingent fees are confined to legitimate and proper bounds, they do not offend the ethics of the profession. In fact there seems to be a growing toleration of the practice, since it enables persons without financial resources to obtain redress in the courts through the efforts of able counsel. The subject has already been referred to in another connection.1 § 119. CASUAL OR REGULAR EMPLOYMENT. If the client has never employed the lawyer before, and there is no prospect that he will have other legal business in the future, it is justifiable to charge a larger fee than would be charged to a regular client. § 120. SHOULD A LAWYER SUE A CLIENT FOR A FEE. American Bar Association Canon of Ethics, Canon 14: "Controversies with clients concerning compensation are to be avoided by the lawyer so far as shall be compatible with his self-respect and his right to receive recompense for his services; and lawsuits with clients should be resorted to only to prevent injustice, imposition, or fraud." § 121. SUMMARY OF CHAPTER. In fixing the amount of a legal fee the lawyer should bear in mind that the profession of law is not a mere money-getting trade. The lawyer should not overestimate the value of services 1 See § 49. rendered. He should conscientiously keep faith with his client in respect to actual or implied agreements as to the size of the fee. The circumstances should govern the amount of a charge, hence, no fixed rule for charges can be laid down. The elements to be considered are the time and labor involved, the novelty of the question, whether taking the case will deprive the lawyer of other business, the customary charges of the profession, the amount of money involved, the contingency or certainty of fee, and whether the employment is for a casual or regular client. CHAPTER XIII GENERAL DUTIES SEC. 122. Should a Lawyer Take Acknowledgments over the SEC. 126. SEC. 127. Lawyer should Cultivate a Passion for his Profession. SEC. 131. Newspaper Advertising — Divorce. SEC. 132. Advertising - Newspaper Discussion. SEC. 136. Summary of Chapter. § 122. SHOULD A LAWYER TAKE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OVER THE TELEPHONE. It is customary for a lawyer to become, through special appointment by the Governor of the State in which he practices, an officer, commonly known as Justice of the Peace or Notary Public, with power to administer oaths and take formal acknowledgments of legal documents. The acknowledgment to which the lawyer certifies contains the affirmation "Then personally ap |