Who Stole My Client Away?

NZ Truth, Issue 1186, 23 August 1928, Page 7

Who Stole My Client Away?

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.) J^OT often does a lawyer attack the professional methods of his "legal friend," but when the Auckland, Maintenance Court was sitting last week under the benevolent jurisdiction of Magistrate Cutten, Lawyer Sullivan asked the indulgence of the bench to draw attention to a matter, of what, m his estimation, was an infringement of legal etiquette. ''-■-.' He had been handling an affiliation case, he said, for a certain young woman. At the request of counsel on the other side, Lawyer Newberry, there had been very many adjournments, but within the last few days his client had been on her way from the Far North to continue the action against the alleged father of her child. On. her way south, she had been approached by the cited defendant's parents, who had offere.d her £100 to settle the case out of court. On the advice of her counsel (Lawyer Sullivan), she had turned down the suggested compromise, and. asked for £200 to withdraw any claim she intended to make. On her arrival m Auckland — or shortly after — the young woman had called at Lawyer Sullivan's office and asked that all the papers m connection with her case midht be handed, to counsel for the other side. Lawyer Newberry. Such a proceeding, continued Lawyer Sullivan, who had repeatedly asked Lawyer Newberry not to interrupt him — and had commented: "You are an impossible man!"— was not conduct worthy of the legal profession; for that reason he .desired to draw the court's attention to it. Lawyer Newberry, m reply, contended that his; legal friend had not stated the facts correctly. The long and the short of his argument was that he had not attempted to take Lawyer Sullivan's client away from him and ha.d. not acted m an unprofessional manner. Having listened patiently, Magistrate Cutten. said there waa nothing h» could do, «Bth»paßewq[S not pcfpro the opuxt, .