Note ii-23 — Chapter II · TRUTH IN LAW

General John H. Littlefield, in Success, February, 1901, p. 600; Lincolnics, 31. An interview, somewhat like these two, culled from the practice of the eminent Southern lawyer and statesman, Robert Toombs, is thus related by his biographer: “On one occasion he said to a client who had stated his case to him, ‘Yes, you can recover in this suit, but you ought not to do so. This is a case in which law and justice are on opposite sides.’ The client told him he would push the case, anyhow. ‘Then,’ replied Mr. Toombs, ‘you must hire some one else to assist you in your damned rascality.’ ” (Stovall, 18-19.) Another distinguished Southerner, Alexander H. Stephens, held equally conscientious opinions as to what constitutes a lawyer’s duty. These views, based on a long and honorable career, occupy a notable place in his Recollections. (See Stephens, 383-89.)