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CONDITIONS GOOD FOR STUDENTS OF LAW, RANSOM SAYS

Life of Small City Lawyers Praised by New York Lawyer as the "Ideal Life"; Admires Moot Court Work

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William L. Ransom, President of the American Bar Association, declared last night that conditions are better in New York City for law school graduates with good records and Law Review experience, and starting salaries are higher "than they ever have been within my knowledge.'

However Ransom pointed out that there "simply isn't enough legal work in any of our large cities to provide the $3000 income which I consider the minimum for a lawyer."

Grave Problem

Speaking in the Court Room of Landall Hall, the Bar Association chief said that one of the gravest problems that concerns, the American Bar today is the fact that much professional work is done by people who do not possess the necessary legal and ethical training for that work. This means a loss of contact, so necessary for the young lawyer.

The real backbone of the legal profession, Ransom declared, does not lie in New York or Boston or Washington. It is not in any of the larger metropolises, but in the smaller cities with a population of under 50,000. If there is anything worthwhile being developed in this country, it is being done in these smaller cities and towns, he said.

"The ideal life and the best opportunity for an American lawyer to realize that kind of life is in a small city of this size."

Practical Side

Ransom emphasized the practical side of law work, saying that the men who are running the employment in the bigger law firms are looking for graduates with practical viewpoints, and men who give the impression of maturity and resourcefulness.

"If I had my way I would compell every law professor to spend one year in five in a law office." The New York lawyer urged a discussion of the practical side. The Moot court work appeals especially to him, much more so than the Legal Aid Clinic work, operation of which was suspended on October 10 of last year.

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