11. Have you ever been a party to or otherwise involved in any legal proceeding? Have you ever testified in any legal proceeding? If so, state facts fully.

12. Give the names and addresses of the persons to whom you refer as to your character and state how long you have known

each.

13. State fully the various reasons for your desire to adopt the practice of the law as a profession.

14. State in a general way your plans for the future in the legal profession.

The answers to these questions, duly verified, together with the affidavits of practising attorneys as to the character of the applicant, are delivered to the Chairman of the committee, and then begins the preliminary investigation of the candidate's moral qualifications. If any questions are not fully answered, the applicant is notified and is required to supply the omission, and, of course, re-swear to his verification. Whenever an affidavit of an attorney, submitted in behalf of any applicant, is not definite as to facts or is otherwise unsatisfactory, the applicant is required to submit an additional affidavit or affidavits by the same or other attorneys. A very common fault of affidavits of sponsors is that they state conclusions without sufficient facts on which the conclusions are based. The committee is very insistent that the facts upon which an attorney bases his belief that the applicant is a person of good moral character shall be set forth. The committee must be apprised of facts sufficient to enable it to form its own conclusions upon that subject and will not accept the mere conclusions of others. It is required that one or more affidavits in behalf of each applicant shall be based on more than a mere office acquaintance between the sponsor and the applicant. The committee insists upon knowing something of the demeanor and habits of the applicant outside of business hours.

The published notice to applicants to file their papers, which has been mentioned, requests that affidavits of attorneys personally known to some member of the committee, be furnished. This is an additional safeguard which the committee requires, except in those cases where compliance is impossible. When such affidavits cannot be had, other precautions are adopted. Information is sought as to the standing and repute of the attorneys whose affidavits are offered, and frequently an affidavit 'or letter in behalf of the candidate from a teacher or minister, or some other

person of known integrity, having a personal acquaintance with the candidate, is required.

The applicant's answers to the questions frequently suggest matters for inquiry. The answer to question No. 11 as to what, if any, legal proceedings the candidate has been a party to, frequently requires further investigation. For example, if a judgment has been taken against the candidate in an action for debt, the committee inquires why the debt was not paid, whether an answer verified by the candidate was interposed, and what testimony, if any, he gave in the action. If the candidate's connection with any litigation is not satisfactorily explained, it is the usual practice to send for the attorney who represented the other side and obtain his version.

Certain questions, it will be observed, are designed to open for the committee avenues of inquiry and investigation. By question No. 7 the applicant is required to give a full list of the law offices in which he has studied or been employed. Question No. 10 requires him to state the names of all employers in occupations other than the law, and question No. 12 calls for the names and addresses of the persons to which the applicant refers as to his character. In all cases in which the character of the applicant appears to be at all doubtful, inquiries are made of the persons to whom he refers and of his former employers. The extent to which the investigation is carried depends, of course, upon the particular features of each case. But any suspicious circumstance leads to a searching inquiry. If the candidate presents a long list of employers, the committee seeks information of the occasion for such frequent changes of employment. The committee closely scrutinizes the professional environment and associations of the candidate. If he has been employed or has served an apprenticeship in a law office of bad or questionable repute, this fact counts against him, and while, of course, not necessarily discrediting his character, places a heavier burden of proof upon him and calls for searching inquiry and extra precautions.

In all cases it is recognized that there is no presumption in favor of the applicant. He has the burden of satisfying the committee of his moral qualifications. While there may be a legal presumption that all persons are of good character, it cannot properly be invoked in favor of a person seeking to exercise the

special privileges of an attorney at law. To recognize such a presumption would be almost as unwise as to substitute for a Bar examination the presumption that all persons know the law.

It is often desirable that a committee on character have at its call the assistance of certain other committees that will conduct investigations and submit reports in special cases. If, for example, a considerable number of candidates receive their training at a certain institution, a committee appointed by the faculty or alumni, to which can be referred inquiries concerning the former students of that institution, may be of valuable assistance. In the City of New York, Columbia University and the New York University Law School maintain such committees, and their services are frequently bespoken. A committee of the New York County Lawyers Association, upon request, also conducts investigations concerning candidates generally and submits reports of the facts ascertained.

Our committee also utilizes extensively the services of a special officer of the Appellate Division, who is assigned by the Court to this work. This officer, under the direction of the committee, locates witnesses whom it wishes to examine, and ascertains facts which it deems material in passing upon the moral qualifications of candidates. The committee has power to compel the attendance of witnesses before it, and no committee on character should be without that power.

A complaint is sometimes preferred against a candidate by an attorney or other person who knows of his pending application for admission to the Bar. One of the purposes of the published notice, which has been mentioned, is to apprise the profession and the public generally of the pending applications of candidates, so that anyone having knowledge of reasons why any candidate should be investigated or rejected may furnish the committee with the facts. Whenever a moral delinquency on the part of the candidate has been brought to the attention of the Committee, a thorough investigation is conducted.

The rule requiring that the committee be satisfied of the good moral character of the applicant is in no measure relaxed in the case of attorneys applying for admission on the ground of prior practice in sister states, as permitted by our rules. Affidavits as to good character must be furnished, and in addition the com

mittee usually addresses inquiries to attorneys of prominence in the state or city from which the applicant comes.

The investigations which have so far been described are properly termed preliminary. At a subsequent time the entire class of applicants is required to attend before the Committee on Character, assembled in its rooms in the Appellate Division Building. Of course, investigations and inquiries cannot be postponed until that time. The endeavor of the committee is to gather such information and make such investigations as it believes to be needful, prior to the meeting of the committee when the qualifications of candidates are finally passed upon. Manifestly this work could not be deferred until the committee assembles for the final meeting. By examining and correcting the papers of applicants and by making investigations of all doubtful cases in advance, the committee is able to know about what its labors at the final meeting will be. By this means probably a majority of the candidates, prior to that meeting, stand practically approved; others, perhaps, are in a more doubtful category and must be subjected to close examination upon appearing before the committee, while others, against whom charges have been made, must be tried upon the charges.

Applicants are advised by publication as to the day on which they are required to appear before the committee at the final meeting.

At this meeting the applicants are called before the committee, one at a time, in the order in which their names, according to alphabetical arrangement, appear, and questions bearing upon their qualifications are asked by the various members of the committee. A vote of the committee is taken on each applicant, and, of course, the majority controls.

In cases in which serious questions have arisen as to the applicant's moral character, witnesses are examined for and against the applicant, and he has the privilege of being represented by counsel. A person making charges against an applicant may also be represented by counsel. A hearing with all the formalities of a trial is had, and a decision reached as to the guilt or innocence of the applicant, by the committee sitting as triers of the facts. If actual wrongdoing on the part of the applicant be established, the nature of the offense together with any circumstances

in extenuation will determine whether the admission of the applicant will only be deferred during a period of probation, with leave to present another application to the committee at the expiration of the period, or whether admission will be unconditionally denied. Where witnesses are heard, the testimony and proceedings are taken down by a stenographer and a record made for the future reference of the committee and the courts. This meeting of the committee usually consumes more than a day and frequently two entire days.

The names of all applicants who have received the approval of the committee are so certified to the Appellate Division, and the names of those who have been rejected are also reported to that court with the reason for rejection in each instance. The findings of the committee are final and are never disturbed by the Court.

Before concluding, two thoughts occur to me which I believe should be kept prominently before the profession in all discussions of this problem:

The first is that no system or routine of procedure for ascertaining the moral qualifications of candidates can be productive of satisfactory results unless it be faithfully applied, and indeed be supplemented by earnest labors and discriminating insight of the committee on character. Any procedure that can be devised may be allowed to become a mere perfunctory usage that will promote only slightly the purposes intended to be accomplished. After all, the success of the work depends upon the committee.

The second thought is that no committee on character can adequately perform its labors except with the co-operation of the members of the legal profession. The natural inclination of the lawyer is to assist the young man in gaining admission. to the Bar, and not to place an obstacle in his path. Some lawyers appear to be wholly indifferent to the character of those who may be admitted to the Bar, and, in my experience, some are even reluctant to speak when questioned as to the shortcomings of a candidate. It is hardly necessary to say that such an attitude is indefensible. The duty that every lawyer owes to his profession and to the community demands that he frankly report any facts within his knowledge detrimental to the character of a per