540 A T T O 
the party and receive his cognizance, and fhall take with 
him a knight or man of good tame. Barons of the exche¬ 
quer and juftices (hall not admit attornies, but in pleas 
that pals before them, and where they be alligned. Re- 
ferving to the chancelior his authority in admitting attor¬ 
nies, and to the chief juftices. ftat. 15 Edw. II. ftat. 1. 
In refpeft to the leveral courts, there are attornies at 
large, and attornies fpecial belonging to this or that court 
only. An attorney may be folicitor in other courts, by a 
fpecial retainer: one may be attorney on record, and ano¬ 
ther do the bufmefs ; and there are attornies who manage 
bufmefs out of the courts, &c. Stat.4. Hen. IV. c. 18, was 
enacted, that the juftices fhould examine attornies, and re¬ 
move the unfkilful ; and attornies fhall (wear to execute 
their offices truly, &c. and by ftat. 33. Hen. VI.c. 7, the 
number of attornies in Norfolk and Suffolk were limited. 
By 3Jac. I. c. 7, attornies, See. fhall not be allowed any 
fees laid out for counfel, or otherwife, unlefs they have 
tickets thereof (igned by them that receive-fuch fees ; and 
they (hall give in true bills to their clients of all the charges 
of lit its, under their hands, before the clients fhall be 
charged with the payment thereof. If they delay their 
clients fuit for gain, or demand more than their due fees 
and dilburfements, their clients fhall recover coifs and tre¬ 
ble damages ; and they (hall be for ever after difabled to 
be attornies. None (hall be admitted attornies in courts 
of record, but fuch as have been brought up in the laid 
courts, or are well praCtifed and (killed, and of an honeft 
difpolition ; and no attorney (hall fttffer any other to fol¬ 
low a fuit in his name, on pain of forfeiting 20I. to be di¬ 
vided between the king and the party grieved. This fta- 
tute, as to fees to counfel, doth not extend to matters 
tran(aided in inferior courts, but only to fuits in the courts 
of Weftmimfter Hall. Cart/!. 147. By the ftat. nGeo. 1 . 
c. 29, if any who hath been convicted of forgery, perjury, 
fubornation of perjury, or common barratry, (hall prac¬ 
tice as an attorney or folicitor in any fuit or action in any 
court, the judge where fuch action (hall be brought hath 
power to traniport the offender for (even years, by fuch 
ways and under fuch penalties as felons. 
The act 2 Geo. II. c. 23, ordains, that all attornies lhall 
be fworn, admitted, and inrolled, before allowed to fue 
out writs in the courts at Weftminifter ; and after the tirft 
of December 1730, none fhall be permitted to pratdife but 
fuch as have ferved a clerkfhip of five years to an attorney, 
and they fhall be examined, (worn, and admitted, in open 
court; and attornies lhall have no more than two clerks at 
one time, &c. Every writ and copy of any procefs ferved 
on a defendant, and alfo every warrant made out thereon, 
fhall be indorled with the name of the attorney by whom 
filed forth ; and no attornies or Collators (hall commence 
any aiStion for fees till a month after the delivery of their 
bills f'ubfcribed with their hands; alfo the parties charge¬ 
able may in the mean time get fuch bills taxed, and upon 
the taxation the (urn remaining due is to be paid in full of 
the faid bills, or in default the parties (hall be liable to 
attachment, &c. And the attorney is to pay the cofts of 
taxation, if the bill be reduced a lixtli part. A penalty 
of 50I. inflidfed, and difability to practife, for adting con¬ 
trary to this ftatute. 
By ftat. 6 Geo. II. c. 27, attornies of the courts at Weft, 
minder may practife in inferior courts. And by 12 Geo. 
II.c.13, attornies, ,&c. that act in any county-court, 
without being admitted according to the ftat. 2 Geo. 11 . c. 
23, lhall forfeit 20I. recoverable in the courts of record; 
and no attorney who is a prifoner in any prifon fhall fue 
out any writ, or profecute (hits ; if he doth, the proceed¬ 
ings (hall be void, and fuch attorney is to be ftruck off the 
roll. But (hits commenced before by them may be car¬ 
ried on. A quaker ferving a clerkfhip, and taking his 
folemn affirmation inftead of an oath, (hall be admitted an 
attorney. By (hit. 22 Geo. 11 . c. 46, perfons bound clerks to 
attornies or folicitors are to caufe affidavits to be made and 
tiled of the execution of the articles, names and places of 
abode of attorney or folicitor, and clerk, and none to be 
R N E Y. 
admitted till the affidavits be produced and read in court; 
no attorney having difeontinued bufmefs to take any clerk. 
Clerks are to ferve actually during the wdiole time, and 
make affidavits thereof. Perfons admitted fworn clerks in 
Chancery, or ferving a clerkfhip to fuch, may be admitted 
folicitors. By the ftat. 23 Geo. II. c. 26, any perf'on duly 
admitted a folicitor, may be admitted an attorney, with¬ 
out any fee for the oath, or any (tamp to be imprefled on 
the parchment, whereon hisadmiffion fhall be written, in 
the fame manner as by ftat. 2 Geo. If. c. 23. § 20, attornies 
may be admitted folicitors. By ftat. 25 Geo. III. c. 80, 
every admitted attorney, folicitor, notary, proftor, agent, 
or procurator, fhall annually take out a ftamped certificate 
(with a 5I. ftantp if within the bills of mortality, and'jl. 
if elfewhere), from the coufts in which they practife, on 
penalty of 50I. 
Attornies of courts, See. (hall not receive or procure 
any blank warrant for arrefts from any fherift, without 
writ firlt delivered, on pain of fevere punifhment, expul- 
fion, &c. And no attorney (hall make out a writ with a 
claufe ac etiam bill/z, Sec. where fpecial bail is not required 
by law. Pafch. 15 Car. II. Aftion upon the cafe lies for a 
client againft his attorney, if he appear for him without 
a warrant; or if ke plead a plea for him, for which he 
hath not his warrant. 1 Lill. Abr. 140. But if an attorney 
appear without a warrant, and judgment is had againft 
his client, the judgment fhall (land, if the attorney be re- 
fponllble: contra, if theattorney be not refponlible. 1 Salk. 88. 
Aftion lies againft an attorney for l'uffering judgment 
againft his client by nil (licit, when he had given him a 
warrant to plead the general iffue : this is underftood 
where it is done by covin. 1 Danv.Abr. 185. If an attor¬ 
ney makes default in a plea of land, by which the party 
lofes his land, he many have a writ of deceipt againft the 
the attorney and recover all in damages. An attorney 
owes to his client fecrecy and diligence, as well as fidelity ; 
and if he take reward on the other (ide, or caufe an attor¬ 
ney to appear and confefs the action, See. lie may be pu- 
nifhed. Hob. 9. But action lies not againft an attorney re¬ 
tained in a fuit, though he knows the plantiff hath no 
caufe of aCtion ; he only acting as a fervant in the way of 
his profeffion. 4 Infl. 117. 1 Mod. 209. Though, where an 
attorney or folicitor is found guilty of a grofs neglect, the 
court of Chancery has in Come cales ordered him to pay 
the cofts. 1 P. Wins. 593. He who is attorney at one time, 
is attorney at all times, pending the plea. 1 Danv. 609. 
And the plantiff or defendant may not change his attorney, 
while the fuit is depending, without leave of the court, 
which would reflect on the credit of attornies ; nor until 
his fees are paid. Mich. 1 \Car. A caufe is to proceed not- 
withftandingthe death of an attorney therein ; and not be de¬ 
layed on that account. For, if an attorney dieth, the plain¬ 
tiff or defendant may be required to make a new attorney. 
Attornies are liable to be punifhed in a fummary way, 
either by attachment, or having their names ftruck out of 
the roll for ill practice, attended with fraud and corrup¬ 
tion, and committed againft the obvious rules of jultice 
and common honelty ; but the court will not eafily be pre¬ 
vailed on to proceed in this manner, if it appears, that the 
matter complained of was rather owing to neglect or ac¬ 
cident than defign ; or if the party injured has other reme¬ 
dy by act of parliament, or action at law. 12 Mod. 251, 
318,440,583,637. If an attorney, defendant in aCtion, 
does not appear in due time, plaintiff may figna forejudger, 
which enables him to (trike the defendant off the roll, and 
then he may be fued as a common perfon, ftat 2 Hen. IV. 
c. 8, and cannot be proceeded againft by bill. On making 
fatisfaCtion to the plantiff, an attorney fo forejudged may 
be reftored. See hnpey's InflrvclorClcricalisC. P. 521. Some¬ 
times attornies are ftruck off the roll on their own appli¬ 
cation, for the purpofe of being called to the bar, &c. and 
in this cafe they mult be dilbarred by their inn, before they 
are re-admitted attornies. Dovgl. 144. 
An attorney convidled of felony is to be ftruck oft the 
roll. Cowp. 826. They are alfo liable to be puniftied for 
3 bale 
