Memoir of John Howe Peyton: in sketches by his contemporaries, together with some of his public and private letters, etc., also a sketch of Ann M. Peyton
History
Memoir of John Howe Peyton: in sketches by his contemporaries, together with some of his public and private letters, etc., also a sketch of Ann M. Peyton
Peyton, Anne Montgomery, 1802-1850; Peyton, John Howe, 1778-1847
We have spoken of Mr. Peyton as a complete lawyer. Law as a practical
profession, has several departments, and it is not unusual to see a
lawyer distinguished in some of them, with a compensating deficiency in
others. Some practitioners are successful collectors; some are much
esteemed as judicious advisers in matters not strictly legal; some are
designated good judges of law, or, in other words, safe counselors, and
with some the _forte_ is, Common law practice, while others are
distinguished as Chancery lawyers. The organization of the courts in
Virginia, and the nature of the business, at least in the interior,
requires every lawyer to enter upon the whole of this miscellaneous
practice; and it is not to be wondered at, that some, even good lawyers,
are not equally strong in every part. Mr. Peyton knew every part of his
profession thoroughly. He had studied diligently as a student, and had
known the expectant struggles of the young practitioner; he had
practised under the old system before the reorganization of the
judiciary, and afterwards under the new; he had met in contest the
strongest men in each department of the profession, and he had made
himself a champion in all. We may add that some lawyers who exhibit the
highest skill in securing the rights of their clients, are foolishly
ignorant of their own; in other words they let slip the fair,
well-earned profits of their profession. Not so with Mr. Peyton. He knew
the value of his professional services, he gave them to the fullest
extent to those who applied for them, and then he insisted upon just
remuneration. We notice this point, not at random, but to present a
feature belonging to the character of the complete lawyer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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