So long as the courts continue to exist on their present plan the
difference between client and lawyer will be marked.

An example of a return to formalism and a reactionary development has
been the change in what is known as the Poor Man's Court of New York
City. It was originally planned as a court where the client or man
unlearned in the law could come in to sue in a simple way. They were
simple justice courts. The limit for which he could sue was $100, then
$250, then $500, now $1000. Formerly the judges need not be lawyers. A
trial was an informal affair. The judge would line up both the parties
at the rail. One side would tell their story, the other side would
interrupt and finally get a chance to tell theirs. The judge would
figuratively pat them on the head, decide the case, and tell them to
go home and be good.

The New York Legislature recently passed a law making the court a
court of record, and making all the provisions of the Code of Civil
Procedure applicable. The code with its half million words is
therefore a part of the procedure. So that the client now before he
goes into court without a lawyer ought to familiarize himself with the
code. Formerly these courts may not have been dignified. Pandemonium
would break loose and the litigants begin screaming at and abusing
each other. Often the judge was obliged to apply a somewhat arbitrary
and paternal rule. Now the courts are more dignified and formal, but
the clients are disappearing from view. They are in fact afraid to
come into court without a lawyer.

While the dignity and efficiency of the court have been increased, it
has almost ceased to be a court for the poor man; indeed the procedure
is so technical that, although possible, it is rather unusual for a