"It should be twenty thousand--at the least!" It is not my intention to give a history of the firm of Gottlieb & Quibble, but rather a general description of the work of any criminal law office.

Its object is precisely the same as that of the best offices where civil law is practised--that is, to make money out of the client.

But inasmuch as the client who seeks the aid of a criminal attorney is usually in dread of losing not merely money but liberty, reputation, and perhaps life as well, he is correspondingly ready to pay generously for any real or fancied service on the part of the lawyers.

Thus the fees of a criminal practitioner--when the client has any money--are ridiculously high, and he usually gets sooner or later all that the client has.
Indeed, there are three golden rules in the profession, of which the first has already been hinted at--namely, thoroughly terrify your client.

Second, find out how much money he has and where it is.