Louis H Koenig, former assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, committed suicide in the basement of his home Friday, the result of worry and an unsettled mind due to an action to have him disbarred for "ambulance chasing".
He had made a name for himself as assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, and when he resigned and entered upon a private practice he employed solicitors to secure cases. It was a common practice until and including 1928. Perhaps it was unethical. We are not here to argue that point. But seriously speaking it was an established custom that had prevailed not alone in Milwaukee, but throughout the state of Wisconsin. We can recall the early days when certain lawyers paid fees to undertakers and doctors for personal injury cases thrown their way. Business is this line flourished until the compensation law was enacted.
Mr Koenig was of a sensitive mind and when the charges were brought he surrendered without a fight, but broken in spirit and shunned by certain members of the legal fraternity, he was humiliated to a point where he finally took his life. It seems as though there was a better way to proceed, a more humane position to take. In Mr Koenig's case mild censure would have accomplished the same result and made him a valued member of the bar. Following the filing of charges and the surrender of his license Mr Koenig had a nervous breakdown. For more than two years he held up under the strain but the breaking point was reached Friday.
There is such a think as being charitable for we all have shortcomings and at one time or another make a false step. It is then that we need the guiding hand and the influence of a fraternity brother. Mr Koenig felt he was an outcast and he suffered more than anyone will ever realize. It is too late to apply the remedy in this case, but it is not too late to sow the seeds of charity and brotherly love, to be as forgiving as the Master.
We are reminded of the words of Jesus when he went unto the Mount of Oliver and said "He that is without sin among you let him first case a stone." (John VIII:7)
He had made a name for himself as assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, and when he resigned and entered upon a private practice he employed solicitors to secure cases. It was a common practice until and including 1928. Perhaps it was unethical. We are not here to argue that point. But seriously speaking it was an established custom that had prevailed not alone in Milwaukee, but throughout the state of Wisconsin. We can recall the early days when certain lawyers paid fees to undertakers and doctors for personal injury cases thrown their way. Business is this line flourished until the compensation law was enacted.
Mr Koenig was of a sensitive mind and when the charges were brought he surrendered without a fight, but broken in spirit and shunned by certain members of the legal fraternity, he was humiliated to a point where he finally took his life. It seems as though there was a better way to proceed, a more humane position to take. In Mr Koenig's case mild censure would have accomplished the same result and made him a valued member of the bar. Following the filing of charges and the surrender of his license Mr Koenig had a nervous breakdown. For more than two years he held up under the strain but the breaking point was reached Friday.
There is such a think as being charitable for we all have shortcomings and at one time or another make a false step. It is then that we need the guiding hand and the influence of a fraternity brother. Mr Koenig felt he was an outcast and he suffered more than anyone will ever realize. It is too late to apply the remedy in this case, but it is not too late to sow the seeds of charity and brotherly love, to be as forgiving as the Master.
We are reminded of the words of Jesus when he went unto the Mount of Oliver and said "He that is without sin among you let him first case a stone." (John VIII:7)
Louis H Koenig, former assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, committed suicide in the basement of his home Friday, the result of worry and an unsettled mind due to an action to have him disbarred for "ambulance chasing".
He had made a name for himself as assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, and when he resigned and entered upon a private practice he employed solicitors to secure cases. It was a common practice until and including 1928. Perhaps it was unethical. We are not here to argue that point. But seriously speaking it was an established custom that had prevailed not alone in Milwaukee, but throughout the state of Wisconsin. We can recall the early days when certain lawyers paid fees to undertakers and doctors for personal injury cases thrown their way. Business is this line flourished until the compensation law was enacted.
Mr Koenig was of a sensitive mind and when the charges were brought he surrendered without a fight, but broken in spirit and shunned by certain members of the legal fraternity, he was humiliated to a point where he finally took his life. It seems as though there was a better way to proceed, a more humane position to take. In Mr Koenig's case mild censure would have accomplished the same result and made him a valued member of the bar. Following the filing of charges and the surrender of his license Mr Koenig had a nervous breakdown. For more than two years he held up under the strain but the breaking point was reached Friday.
There is such a think as being charitable for we all have shortcomings and at one time or another make a false step. It is then that we need the guiding hand and the influence of a fraternity brother. Mr Koenig felt he was an outcast and he suffered more than anyone will ever realize. It is too late to apply the remedy in this case, but it is not too late to sow the seeds of charity and brotherly love, to be as forgiving as the Master.
We are reminded of the words of Jesus when he went unto the Mount of Oliver and said "He that is without sin among you let him first case a stone." (John VIII:7)
He had made a name for himself as assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, and when he resigned and entered upon a private practice he employed solicitors to secure cases. It was a common practice until and including 1928. Perhaps it was unethical. We are not here to argue that point. But seriously speaking it was an established custom that had prevailed not alone in Milwaukee, but throughout the state of Wisconsin. We can recall the early days when certain lawyers paid fees to undertakers and doctors for personal injury cases thrown their way. Business is this line flourished until the compensation law was enacted.
Mr Koenig was of a sensitive mind and when the charges were brought he surrendered without a fight, but broken in spirit and shunned by certain members of the legal fraternity, he was humiliated to a point where he finally took his life. It seems as though there was a better way to proceed, a more humane position to take. In Mr Koenig's case mild censure would have accomplished the same result and made him a valued member of the bar. Following the filing of charges and the surrender of his license Mr Koenig had a nervous breakdown. For more than two years he held up under the strain but the breaking point was reached Friday.
There is such a think as being charitable for we all have shortcomings and at one time or another make a false step. It is then that we need the guiding hand and the influence of a fraternity brother. Mr Koenig felt he was an outcast and he suffered more than anyone will ever realize. It is too late to apply the remedy in this case, but it is not too late to sow the seeds of charity and brotherly love, to be as forgiving as the Master.
We are reminded of the words of Jesus when he went unto the Mount of Oliver and said "He that is without sin among you let him first case a stone." (John VIII:7)
Family Members
Siblings
Children
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
