champerty

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“
The lawyers usually contrived to get their money by exacting retainers in advance, and the practice of champerty was common, whereby the lawyer did his work in consideration of a percentage on the sum which was at last forcibly collected.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun A sharing in the proceeds of a lawsuit by an outside party who has promoted the litigation.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (12)

  • The Ohio Supreme Court held that deals like the one I described above violate Ohio's public policy against "champerty and maintenance." —  FindLaw Writ - Recent Articles
  • "Maintenance" is the officious intermeddling by a stranger into a private lawsuit, and "champerty" is the pursuit of maintenance for profit. —  FindLaw Writ - Recent Articles
  • In England, contingent fees are held to be clearly within the statutes of champerty and maintenance. —  An Essay on Professional Ethics Second Edition
  • "Andersen," said I, moving up to the group, "did you ever hear of such things as champerty and maintenance? —  Heart's Desire
  • Unforatunately, every lawyer trained since then seems to use that period to justify champerty and barratry. —  The Volokh Conspiracy
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English champartie, from Old French champart, the lord's share of the tenant's crop, from Medieval Latin campars, campīpars : Latin campī, genitive of campus, field + Latin pars, part; see part.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Also champarty, champert (obsolete), from Middle English champartie, champertie, champerty, also a partnership in power, from Old French champart, from Middle Latin campipars (also campartum, campartagium), i. e., campi pars, literally part of the field, a certain portion of the crop exacted by the lord: campi, genitive of Latin campus, field; Latin pars, a part: see camp and part.
 

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/ˈtʃæmpərti/
by American Heritage

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