ATTOCK

attock, a town and fort of british india, in the rawalpindi district of the punjab, 47 m. by rail from peshawar, and situated on the eastern bank of the indus. pop. (1901) 2822. the place is of both political and commercial importance, as the indus is here crossed by the military and trade route through the khyber pass into afghanistan. alexander the great, tamerlane and nadir shah are believed to have successively crossed the indus at or about this spot in their respective invasions of india. the river runs past attock in a deep rapid channel about 200 yds. broad, but is easily crossed in boats or on inflated skins of oxen. the rocky gorges through which it flows, with a distant view of the hindu kush, form some of the finest scenery in the world. in 1883 an iron girder bridge of five spans was opened, which carries the north-western railway to peshawar, and has also a subway for wheeled traffic and foot passengers. the fort of attock was built by the emperor akbar in 1581, on a low hillock beside the river. the walls are of polished stone, and the whole structure is handsome; but from a military point of view it is of little importance, being commanded by a hill, from which it is divided only by a ravine. on the opposite side of the river is the village of khairabad, with a fort, also erected by akbar according to some, or by nadir shah according to others. the military importance of attock has diminished, but it still has a small detachment of british troops. attorney (from o. fr. _atorne_ a person appointed to act for another, from _atourner_, legal lat. _attornare_, attorn, literally to turn over to another or commit business to another), in english law, in its widest sense, any substitute or agent appointed to act in "the turn, stead or place of another." attorneys are of two kinds, attorneys-in-fact and attorneys-at-law. an attorney-in-fact is simply an agent, the extent of whose capacity to act is bounded only by the powers embodied in his authority, his _power of attorney_. an attorney-at-law was a public officer, conducting legal proceedings on behalf of others, known as his clients, and attached to the supreme courts of common law at westminster. attorneys-at-law corresponded to the solicitors of the courts of chancery and the proctors of the admiralty, ecclesiastical, probate and divorce courts. since the passing of the judicature act of 1873, however, the designation "attorney" has become obsolete in england, all persons admitted as solicitors, attorneys or proctors of an english court being henceforth called "solicitors of the supreme court" (see solicitor). in the united states an attorney-at-law exercises all the functions distributed in england between barristers, attorneys and solicitors, and his full title is "attorney and counsellor-at-law." when acting in a court of admiralty he is styled "proctor" or "advocate." formerly, in some states, there existed a grade among lawyers of attorneys-at-law, which was inferior to that of counsellors-at-law, and in colonial times new jersey established a higher rank still--that of serjeant-at-law. now the term attorney-at-law is precisely equivalent to that of lawyer. attorneys are admitted by some court to which the legislature confides the power, and on examination prescribed by the court, or by a board of state examiners, as the case may be. the term of study required is generally two or three years, but in some states less. in one no examination is required. college graduates are often admitted to examination after a shorter term of study than that required from those not so educated. in the courts of the united states, admission is regulated by rules of court and based upon a previous admission to the state bar. in almost all states aliens are not admitted as attorneys, and in many states women are ineligible, but during recent years several states have passed statutes permitting them to practise. since 1879 women have been eligible to practise before the u.s. supreme court, if already admitted to practise in some state court, under the same conditions as men. a _state attorney_ or _district attorney_ is the local public prosecutor. he is either elected by popular vote at the state elections for the district in which he resides and goes out of office with the political party for which he was elected, or he is appointed by the governor of the state for that district and for the same term. he represents the state in criminal prosecutions and also in civil actions within his district. there is a _united states district attorney_ in each federal district, similarly representing the federal government before the courts. an attorney is an officer of the court which admits him to practise, and he is subject to its discipline. he is liable to his client in damages for failure to exercise ordinary care and skill, and he can bring action for the value of his services. he has a lien on his client's papers, and usually on any judgment in favour of his client to secure the payment of his fees. (see also under bar, the.)