William Bernhardt's character, Atty. Ben Kincaid, always picked his cases with his heart, and the clients never seemed to have money to pay him. Ben's staff was furious because he couldn't afford to pay them, and on top of that they had to put up with an office full of chickens running about.
Lowden (who is running against Harry Reid) has advocated that we pay doctors by bartering - chickens, painting the doctors' houses, etc., stuff like that. I wonder how the doctor pays his staff under her health care reform plan. Eggs?
This book must be among the first half dozen he wrote. Bernhardt's books had a lot of humor when he started out with Kincaid. They have less now, but still have a light touch and are still good.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/william-bernhardt/