The article refers to lawyers, however I was mentioning attorneys.
LAWYER. A counsellor; one learned in the law.
ATTORNEY. One who acts for another by virtue of an appointment by the latter.
one who attorns...
Attorn. To turn over; to transfer to another money or goods.
In common usage in the United States, they are synonyms. Wasn’t Adams acting as an attorney when he defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre?
Also, from his biography at the website of the Adams National Historical Site: “Eventually, Adams gained notoriety and became one of Boston’s most sought after attorneys.”
And a biographical sketch from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center: “By 1770, Adams was a highly successful lawyer with perhaps the largest caseload of any attorney in Boston, and he was chosen to defend the British soldiers who were charged in the Boston Massacre in March 1770.”