THE ANONYMOUS LAWYER BOOK IS ALMOST HERE . . . According to Amazon.com, Jeremy Blachman's novel The Anonymous Lawyer will be available July 25, 2006. Meanwhile, review copies are getting out. Howard Bashman reported that his wife "tremendously enjoyed the book." And at AutoAdmit.com, a reader wrote what's purported to be the novel's first review.

The verdict? "It's funny. Very funny actually." Nor is it merely a collection of old posts. "Virtually the entire book is original content."

If you're interested in the way the Anonymous Lawyer weblog became a book, you can find a lot of information at Legal Underground. There are both posts about the "unmasking" of Jeremy Blachman as the Anonymous Lawyer, as well as Blachman's landing of a book deal with the prestigious Henry Holt & Co.

Another post that's interesting in retrospect was one about the debate that ensued after the Anonymous Lawyer weblog was first noticed in the newspapers:"Who's More Funny: Jay Leno or David Letterman? A Post About Two Webloggers Who Criticize Anonymous Lawyer." As detailed there, one of the criticisms of the Anonymous Lawyer weblog was that it condoned poor treatment by partners of their associates. I didn't agree--I thought just the opposite, in fact--but it will be interesting to see if the debate begins anew once the book is published.

Comments

[Alan]

I always thought AL to be more funny than revealing, even before the "unmasking."

I'm a little surprised the AL-incited debates so often turn to associate-partner relationship as opposed to partner attitudes in general. Most of my amusement didn't come from the poor treatment of the associates as from the purported partner's observations, thought processes and lifestyle, not to mention my assumption that there really are lawyers out there like that. The AL blog, pre-"unmasking," was interesting because there was no indication that it wasn't real or legitimate. That strikes me as the grand joke.

[Mike]

I stayed up late finishing the book the day I received it. I gave it to the wife the next day and she finished it in kind. The book is brilliant. (And I say this as someone who was not a big fan of AL the blog.)

[Ms J]

You gave me reason to read the Anonymous Lawyer book. His blog is brilliant. Being a lawyer myself i so feel on the attitude of many partners