Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground

"Lawyer" or "Attorney"?

Which do you prefer? According to Garner's "Dictionary of Modern American Usage," the two "are not generally distinguished even by members of the legal profession."

Once upon a time, a lawyer was defined as a person who practices law, while an attorney was a lawyer with a client. So that in 1965, the author of "The Careful Writer" noted that "a lawyer is an attorney only when he has a client." These days, such a distinction seems kooky. What lawyer doesn't have a client?

Garner also mentions that "lawyer" might have negative connotations. But what about the prairie lawyer, Abraham Lincoln? Can you imagine "Lincoln: The Prairie Attorney"?

On the other hand, you'll often hear defense firm types referring to themselves as "attorneys" or "litigators," lest they be confused with "trial lawyers." This is even true of defense attorneys who are trial lawyers. Go figure!

Sometimes, the conundrum can be solved by a consideration of rhyme. Just ask "Ernie the Attorney." (But isn't Ernie also a defense lawyer?)

Publication Note: Originally published 1/3/04. Republished today with broken links repaired.

Time Out for Deposition Questions

I can write seriously too. Here's proof: "Anatomy of a Good Deposition Question," an article I did for Lawyerist, published today.

Advice to Young Lawyers #24

Dear Mr. Schaeffer:

I’m in a terrible bind. There’s a partner in our 1,127-attorney firm named Mr. B who everyone is scared of, including me. Unfortunately, I got assigned to his practice group yesterday. Even though I’m a fourth-year associate, Mr. B apparently wanted to break me in easy. He called me on the phone, said his secretary had a document for me to copy, and told me to come to his office. When I did, he was on the phone again. He held up his right hand with all his fingers extended and mouthed, “This many.” So far, so good. I made five copies. But later in the day, he called me into his office again. He wasn’t on the phone anymore. He held up his right hand and extended his fingers again. Then he started screaming. “Look!” he yelled. “Tell me what you see!” A chill ran down my spine when I counted only four fingers.

Continue reading "Advice to Young Lawyers #24" in the archives.

Is TheBarAfterWork a Valuable Networking Tool or Just for the Drunks?

With so much evidence that the popular social networks -- Twitter, Facebook, etc. -- are all that lawyers need to double their existing client base, kick their practice into hyperspeed, and become super-rich and successful, I was initially reluctant to accept a friend's invitation to join yet another social network.

Not only has my Twitter habit made me a little short of time, but I was also skeptical about what they were calling this new social network. Twitter sounds a little silly, sure, but I can live with it. After all, it comes with its own fun twerminology that's just about as cute and cuddly as my own five-year-old: tweet, retweet, featherologist, plus a hundred other twitterisms that you can find in just about any twictionary.

But the name they'd given this new social network sounded so old-fashioned to my Web 2.0 ears, so dull and lacking in color, it instantly reminded me of my own drab life and law practice way back at the turn of the century (more than five years ago), when there wasn't an easy way to meet people electronically and I'd sometimes have to meet them in person, which would require me to go outside, even when it was windy or cold or raining.

Continue reading "Is TheBarAfterWork a Valuable Networking Tool or Just for the Drunks?" in the archives.