Intellectual Property Law

Evan Schaeffer?s ?17 Types of Lawyers?

By Lee Gesmer

Humor is just another defense against the universe.
Mel Brooks

Legal humor is almost always an oxymoron, but Evan Schaeffer, author of The Legal Underground blog, had me in silent hysterics (I was in the office) with his list of 17 types of lawyers. The descriptions are so cleverly written, and so on point, that … well, enough, here they are, with links :

Types of Lawyers #1: The Big Firm Summer Associate

Types of Lawyers #2: The Partner Who Talks Too Fast

Types of Lawyers #3: The Lawyer Who Advertises on TV

Types of Lawyers #4: The Lawyer Who Carries Another Lawyer?s Briefcase

Types of Lawyers #5: The Lawyer Who Brings Her Breast Pump to the Office

Types of Lawyers #6: The Mafia Lawyer

Types of Lawyers #7: The Modest Lawyer

Types of Lawyers #8: The Partner Who Golfs

Types of Lawyers #9: The Lawyer on the Run

Types of Lawyers #10: The Lawyer Who’s in the Wrong Profession

Types of Lawyers #11: The Lawyer from the Planet Og

Types of Lawyers #12: The Lawyer Who’s Writing a Legal Thriller

Types of Lawyers #13: The Stereotypical Lawyer

Types of Lawyers #14: The Lawyer Who’s on The Apprentice

Types of Lawyers #15: The Associate Who Knew Where the Bodies Were Buried

Types of Lawyers #16: The Lawyer with the Shiny New Gadget

Types of Lawyers #17: The Associate Who Finally Gets a Chance to Meet the Senior Partner

I think there are probably a few more kinds (the “ultra-high testosterone” lawyer, the “how did he pass the bar exam?” lawyer, and so forth, but after a while these start to overlap so much that you have to put a stop to it. Seveneen is probably about right.

If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re missing the easiest subject. The full blog entry is here.

Full post as published by Mass Law Blog on April 16, 2008 (boomark / email).