Dahlia Lithwick's latest column over at Slate is rather interesting. It seems that attorneys in Massachusetts not only have no sense of humor, but their utter infatuation with themselves and their own profession won't allow them to even tolerate a microscopically titillating ad in one of their precious trade magazines.
Is there any group more dour and filled with insufferable puffery than lawyers? After all, they're nothing more than a gang of glorfied advertising men -spinning favorable images of their clients- yet they'd have us believe that there's some great dignity about their profession, so we are forced to endure their constant prattling on about the "majesty of the law" (see Justice O'Connor's latest book) and other gross exagerrations.
They are in every way nothing more than lobbyists, begging favors from government agents for their clients and getting paid handsomely for it. Yet, in their case, instead of the beggees being legislators, they happen to be judges. The arguments offered by lawyers in favor of their clients are certainly no more sophisticaed than those thrown out by lobbyists, or even those of public relations hacks, yet, while lobbyists suffer a thoroughly low opinion in the minds of virtually everyone, lawyers, for some unfathonable reason, while not considered as honest perhaps, are nevertheless considered by many to be impressive specimens of deep intellect.
As with lobbyists, I'll be the first to admit that sometimes you badly need a lawyer in your corner, and a good one at that. Yet the same thing is at least as true of a good furnace man on a cold night or a plumber when your house is flooded. Yet, we don't see books called "The Majesty of HVAC."
