LAWYER QUOTES IV

quotations about lawyers

lawyers quote

We lawyers learn to study the faces of our witnesses, to form quick judgments, and to act upon them.

LYMAN ABBOTT

Laicus: Or, The Experiences of a Layman in a Country Parish

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A lawyer is an odd sort of fish, first rotten, then green, then ripe.

ROBERT CHRISTY

Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases


There were lawyers who promoted quarrels to get fees. But they were the pariahs of the profession. The best lawyers were peacemakers, and though, of necessity, professional partisans when engaged in litigation, they were generally honorable partisans.

LYMAN ABBOTT

Reminiscences

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No group has a greater responsibility today in helping maintain our free institutions of society than the lawyer. In fact, being a man of the law, he is uniquely equipped through training, outlook and experience to be a leader of his fellow citizens. American history confirms his tremendous contribution--helping draw up the basic documentation of our freedom, serving as a leader in local, state and national government, participating in the affairs of community life. At this hour, America especially needs the leadership of the lawyer. The moral fabric of our Nation is badly torn. Disrespect for law and order is widespread. The very principles of free government are being scorned and perverted. Flouting the law has almost become a hobby for some individuals.

J. EDGAR HOOVER

Texas Bar Journal, Feb. 22, 1964


Lawyer even sounds like liar.

WALTER MOSLEY

Walking the Line

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Lawyers are like wine--you can pay a lot of money for a fancy bottle that tastes like vinegar, or you can find a good deal that fits your budget and your palate alike.

KAREN A. COVY

When Happily Ever After Ends


Anyone who believes a better day dawns when lawyers are eliminated has the burden of explaining who will take their place. Who will protect the poor, the injured, the victims of negligence, the victims of racial discrimination, and the victims of racial violence?... Lawyers are the simple yet essential means by which people seek to vindicate their rights and we must not foreclose that means.

JOHN CURTIN

remarks at American Bar Association annual meeting, Aug. 13, 1991


Americans see lawyers as obstructionists, as defenders of murderers.... In reality, lawyers are the glue that holds society together. Without lawyers ... without law, you have anarchy.

BILL CUNNINGHAM

Cincinnati Magazine, Sep. 1992


Lawyers are the jackals of commerce.

ELBERT HUBBARD

Fra Magazine, Sep. 1911

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Lawyers rarely test their power, or the power they promote, against this simple pragmatic question: "Will it do good?" When challenged about the expanding reach of the law, the lawyer answers, "Why not?"

LAWRENCE LESSIG

Free Culture

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Lawyers are like rabbits. They have a nasty habit of multiplying.

LEO REILLY

How to Outnegotiate Anyone


A lawyers performance in the courtroom is responsible for about 25 percent of the outcome; the remaining 75 percent depends on the facts.

MELVIN BELLI

attributed, Jar of Quotes

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A countryman between 2 Lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Poor Richard's Almanack, 1737

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Lawyers are like unrequited lovers--you give them an inch, and they go for the whole nine yards; you take off one shoe, and they pull down your pants.

ANDRES RUEDA

The Clawback


Some lawyers are like unto the camel, which, before drinking out of a brook, maketh the water turbid with his foot.

ADOLPHUS WILLIAM WARD

"Abraham a Sancta Clara", Collected Papers


I cannot believe that a republic could subsist if the influence of the lawyers in public business did not increase in proportion to the power of the people.

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

Democracy in America


People are getting smarter nowadays; they are letting lawyers, instead of their conscience, be their guide.

WILL ROGERS

"Helping the Girls with Their Income Taxes", The Illiterate Digest

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Since lawyers are thinkers and not feelers, and their moral development is locked into the rigidity of maintaining law and order, they often come across as impersonal, insensitive, amoral, and not particularly human to the clients they serve.

THANE ROSENBAUM

The Myth of Moral Justice


As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough. Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

notes for a law lecture, July 1, 1850?

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Lawyers generally know too much of law to have a very clear perception of justice.

ELIZA COOK

Diamond Dust

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