AFAIK, an individual who graduates from law school in the U.S. receives a Juris Doctor (J.D.) which is, of course, Latin for: Doctor of law. I wonder if a law school graduate is ever addressed as “Doctor”, for instance in a formal setting and/or when you want to be courteous and extra polite. Let’s say Bill Cheatem, Esq., J.D., is invited to a social function at the local Rotary Club where he is introduced to John Doe, M.D. (a cardiologist) and Jane Roe (the director of the local library who holds a Ph.D. in comparative late-medieval Mongolian literature).
How would the conversation go: “Dr. Cheatem, please meet Dr. Roe and Dr. Doe” or “Mr. Cheatem, please meet Dr. Roe and Dr. Doe”?
What about lawyers who hold a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D. or J.S.D.)? I understand that these doctorates are actually extremely rare. What’s the purpose and the reputation of these doctorates? Are they a prerequisite for an academic career? Would a S.J.D. be considered a “real” Doctor (i. e. on par with a Ph.D.)?
I was under the impression that “Cheatem” (as in Dewey, Cheatem and Howe, of Cartalk fame) was an accepted placeholder like John Doe and Jane Roe. In my example, I wanted to use it to illustrate a certain social situation I’m interested in. The Orange County Bar Association uses the moniker in official documents:
Yes. It’s also widely used by law faculties in the U.S. in all sorts of legal texts, in style guides, resume guides and in teaching material. It even made it to the Congressional Record.
A lawyer is almost never addressed as “doctor [last name].”
I’m a lawyer and I’ve never seen it done. The closest you get are some narcissistic lawyers saying in a not-quit-sure-if-they-are-joking tone that “you know I’m also a Doctor because a JD stands for …”
To actually answer the question, the traditional rule found in 20th century American etiquette guides by the likes of Emily Post and Judith “Miss Manners” Martin is that only physicians receive the courtesy title of “Doctor” in social (nonprofessional) settings. Also, among social equals of similar age, men were to be presented to women. So the “proper” introduction would have been “Ms. Roe, I’d like you to meet Dr. Doe and Mr. Cheathem.” If Ms. Roe and Dr. Doe already knew each other, I think it would be, “Ms. Roe and Dr. Doe, this is Mr. Cheatem.”
Of course, this assumes that Doe and Roe were of similar age. Otherwise the younger man is presented to the older. It also assumes that this is the narrow span of time (late 70’s to mid 80s?) when formal introductions in a social setting would coexist with the use of “Ms.” Prior to then, Ms. Roe would have been introduced as Mrs. James Roe, using her husbands name, or Miss Jane Roe if she came from a wealthy enough family not to be ostracized for her foolish little fantasy of wanting to be educated and do something down at the library where it’s no wonder she hasn’t met any truly eligible young men.
Nowadays, of course, we just say, “Bill, Jane, John, do you guys know each other?”
The only place I’ve seen it done was in Hungary. I think their schools may be more rigorous, but they treated the US-schooled lawyers with the same respect.
I would agree with that in a strict literal sense. Physicians receive a courtesy title of “doctor”. For people who have made a substantive and original contribution to the body of human knowledge, however, it’s not just a courtesy title like it is for physicians. They’re real doctors.
If you feel that someone has violated the rule against professional jabs, please report it. However, this particular name is such a standard joke that I can’t really regard it as more than mild ribbing rather that a serious insult against lawyers.
Incorrect. According to the ACE it is a first professional doctorate* and is entitled to wear doctoral robes. It is simply not a terminal degree.
Admittedly academic-levelwise it is a glorified master’s.
You’re being deliberately obtuse. A courtesy title is any title appended to a person’s name as a matter of politeness or etiquette. It is sometimes taken to exclude titles of nobility, at least in their full form. (“Lord” may be excepted from the exception, since it is typically used analogously to “Mister,” “Doctor,” etc.) It has absolutely nothing to do with whether the title was “earned” or not. Besides, the MD is an older and traditionally a higher degree than the PhD, both of which were considered lesser than the Doctor of Theology. (The modern MD is not considered higher than the PhD, but it is still the older than the modern PhD. I believe, though I may be mistaken, that the traditional “higher doctorate” MD is still given out on occasion by ancient British universities, but it is a different animal than the type of degree we’re talking about.)
In any event the traditional rule of etiquette is that a physician is referred to socially as “Dr. Soandso” while an academic researcher is not, regardless of the degrees held or what you happen to think of them.
