# Hiring a lawyer: Lion or Lamb?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 9, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964 "2012-08-09T15:22:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964/21 "2012-08-10T03:54:25Z")

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As others have said, don’t confuse aggressiveness with effectiveness. Some guys put up an aggressive front as a bluff to cover up the fact they don’t know what they’re doing. And some guys who are calm and quiet are like that because they’re confident in their abilities.

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**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964/22 "2012-08-10T08:30:17Z")

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> [@Muffin](#):
>
> $40,000 tab for fighting over interim/temporary possession of the children’s two $400 dogs.
> 
> When potential clients call me saying that they are looking for a real fighter, I think back to that case, and quite often tell them that I would not be the right lawyer for them, unless it is apparent that they are being truly grossly mistreated by the opposition. Life is too short to waste time helping bat-shit crazy litigants chew on each other’s shins, rather than helping regular folks solve their differences.

Amen to that my learned friend. 😃

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**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964/23 "2012-08-10T08:37:27Z")

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> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> There was one criminal defence lawyer in my jurisdiction who was noted for being a bully in court - he would bully the police witnesses, bully the Crown witnesses, bully the Crown, even try to bully the judge. His clients apparently loved it - they wanted to see the Crown and the police get beat up by their lawyer.
> 
> It was said of him that he had the greatest percentage of satisfied clients of any lawyer in the province - even though they were in jail.

Yes, know what you mean and could never do. Some lawyers excel at selling the sizzle, the impression that they are pit-bulls for their clients, and they perform for their clients. Its a successful strategy even if they lose cases because the clients figure they and their lawyer have been fought the establishment.

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