# Lawyers, Professional & Amateur (A Poll) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618 "2002-12-09T21:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/1 "2002-12-09T21:46:28Z")
Ok, I’ve been lurking here again lately after a near 2 year hiatus and have started posting a bit lately. After some of the discussion on some of the legal threads over at GD I’m just curious in finding out who around here are lawyers (either professional, as in gradjeated from a certified law school or amateur, as in not licensed but students of the law nonetheless). So… to help me figger this out, the following poll: 1. Are you a pro-lawyer or amateur-lawyer? 2. What part of the country (or what other country)? 3. Areas of special interest or practice? Thanks for your help and input. As for me, 1. I am a pro-lawyer, although I am not engaged in private practice. 2. Midwest (Nebraska actually). 3. Appellate practice mostly. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/2 "2002-12-09T22:11:43Z")
1. “Pro” 2. Boston 3. Intellectual property (primarily patent law) ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/3 "2002-12-09T22:19:31Z")
1. “Amateur” (work for record label and must deal w/ contracts and IP stuff regularly) 2. Ontario, Canada 3. Entertainment Law Note: I’m one of the two lackeys who do all the legal grunt work and then at the last step a genuine certified “IP” and/or “Entertainment Law” lawyer doublechecks to make sure we’ve dotted all our i’s, crossed all our t’s and haven’t made any dumbass mistakes. Keeps legal costs way down and most of the time we really do seem to know what we’re doing (much to our amazement.) We call ourselves the IP Monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/4 "2002-12-09T22:20:05Z")
Man, didn’t we just do this? I’m waiting for the first “con” lawyer to show up! Pro Chicago Admin law ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/5 "2002-12-09T22:28:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > \*\*Man, didn’t we just do this? > \*\* Honest Abe I looked. I do lots of research so there’s just no excuse for me if this has been done recently and I failed to find it! Slap me around and point me in the right direction, I can take it! > [@](#): > > I’m waiting for the first “con” lawyer to show up! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/6 "2002-12-09T22:54:50Z")
I am not “pro” lawyer. More like “anti”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cj\_finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@cj\_finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cj_finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/7 "2002-12-09T23:36:13Z")
1. Pro 2. Minneapolis 3. Intellectual Property The IP lawyers must not have enough to do it seems! ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Barber\_s\_Underwear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58f4c7/32.png) [@Tony\_Barber\_s\_Underwear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Barber_s_Underwear)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/8 "2002-12-10T00:04:35Z")
I started a thread like this [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143793) For the record: 1. Pro 2. Brisbane, Qld, Australia. 3. Tax/Estate Planning ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/9 "2002-12-10T01:15:08Z")
1. Law student, so I guess that makes me a pro in training 2. Chicago 3. Civil litigation, insurance coverage actually, and some day I would like to get into admiralty law as well, I’d love to work on ship wreck cases for some reason… ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/10 "2002-12-10T01:42:13Z")
Pro, Seattle, trial defense And “student of the law” != “amateur lawyer.” There’s no such thing as an amateur lawyer in the U.S., anymore than there’s such a thing as an amateur doctor. You is a lawyer or you ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/11 "2002-12-10T01:48:07Z")
I thought the amateurs _were_ the pros, as in “pro se” 1. Pro 2. Houston Texas 3. Law clerk to federal judge ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/12 "2002-12-10T02:02:30Z")
1. Pro 2. Sacramento, CA 3. Bus. Lit., Gen. Bus., Admin., Govt. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/13 "2002-12-10T02:03:53Z")
1. Amateur 2. See under my name. 3. Copyright law ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/14 "2002-12-10T02:09:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\*Pro, Seattle, trial defense > > And “student of the law” != “amateur lawyer.” There’s no such thing as an amateur lawyer in the U.S., anymore than there’s such a thing as an amateur doctor. You is a lawyer or you ain’t. \*\* I _know_ there’s no such as a true “amateur” lawyer… I was trying to include the people that I know around here frequently post on the legal subjects and are often quite well spoken but have not had formal legal training. I consider those people to be “students of the law” because it is quite clear that they frequently have spent a great deal of time reading and studying up on legal topics. I hope I did not cause any confusion by terming them “amateur lawyers”… perhaps I could have called them “legal hobbyists” or something more clever if I had spent more time thinking about it. I just didn’t think it would cause any problem. I did not mean to imply that I somehow thought it was possible to be anything like an “amateur doctor.” Sorry about missing that earlier thread. Thanks for the responses here and for pointing me in the right direction legal peoples! ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/15 "2002-12-10T02:30:50Z")
1. Somewhere in between “pro” and “amateur”, I guess. I’ve finished my law degree, but won’t be entering legal practice in the near future. There be other fish to fry. 🙂 2. Perth, Western Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/16 "2002-12-10T02:39:28Z")
Professional attorney Salem, oregon Labor lawyer–working in house for a labor union. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/17 "2002-12-10T04:14:59Z")
Pro, in the sense that I have a license and it’s what I do for a living Rural Iowa General practice, some trials, some real estate, some appeals (when I lose and I’m really offended), some bank and commercial work. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/18 "2002-12-10T04:45:05Z")
Pro Kentucky State Government ---
**Author:** ![blanx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f04885/32.png) [@blanx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blanx)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/19 "2002-12-10T14:27:22Z")
Pro Detroit medical malpractice defense- primarily birth trauma and ob/gyn cases. Used to be a public defender. People say I’ve descended to a lower level of hell. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/20 "2002-12-10T15:52:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\*There’s no such thing as an amateur lawyer in the U.S., anymore than there’s such a thing as an amateur doctor. You is a lawyer or you ain’t. \*\* To the extent someone says they are a “practicing attorney” doesn’t that imply they don’t quite have it down yet? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618.md?page=2)