# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Squooshed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Squooshed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squooshed)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/21 "2002-12-10T15:53:00Z")
Professional Seattle Product liability defense ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/22 "2002-12-10T16:29:54Z")
Non-pro (Paralegal) Wisconsin Not in parctice, but interested in civil/constitutional rights law ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/23 "2002-12-10T16:56:48Z")
Formerly pro, now quasi-pro (see below) NYC 7 years of practice in securities/mergers & acquisitions, followed by career change into legal writing on education law. I need a JD for my job, but I don’t provide legal advice to clients. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/24 "2002-12-10T17:05:01Z")
Pro ('tho some days I feel like an amateur 🙂 ) NYC (but would give my right arm to be back in Texas) Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/25 "2002-12-10T17:20:58Z")
1. By that definition “Pro,” but I don’t practice. 2. Seattle 3. I’m not practicing. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/26 "2002-12-10T17:33:20Z")
1. Semi-pro. 2. NYC 3. Landlord/Tenant law ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/27 "2002-12-10T17:48:26Z")
Pro Virginia Corporate, contracts, IP (copyright). ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/28 "2002-12-10T20:02:26Z")
I like to think of myself as a pro, and I’m admitted to the bar. New York City. Mostly Litigation & Real Estate. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/29 "2002-12-10T20:07:20Z")
1. PRO 2. Dallas 3. Insurance Defense/Med Mal **blanx** I think I got Williams memorized…we should play “who’s got the worst bad baby case” someday 🙂 ---
**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, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/30 "2002-12-10T20:25:04Z")
**BBJ** strangely, that was arousing… 🙂 you use Creasy and Resnick any? I like that better for some stuff… ---
**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 10, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/31 "2002-12-10T21:54:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Realhoops \* > \*\*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. \*\* Thanks for the rousing defense. Most of the work I do is the work that would otherwise be done by our Entertainment Lawyer. Most of it is basic contract, copyright, and trademark issues. The “IP Monkeys” have become so well-versed in the specifics of what we do that our actual Ent. Lawyer doesn’t want us to stick our heads in her office unless it’s for something that actually requires admission to the Bar. That being said, we also aren’t doing anything terribly complicated. It’s mostly procedural, requiring an understanding of the language and structure of contracts, familiarity with licencing agreements for music and film, and good knowledge of the applicable copyright laws. A law school student with a penchant for contract and ent. law would be able to manage just fine. And again, we do have both an Ent. Lawyer and an IP Lawyer do doublecheck everything when we feel it’s necessary. So far, so good. [sub]The only time we got stumped was when dealing with a licensee overseas whose lawyer boggled a clause and confused the hell out of us. But that ended up being a language/translation issue (a good chunk of the contract looked like it had been translated by Babel Fish Alta Vista! 😕 )[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/32 "2002-12-11T00:17:56Z")
Pro in Embryo Champaign, IL (hey, another Illinois law student up there Rhum Rhummer!) Don’t know. I’m thinking antitrust, bankruptcy or something property related if I go into practice. I’m also seriously considering becoming a law librarian-esp. since my school already has a really good MLS school. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618/33 "2002-12-11T00:24:14Z")
1. Immature, er, amateur (very very very amateur) 2. Lawrence KS 3. I’d like to go into Media law or mayhaps politics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-professional-amateur-a-poll/141618.md?page=1)