As a general rule, U.S. lawyers don’t use the honorific ‘Dr.’ However, in some Continental European countries (particularly those with German-based legal systems), most lawyers are referred to professionally (at least in correspondence) as ‘Dr.’ (Normally, we’d just call them Heinrich or whatever when talking with them).
At my law school, we referred to the professors as ‘Professor’, except for one professor who had a Ph.D. in addition to a law degree (and was sort of a pretentious fuck, besides), who insisted on being called ‘Doctor.’
Lawyers here in New York will refer to each other as ‘Counsellor’, though usually in a bit of a tounge-in-cheek manner between each other. Judges will often refer to lawyers as ‘Counsellor’ as a generic term when they have dozens appearing before them on a motion day (they’re usually better if you’re one of just a few appearing before them on an actual trial). Judges have the advantage of being all named ‘Your Honor’, though many of my colleagues will refer to judges as ‘Judge’ in open court, which grates on my ears.
As for the use of ‘Esq.’, one should never use it in referring to oneself. In New York, the custom is to add it to the name of all other lawyers you’re addressing in their professional capacity in correspondence.
As for the use of ‘Esq.’, one should never use it in referring to oneself.
Meh.
In New York, the custom is to add it to the name of all other lawyers you’re addressing in their professional capacity in correspondence.
When I was first starting out a partner told me the single best piece of advice in my legal career – drop the Esq. in professional correspondence. Sometimes on big cases you’re sending (or more likely cc:'ing) something to a whole passel of folks, some of whom you don’t know, and don’t know whether they’re junior lawyers or paralegals or law students working at the firm, so eventually an Esq. will get left off, and it inevitably happens to a woman. So I don’t use it anymore in those situations.
It is useful when you’re sending your first correspondence to someone at an organization you haven’t dealt with before to make sure you get their attention.