Lawyerland: An Unguarded, Street-Level Look at Law & Lawyers Today

By Lawrence Joseph

Book Overview

In Lawyerland , Lawrence Joseph brings an unerring ear for dialogue, a cunning artistry, and a prosecutor's radar for loaded testimony to a series of rangy, irreverent conversations with downtown lawyers, making his book a uniquely fresh and insightful accomplishment.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374529876
• ISBN13: 9780374529871
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Lawyers will completely identify with this book's subjects

I can't really understand others' criticism of this rather fine book. As a current law student, it was a breath of fresh air to hear members of my future profession discuss their work in the context of everyday practice. The author has made no claim that this book will teach laymen anything about the law or the specifics of how it is practiced. It is simply a collection of insights related to the lifestyle which accompanies a career in the legal profession. For those of us soon to tread those waters, I highly recommend it.

Brings Studs Terkel and "Working" to mind.

What do you call a busload of lawyers plunging into a deep ocean from a high cliff?A good start.We've all heard the lawyer jokes. We've read the John Grisham novels, heard the horror stories about massive bills and dirty cheats, and tuned into the high-profile court cases on TV. (Remember OJ?)We know how we feel about lawyers: They're high-priced ambulance chasers who are only out for themselves and money. They're slime. Right?Author Lawrence Joseph takes a different approach with his 1997 nonfiction work "Lawyerland." He shows what the slime think of us."They all watch their lawyer TV shows, read these sh---y legal thrillers, like it's one big, suspenseful, meaningful endeavor," railes C. Oliver Robinson, one of the legal eagles interviewed in the book. "They hate lawyers more than anyone else in the world- but law? Law! They love the f-----g law! You see it in jurors' faces- even the most sophisticated and street smart. They're not only intrigued- they're impressed. Reasonable doubt- they go f------g bananas! Just say the words and their eyes change."With "Lawyerland," Joseph takes the path created by Studs Terkel with "Working," the 1972 book in which Terkel intereviewed people in a number of different careers- the school teacher, the steel worker, the drugstore owner, etc.In "Lawyerland," the result is a gritty, profanity-filled reality work that cuts deep into the heart of many aspects of the legal system. As the subtitle states, this is "What Lawyers Really Talk About When They Talk about Law."Joseph interviews criminal justice lawyers, tax attorneys, judges, corporate deal makers and personal injury lawyers. And in a genius move, he simply sits back and lets them gab.Boy, do they talk. They talk about everything under the sun- law and the morality (or lack thereof) within, rival firms, old associates, one-eyed monks, medical malpractice, the fact that Alexander Hamilton and assassin Aaron Burr (got milk?) were both lawyers, how to spot a lawyer in street clothes while riding the subway, and Herman Melville's leagal tale "Bartleby the Scrivener."The conversations are fast and furious, filled with banter amongst colleagues or rivals, and thoughts on the profession.What makes "Lawyerland" so hard-hitting and mesmerizing, however, is that these are real people, with real names, like Urquart and Voorhees. This is real life, and Joseph doesn't shy away, even if the result is rarely pretty.What do you call a nonfiction piece that reveals law from a lawyer's prespective, sin and all?A very good start, indeed.

Superb, searing portrait of lawyers and the human condition

Written in the tradition of Camus's "The Fall," this truth-telling novel brings the reader face-to-face with the angst, anger, and moral ambiguities that pervade lives lived in the shadow of the legal system. Beautifully and compellingly written; a stunning achievement