Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture 
asked by bricktop on November 2, 2006 4:51 PM
What do you call 600 lawyers at the bottom of the sea? Marc Galanter calls it an opportunity to investigate the meanings of a rich and time-honored genre of American humor: lawyer jokes. Lowering the Bar analyzes hundreds of jokes from Mark Twain classics to contemporary anecdotes about Dan Quayle, Johnnie Cochran, and Kenneth Starr. Drawing on representations of law and lawyers in the mass media, political discourse, and public opinion surveys, Galanter finds that the increasing reliance on law has coexisted uneasily with anxiety about the “legalization” of society. Informative and always entertaining, his book explores the tensions between Americans’ deep-seated belief in the law and their ambivalence about lawyers.
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There are plenty of lawyer-bashing books, but this is not one of them. Rather, like a modern Mark Twain, Marc Galanter uses lawyer jokes to reflect trends in American society. Through thousands of jokes and cartoons that mock lawyers and legalization, he shows on how the legal system is influencing and being influenced by changing relationships between individuals, between citizens and government, and between consumers and corporations. Lawyer jokes are popular because lawyers still fight and win for the little guy. A good read for your favorite lawyer or lawyer-to-be.
reviewed by lauren on November 17, 2006 2:27 AM
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I thought about starting this review with one of the hundreds of lawyer jokes that are "told" and given life in this excellent book, but I wouldn't want to spoil the punch lines.
The author, evidencing an extrodinarily broad range of knowledge, shows how lawyer jokes have evolved over time (and how some jokes previously targetted at Jews, minorities, and businessmen have evolved into lawyer jokes), and how this evolution reflects larger changes in society about attitudes towards law and individual rights.
In addition, the artwork in the book combines so old favorites from The New Yorker, plus older drawings from earlier centuries.
This is a great book for lawyers and for those who like to make fun of lawyers -- basically, everybody.
The author, evidencing an extrodinarily broad range of knowledge, shows how lawyer jokes have evolved over time (and how some jokes previously targetted at Jews, minorities, and businessmen have evolved into lawyer jokes), and how this evolution reflects larger changes in society about attitudes towards law and individual rights.
In addition, the artwork in the book combines so old favorites from The New Yorker, plus older drawings from earlier centuries.
This is a great book for lawyers and for those who like to make fun of lawyers -- basically, everybody.
reviewed by astrofizzy on November 28, 2006 8:41 AM