A while back, I wrote a post about “pit bull” lawyers and “lab” lawyers.
The argument I made was that you’re much better off with a lawyer who acts like a loyal Labrador retriever, versus one who acts like a hyper-aggressive pit bull.
I’d like to add a new category to that list: The dillweed lawyer.
Although closely related, these are different from their pit pull lawyer cousins (who are smart and tenacious, but way too aggressive).
Dillweed lawyers have the same level of aggression (maybe more), but they are also stupid.
They don’t know when to stop. They cover up their lack of skill with bluster, falsehoods, and personal attacks. They don’t know how to win on the law, so they resort to insults.
This is always a dead giveaway: Their quote-unquote arguments are mainly about opposing counsel. They make every fight personal.
They don’t understand the law, but worse, they don’t understand how to get along with people. Their emotional IQ is off-scale low.
These lawyers—thankfully—are rare.
They don’t last long—especially in the super cool, freakin’ amazing lawyer town of Austin.
They usually can be found in anonymous glass office buildings off major freeways in Dallas. Some have migrated to Houston and San Antonio. At least one made it to New Jersey.
But, as Austin grows, a few have been spotted in the Texas Hill Country.
The good news is, they flame out fast.
It doesn’t take long for judges, juries, and other lawyers to figure them out and ignore them.
Just like Beavis.
