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I'm with you! I seem to recall a time when "ly'ers" (lawyers) were prohibited from assuming political office... Now they've taken over.

by D9u 13y ago

will_brown 13y ago
Just to stick up for my kind a little (lawyers that is), Thomas Jefferson was a 21 year old lawyer when he drafted the Declaration of Independence; good ol' Honest Abe was a lawyer and pushed for the Emancipation Proclamation; and one of my personal favorites is Gandhi. And to stick up for the profession not just a few individuals, when Clinton lied under oath, the only real action taken against him was by his State Bar who immediately disbarred him despite him being President and unlikely to ever practice again. Edit: Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence (credit - rqwerwqerwr)
- D9u 13y ago
  Touche will_brown. Point taken.
- rqwerwqerwr 13y ago
  It could also be argued that they did good things in spite of being lawyers. Looked up the thing about Thomas Jefferson drafting the Declaration of Independence at 21 and this is what I found in wikipedia [1]: Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 O.S.) – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) Seems like he was in his thirties. Care to correct yourself? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
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rayiner 13y ago
When and where? In the U.S., 32 of the 55 framers of the Constitution, and 25 of the 56 signers of the declaration of independence, were lawyers.
- D9u 13y ago
  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileName=004/llsj004.db&recNum=490&itemLink=r%3Fammem%2Fhlaw%3A%40field%28DOCID%2B%40lit%28sj004446%29%29%230040392&linkText=1 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileNam... Apparently the original text of the 13th Amendment was quite a bit different than what it eventually came to be. Is the appellation "Lawyer" not a "Title?"
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  - D9u 13y ago
    From the above link: "If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them."
    - rayiner 13y ago
      "Lawyer" is a job title, like "engineer" or "doctor" not a "title of nobility or honor."
      - D9u 13y ago
        In another age, lawyers carried the title "Esquire." http://www.lawsuitfaq.com/lawyerattorney.html http://www.lawsuitfaq.com/lawyerattorney.html
        rayiner 13y ago
        Not in the US. In the US it has never been more than an unofficial professional title (like "phd"). How you clearly know its not a title is that it's not granted by any entity, not has it ever been. Anyone can call themselves "esquire" unless they do so in a context that amounts to unauthorized practice of law (just like with "doctor"). You can sign your letters "D9u, esq." just as you can sign them "D9u, M.D." though either might be the first step in a course of action leading to unauthorized practice of law/medicine.

I'm with you! I seem to recall a time when "ly'ers" (lawyers) were prohibited from assuming political office... Now they've taken over.

by D9u 13y ago

I'm with you! I seem to recall a time when "ly'ers" (lawyers) were prohibited from assuming political office... Now they've taken over.

will_brown 13y ago

Just to stick up for my kind a little (lawyers that is), Thomas Jefferson was a 21 year old lawyer when he drafted the Declaration of Independence; good ol' Honest Abe was a lawyer and pushed for the Emancipation Proclamation; and one of my personal favorites is Gandhi. And to stick up for the profession not just a few individuals, when Clinton lied under oath, the only real action taken against him was by his State Bar who immediately disbarred him despite him being President and unlikely to ever practice again. Edit: Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence (credit - rqwerwqerwr)

D9u 13y ago
Touche will_brown. Point taken.
rqwerwqerwr 13y ago
It could also be argued that they did good things in spite of being lawyers. Looked up the thing about Thomas Jefferson drafting the Declaration of Independence at 21 and this is what I found in wikipedia [1]: Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 O.S.) – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) Seems like he was in his thirties. Care to correct yourself? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

rayiner 13y ago

When and where? In the U.S., 32 of the 55 framers of the Constitution, and 25 of the 56 signers of the declaration of independence, were lawyers.

D9u 13y ago
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileName=004/llsj004.db&recNum=490&itemLink=r%3Fammem%2Fhlaw%3A%40field%28DOCID%2B%40lit%28sj004446%29%29%230040392&linkText=1 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsj&fileNam... Apparently the original text of the 13th Amendment was quite a bit different than what it eventually came to be. Is the appellation "Lawyer" not a "Title?"
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- D9u 13y ago
  From the above link: "If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them."
  - rayiner 13y ago
    "Lawyer" is a job title, like "engineer" or "doctor" not a "title of nobility or honor."
    - D9u 13y ago
      In another age, lawyers carried the title "Esquire." http://www.lawsuitfaq.com/lawyerattorney.html http://www.lawsuitfaq.com/lawyerattorney.html
      - rayiner 13y ago
        Not in the US. In the US it has never been more than an unofficial professional title (like "phd"). How you clearly know its not a title is that it's not granted by any entity, not has it ever been. Anyone can call themselves "esquire" unless they do so in a context that amounts to unauthorized practice of law (just like with "doctor"). You can sign your letters "D9u, esq." just as you can sign them "D9u, M.D." though either might be the first step in a course of action leading to unauthorized practice of law/medicine.