Understanding Lawyer Jokes

 

Lawyer jokes. They are very common. They are hardly the only jokes by profession. There are jokes for every sort of musician and singer, for instance.

Q. What does a violinist use for birth control?
A. His personality.

Q. How can you tell the stage is level?
A. The bass player drools out of both sides of his mouth.

So, why are lawyer jokes so popular? Is it because there is some grain of truth to them? Is it because lawyers promulgate them? Is it because everyone has experience of lawyers at some point in their lives?

Lastly, do you have any good lawyer jokes?

Special thanks to @garyrobbins for the inspiration to write this.

Edit: Look through before posting. The joke about the young lawyer arriving at the Pearly Gates and being told they thought he was older based on billable hours has been told…and told…and told…

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  1. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

     Why should you never tell lawyer jokes? 

    Lawyers don’t think they’re funny and non-lawyers don’t think they’re jokes. 

    • #61
  2. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb?  None, it’s a hardware problem.

    • #62
  3. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    I didn’t realize his objection was related specifically to dead lawyers

    Yep. I suppose we could go into dead baby jokes. Or not.

    • #63
  4. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    Huh?

    The inspiration for this thread was that Gary was less than enthusiastic about lawyer jokes that include lots of dead lawyers.

    I didn’t realize his objection was related specifically to dead lawyers – I thought he just found insult jokes to be inherently racist (lawyerist?) or something.

    i don’t have a huge problem with lawyer jokes, per se, only ones that involve dead lawyers.

     

    • #64
  5. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Nick H (View Comment):

    There’s the oldies but goodies:

    What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

    A good start.

    and

    What’s the difference between a dead squirrel in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?

    There are skid marks in front of the squirrel.

    plus my favorite

    Scientists have started using lawyers instead of lab rats in their experiments because the lab assistants are less likely to become emotionally attached, the lawyers breed faster, PETA doesn’t protest, and there are just some things even rats won’t do.

    Try substituting “Jews,” “blacks,” “gays,” or your ethnic background into those “jokes” and see if they are still so funny.

    Exactly. 

    • #65
  6. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    AUMom (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    It was so cold the other day, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

    I’ve heard it with a politician. A reasonable number of these have interchangeable parts.

    Aren’t most politicians lawyers?

    167 in the House and 55 in the Senate, as far as the federal system goes.  

    • #66
  7. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

    Top Ten things That Sound Dirty In Law But Are Not–

    10. Have you looked at her briefs?

    9. He is one hard judge.

    8. Can you get him to drop his suit?

    7. Counselor, let’s do it in Chambers.

    6. Is it a penal offense?

    5. Her attorney withdrew at the last minute.

    4. Better leave the handcuffs on.

    3. The judge gave her the stiffest one he could

    2. For $200 an hour, she better be good.

    and the #1 thing that sounds dirty in law, but is not–

    1. Think you can get me off?

     

    • #67
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    So, back to the live lawyer (and other profession) jokes…

    • #68
  9. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    How can you tell if your accountant is an extrovert?

    He looks at your shoes while he’s talking to you, instead of his own.

    A funny joke but it does not include dead accountants.

    Huh?

     

    Yea, I agree, they just don’t get it.

    I tiger was running through the jungle eating all the dung he could find. A wise owl, shocked by this behavior asked the tiger what he’s doing. The tiger replied “I just ate a lawyer, and I am trying to get the taste out of my mouth”

     

    That reminds of a very non-coc compliant joke, the punchline to which is “If three shots didn’t get the taste out of my mouth, another one won’t help”.

     

    • #69
  10. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    AUMom (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    It was so cold the other day, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

    I’ve heard it with a politician. A reasonable number of these have interchangeable parts.

    Aren’t most politicians lawyers?

    167 in the House and 55 in the Senate, as far as the federal system goes.

    One source of shame for me is that Nixon and Clinton were both lawyers.

    • #70
  11. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    One source of shame for me is that Nixon and Clinton were both lawyers.

    But Reagan’s degree was in economics. Of course, there are no jokes about economists.

    • #71
  12. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name. 

    • #72
  13. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    One source of shame for me is that Nixon and Clinton were both lawyers.

    But Reagan’s degree was in economics. Of course, there are no jokes about economists.

     From “Yes Minister”:

    Sir Humphrey can’t really help you understand economics; he read classics at Oxford. 

    What about the finance secretary? 

    He would be even worse: he read economics. 

    • #73
  14. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Try substituting “Jews,” “blacks,” “gays,” or your ethnic background into those “jokes” and see if they are still so funny.

    The reason the jokes work as lawyer jokes but not as ethnic ones is that a) You choose to be a lawyer, and b) Nobody feels sorry for lawyers because they’re seen as making so much money. This is also the reason for blonde jokes and model jokes. Nobody feels sorry for them, and while some people are born as blondes, for many it’s a choice too.

    • #74
  15. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Amy Schley (View Comment):

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name.

    Rush had a different view about lawyers after he was charged with a crime.  His criminal defense attorney did an exceptional job,

    People usually come to lawyers when they are facing a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

    • #75
  16. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    How can you tell if your accountant is an extrovert?

    He looks at your shoes while he’s talking to you, instead of his own.

    A funny joke but it does not include dead accountants.

    Lighten up, Francis. Unlike race or sex or where you are born, people choose to become lawyers, so the two are not remotely the same.

    I have never seen a lawyer take so much offense at a lawyer joke in my life. Thicken up your skin man. You just look peevish.

    You’d be surprised to hear that many attorneys hate “dead lawyer” jokes, but they don’t speak up.

    I speak up.

    They lawyers are even worse than I feared. 

    • #76
  17. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Amy Schley (View Comment):

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name.

    Rush had a different view about lawyers after he was charged with a crime. His criminal defense attorney did an exceptional job,

    People usually come to lawyers when they are facing a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

    You must be a real hoot at parties.

     

    • #77
  18. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    AUMom (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    It was so cold the other day, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

    I’ve heard it with a politician. A reasonable number of these have interchangeable parts.

    Aren’t most politicians lawyers?

    And the Founding Fathers.

     

    THe most important was the General.

    • #78
  19. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Amy Schley (View Comment):

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name.

    Rush had a different view about lawyers after he was charged with a crime. His criminal defense attorney did an exceptional job,

    People usually come to lawyers when they are facing a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

    Rush’s whole family are lawyers. Amy is also a lawyer.

    • #79
  20. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    You must be a real hoot at parties.

    Relax and tell jokes, folks.

    • #80
  21. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):
    THe most important was the General.

    Who was also a farmer and distiller.

    • #81
  22. AltarGirl Inactive
    AltarGirl
    @CM

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    One source of shame for me is that Nixon and Clinton were both lawyers.

    But Reagan’s degree was in economics. Of course, there are no jokes about economists.

    I had to go looking, but this was my favorite…

    A mathematician, a theoretical economist, and an econometrician are asked to find a black cat (who doesn’t really exist) in a closed room with the lights off. The mathematician gets crazy trying to find a black cat that doesn’t exist inside the darkened room and ends up in a psychiatric hospital. The theoretical economist is unable to catch the black cat that doesn’t exist inside the darkened room, but exits the room proudly proclaiming that he can construct a model to describe all his movements with extreme accuracy. The econometrician walks securely into the darkened room, spends one hour looking for the black cat that doesn’t exits and shouts from inside the room that he has caught it by the neck.”

     

    • #82
  23. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    AUMom (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    It was so cold the other day, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

    I’ve heard it with a politician. A reasonable number of these have interchangeable parts.

    Aren’t most politicians lawyers?

    And the Founding Fathers.

     

    THe most important was the General.

    George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  Clearly the two greatest Presidents.

    • #83
  24. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Amy Schley (View Comment):

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name.

    Rush had a different view about lawyers after he was charged with a crime. His criminal defense attorney did an exceptional job,

    People usually come to lawyers when they are facing a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

    Yep.

    I also have done my two colonoscopies. 

    • #84
  25. Midget Faded Rattlesnake Member
    Midget Faded Rattlesnake
    @Midge

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    One source of shame for me is that Nixon and Clinton were both lawyers.

    But Reagan’s degree was in economics. Of course, there are no jokes about economists.

    Oh?…

    Three econometricians went out hunting, and came across a deer. The first econometrician fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second econometrician fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third econometrician didn’t fire, but shouted in triumph, “We got it! We got it!”

    This same joke is also told of statisticians and actuaries — still, it’s an oldie but goodie.

    • #85
  26. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    A guy was walking along a quiet, deserted beach when he saw something under the sand. Checking it out, he found – surprise – that it was an old brass lamp. Brushing the dirt away disturbed a genie, but not just any genie. This was the patron genie of lawyers. The genie said he was obligated to grant the man’s three wishes, but somewhere one or more lawyers would receive twice as much.

    The guy wishes for $20M in his bank account, and the genie says, “Granted. But, one or more lawyers now has $40M deposited to his account.” The guy next wishes for a Ferrari and it appears immediately, but the genie reminds him that one or more lawyers now have two Ferraris sitting in their driveways.

    Then, the genie asks for the third wish, and the guy says, “You know, I’ve always wanted to donate a kidney.”

    • #86
  27. Frank Soto Member
    Frank Soto
    @FrankSoto

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    I didn’t realize his objection was related specifically to dead lawyers

    Yep. I suppose we could go into dead baby jokes. Or not.

    How many babies does it take to paint a house?

    Depends how hard you throw them.

    • #87
  28. Midget Faded Rattlesnake Member
    Midget Faded Rattlesnake
    @Midge

    Speaking of actuaries,

    An actuary dies in his sins (which, though many, are unfortunately rather boring) and ends up in Hell. Satan tortures the actuary by immersing half the actuary’s body in boiling pitch, and encasing the other half in ice. Expecting some sadistic pleasure, Satan asks, “How does it feel?”

    “Not so bad. On average, I’m comfortable.”

    • #88
  29. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Amy Schley (View Comment):

    The problem with lawyers is that 95% give the rest a bad name.

    Rush had a different view about lawyers after he was charged with a crime. His criminal defense attorney did an exceptional job,

    People usually come to lawyers when they are facing a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

    Rush’s whole family are lawyers. Amy is also a lawyer.

    My Dad’s a doctor. He is the one who told me the Doctor Joke. 

    A man was walking in the street one day when he was brutally beaten and robbed.

    As he lay unconscious and bleeding, a psychologist, who happened to be passing by, rushed up to him and exclaimed, “My God! Whoever did this really needs help!”

     

    • #89
  30. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Arahant (View Comment):
    But Reagan’s degree was in economics. Of course, there are no jokes about economists.

    If you took all the economists in the nation and lined them up end-to-end from Chicago to Detroit no two would point the same way.

    • #90
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