On Philadelphia Lawyers

[LARSSON at VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU]

Here's an opinion on the term "Philadelphia lawyer" from my brother, who is
a lawyer and does work in, yes, Philadephia:


"A lawyer named Andrew Hamilton from Philadelphia represented John Peter
Zenger in the libel trial (In New York?), pre-Revolution, which established
the principle that truth is an absolute defense to an action for
defamation/slander. Since Hamilton got Zenger off the hook, Hamilton (and his
fellow Philadelphia lawyers) got a Johnny Cochrane-like reputation for being
a slick lawyer,: "If you get in real trouble, you'd better get yourself a
Philadelphia lawyer."

The local bar association has an Andrew Hamilton costume ball every year to
raise money for the legal aid foundation.

Over the years, I think the shade of meaning changed slightly. Woody Guthrie
wrote a song (I can't remember which one) which prominently features the
phrase "Philadelphia lawyer" as an advocate for the bad guys (i.e., big money
and high society) against the good guys (i.e., the Joads) -- certainly an accu
rate view, based on my personal experience. It is tin his latter sense that I
usually hear people use the term: a slick _establishment_ lawyer."



Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)