Incoming 1Ls already offended by lawyer jokes

Hans Olo, The Stool

As Patricia Heiner sat down to read about Carbolic Smoke Balls this summer, she was struck by the influence lawyers and the law have on society. “I mean, like everything is touched by the law,” said Heiner. “It’s such an important part of society, and no one has any respect for it. It’s really sad. I’m probably going to be a public interest lawyer when I get out, so I’m really sensitive to this kind of stuff.”

Heiner told The Stool about a recent family gathering that took a turn for the worse when her uncle told a lawyer joke at the dinner table. “I was just sitting there eating my minestrone when he looks at me and says ‘What do you have when you have a lawyer buried up to his neck in sand? Not enough sand.’ Then he started laughing like an idiot. I told him to shut his fat mouth and the next thing I know I’m throwing my plate at him.”

Incoming 1L Luke Thomas, on the other hand, feels that lawyer jokes should only be told by lawyers or law students. “It’s like telling an Ole and Lena joke if you’re not Scandinavian,” said Thomas. “Not cool. You have to know what it’s like to be in that world to have the right to make fun of it.” When asked how many law school classes Thomas had under his belt at that point, he said “it doesn’t matter how many classes I’ve taken. These are my people now.”