Need advice on writing a lawyer character

John Blackhawk

Literotica Guru
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Hello everyone,
It's been a while since i posted on here but i could use some advice on writing a lawyer character for a story im writing. I just could use some good pointers.
 
Oh, THE POTENTIAL!

Difference between a lawyer and a catfish? One’s a slimy, amoral bottom-feeder and the other’s just a fish. Why does your lawyer protagonist wear a tie? To keep his foreskin from slipping over his head.

But I’m guessing that sort of reality isn’t what you’re looking for. Pity.
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Crooked lawyers give the honest 1% a bad name.

USA attorneys come in many flavors, from saintly to demonic to crazed. Choose whatever stereotype(s) you want from the wide assortment available. But be careful. As Groucho Marx said, if you create a fictional scumbag shyster named Phineas J. Goosebladder, you will be sued for defamation by living scumbag shyster named Phineas J. Goosebladder.
 
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Try watching Law & Order reruns, they have all types or lawyers on that show, take your choice.
 
More information would make it easier to think of something useful. Is the lawyer a good guy, slime bag, ambulance chaser, advocate for the poor, etc. The way he serves his client will be dictated on his character.

Let's assume he's a good guy: thorough, wise to the tactics of police, confident in his skills, dedicated to justice, follows the rules, etc.

I'm assuming this is in relation to the alien story idea, so maybe an advocate type would be even better...or maybe a partnership of a 'good guy' and an 'advocate'...maybe even a male/female partnership?

Not much help there, but I can't think of much more.
 
Try watching Law & Order reruns, they have all types or lawyers on that show, take your choice.
I think I recently read that L&O episodes are shown in some law schools as excellent renditions of courtroom procedure. I've never seen the show so I have no opinion.

More information would make it easier to think of something useful. Is the lawyer a good guy, slime bag, ambulance chaser, advocate for the poor, etc. The way he serves his client will be dictated on his character.

Let's assume he's a good guy: thorough, wise to the tactics of police, confident in his skills, dedicated to justice, follows the rules, etc.

I'm assuming this is in relation to the alien story idea, so maybe an advocate type would be even better...or maybe a partnership of a 'good guy' and an 'advocate'...maybe even a male/female partnership?
One partner (either gender) is a dedicated advocate; the other will sell-out the alien when possible. Build on sexual-ethical tensions. Does the critter smell their arousal?

Some have other professional degrees besides JD -- engineering, economics, medical, theology, etc. Perhaps the alien wants an astronaut-lawyer working aerospace law. Or a mythical critter seeks a Vatican lawyer to be legitimized under canon law. Or a doctor-lawyer gets it ruled a medical specimen.

And lawyers may be active outside their day jobs -- I can think of some who contributed to music. So the lawyer's Goth band needs a bizarre lead singer, which makes a good cover for the alien or chimera. A brilliant career awaits.
 
I've met many lawyers; they are people first and foremost. There are all types of personalities but the common factor is they get paid for results. Like car salesmen with a college degree, if you like.
 
Hello everyone,
It's been a while since i posted on here but i could use some advice on writing a lawyer character for a story im writing. I just could use some good pointers.

this all depends on how important it is to show the lawyer being a lawyer. if he's just a guy who happens to be an attorney, then portray him or her anyway you want to because there are a thousand different personalities.

if you need to show him practicing law, tell me what, in particular, he or she is doing, and I'll give you all the advice you need.

while you might get by using a TV lawyer as a model, that stuff is mostly cringe-worthy if not laughable. screen writers are forced to do this because, frankly, a lot of what lawyers do, even in court, is boring. that said, A Few Good Men and Breaker Morant did get the lawyer vibe right.
 
I've met many lawyers; they are people first and foremost. There are all types of personalities but the common factor is they get paid for results. Like car salesmen with a college degree, if you like.

Besides lawyers being represented by all sorts of human beings, there are all sorts of ways of specializing as a lawyer. One can be a criminal defence lawyer, a corporate lawyer, an estate law attorney, a bankruptcy lawyer or even a divorce lawyer.
 
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Risking sounding repetitive, adding a bit more detail to the background you'll be setting the character would ease in advising you.

Start with the basics: what kind of human being are you portraying? An aggressive, no holds barred, but actually a pretty decent individual? A scheming, passive-aggressive, law twister, paper pusher? The kind of person no dirty deed is too dirty to secure a victory? An idealist?

From here, the character will "tell" you his/her story and how the world around influences and gets influenced by the action the character takes.
 
I came across Wikipedia's list of stock characters in literature and drama. None are attorneys specifically but many could inform a lawyer's personality. Are these too stereotypical? Hey, even cartoon cutouts can be animated.
 
I came across Wikipedia's list of stock characters in literature and drama. None are attorneys specifically but many could inform a lawyer's personality. ....

a lawyer is someone with a law degree and/or a license and/or practicing law. there's no one standard "type" except that they tend to be smart people.

a "type" of lawyer who might serve the OP well is the lawyer who appears bumbling and unprepared at first, but really isn't. Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men, and the military lawyer in Breaker Morant, for example.
 
a lawyer is someone with a law degree and/or a license and/or practicing law. there's no one standard "type" except that they tend to be smart people.
A certain degree of literacy is needed, sure. But smart people do dumb stuff all the time. Like a civil-case advocate who privately said she wanted to kill selected politicians. We did not retain her.

a "type" of lawyer who might serve the OP well is the lawyer who appears bumbling and unprepared at first, but really isn't. Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men, and the military lawyer in Breaker Morant, for example.
Or in My Cousin Vinnie?

Attorneys are people. Pick a personality and employ them as a legal beagle. Hilarity ensues.
 
You can go and watch "Lawyer reacts" videos on youtube, where a real lawyer watches some lawyer-related movies or scenes and comments.

This may give you insight on how real-life lawyer looks, some of the thinking patterns and also what other media gets wrong.:cattail:
 
Just write whatever comes to mind & edit it after.
Quite. Great fun comes with crafting someone weird. Attorneys can be psychotic too. Or deathly dull. Or nudist. Hey, try Night Court in a nudist colony!
 
Quite. Great fun comes with crafting someone weird. Attorneys can be psychotic too. Or deathly dull. Or nudist. Hey, try Night Court in a nudist colony!

The resident nudist lawyer I know around here is Harry Stone by HStoner.
 
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