Legal Research

Favourite Media Lines About Lawyers

By David Cheifetz

Adding to the legion of penultimate year-or-the-decade “best of” lists, let’s do one for “favourite meda lines about lawyers”. The line doesn’t have to come from this decade, but you have to update the line (if neeed) to make it (more) apt to the decade.  If you do change the line(s), provide the original for comparison.

I’ll start.  From the original “Adam’s Rib” (1949) which just happens to also be about lawyers.

Lawyers should never have unprotected sex with  other lawyers. This is called inbreeding, from which comes idiot children and more lawyers. Lawyers should marry piano players or song-writers ? or both.

The original lines are

Lawyers should never marry other lawyers. This is called inbreeding, from which comes idiot children and more lawyers. Lawyers should marry piano players or song-writers ? or both.? [Kip (David Wayne) to Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) in Adam's Rib (1949)]

If and when you watch the movie, listen to where Kip places the  pregnant pause.

If the line had been from a 1970 Monty Python skit – watch here, transcript here – it likely would have been something like

Upper class English lawyers should never have unprotected sex with other lawyers. This is called inbreeding, from which comes idiot children, more lawyers and judges. Lawyers should have sex with ….

segueing into some skit appropriately Pythonish but I’ll leave that for another time. However, in honour of approaching New Year’s festivities, here’s a classic Australian drinking song, as performed by members of Monty Python.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on December 30, 2009 (boomark / email).