Lets Talk About Lawyer Jokes

Last week, I talked about the harm that can be caused by jokes where chronic illness, such as Jada Pinkett Smith’s autoimmune disease, are the punchline, and how such jokes are not okay. This week I want to keep talking about jokes. A specific kind of joke. Lawyer jokes.

Most of us have probably heard them, especially if we are lawyers ourselves. They tend to be somewhat negative. Seriously, before my first law school class I was half convinced I was going to school to become a snake oil salesmen and make deals with the devil.

Yet the law is such an important part of our society, and lawyers an equally important part of a functioning legal system. Lawyers do so much good, from advocating for an individual’s personal rights, to protecting the environment, to helping craft new legal precedent that will benefit an entire generation. So, why do we sit idly by as society passes jokes about our character?

And it isn’t anything new. Just look at Shakespeare (“first, kill all the lawyers”). Yet too little is done to push back against it. One theory I heard suggested it had to do with the view lawyer’s take of ourselves. Do we believe the jokes society tells about us? And if we do believe those jokes, those opinions about our profession, what does that do to our mental health?

A lot of talk has been made about how lawyers need more self-care, better work-life balances, etc. And that is all absolutely true. But we also need to talk about how we look at ourselves and how we look at our profession. Changing the narrative about the profession of the law might help change how the profession and society approaches mental health challenges.

And de-stigmatizing mental health within the legal community is definitely nothing to laugh at.

P.S. For Law students just coming into the field, the ABA for Law Students had a pretty good take on this a few years back…