Document Type
Book Review
Publication Title
Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
Publication Date
2007
Volume
20
First Page
1137
Abstract
(Excerpt)
Jeremy Blachman's new book, Anonymous Lawyer, is a black-humorous stab at the hearts and souls of large elite law firms everywhere (if firms had such things as hearts and souls). The novel had its beginnings as a weblog, with someone named "Anonymous Lawyer"—ostensibly a hiring partner at a large elite law firm—posting entries on the internet. Anonymous Lawyer's posts discussed everything from over-the-top summer associate outings complete with fireworks and drunken debauchery to lamenting Daylight Savings Time and the loss of hundreds of billable hours. In December 2004, the author of the blog was revealed to be Jeremy Blachman, not a hiring partner at all, but rather a student at Harvard Law School with a flair for creative writing. A book deal ensued, and the result is Anonymous Lawyer, a full-fledged novel that retains the irony and wit of the original blog. The book is an awful lot of fun, although it leads readers to the conclusion that working as an associate at a large elite law firm is simply awful.
In this review, I will discuss why the blog struck a chord with so many readers, and why the book Anonymous Lawyer contains a serious message about employment at law firms. Although the book is certainly amusing, it is at the same time a frontal assault on law firms that are portrayed as parasitic, dehumanizing, and morally bankrupt. To be sure, Blachman's book is not the first, and will surely not be last, to poke fun at the expense of law firms. Rather, it belongs in a long tradition of satire about the practice of law, and more generally, authoritarian and hierarchical workplaces. As one commentator put it, satire "is more than parody, burlesque, or simple humor, in that satire implies ridicule of folly and vices that have a social significance and ill effect." Blachman's version, however, has a substantially nastier tone than previous lampoonings of law firms, and it is my contention that the change in tone is probably due to changes that have taken place in the "industry" for legal services.
Comments
Review of Anonymous Lawyer, by Jeremy Blachman.