Philadelphia Lawyer
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The designation 'Philadelphia lawyer' refers to an attorney adept at manipulating technicalities to achieve victory in legal matters. For example, Shakespeare's character Portia (Merchant of Venice) in The Merchant of Venice could be considered the quintessential Philadelphia lawyer for holding that Shylock's contract claim requiring a pound of flesh from Antonio did not entitle him to any of Antonio's blood -- an impossibility. In present usage the title 'Philadelphia lawyer' is not a designation for a lawyer who has prevailed in a legal conflict on the merits of his argument (i.e., justice of a claim under existing law or a modification of existing law), which in Antonio's case would have meant finding the contract invalid as unconscionable or invalid for lack of legal consideration, but rather for cunning exploitation of a procedural (legal process) or substantive (a law at issue) nuance his adversary has missed.
The origin of 'Philadelphia lawyer' refers to Andrew Hamilton's successful defense in 1735 of John Peter Zenger against sedition and libel charges for his publications about Governor William Cosby, Governor of the New York Colony. Though Hamilton's defense of Zenger is frequently cited as origin of the term 'Philadelphia lawyer', in the context of the Zenger case it appears to refer to able 'big city' lawyering rather than cunning tactics.[1] Indeed, the Zenger case was won because Hamilton appealed to a sympathetic jury (i.e., jury nullification) who were persuaded there could be no claim of libel or sedition could arise from Zenger's publication of facts. (Libel is a tort arising from printed, defamatory statements, and truth is a defense to a libel charge. As for a sedition claim, Hamilton's argument was that true statements about deeds by a public official can no more support a claim of sedition (speech or writing that encourages insurrection) than providing biographical information about that official.)
- ^ Indeed, origin of the expression 'Philadelphia lawyer' refers to an observer in the courtroom of the Zenger trial to the jury's verdict: "Only a Philadelphia lawyer could have done it!" See http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/AboutHistory?appNum=2&wosid=BHECcqgLRIxbt85PXwtM5w
