the Zealous

480-300 BCE
The earliest describable class of people as lawyers were likely "orators" in ancient Athens, but a true profession could not take hold or flourish then due to a ban on charging fees for such services. The Athenians believed that citizens should actively participate in their own legal affairs and be responsible for their actions. Hiring a representative would undermine this principle.

41-50 AD
The Roman Emperor Claudius lifted the ban on fees and legalized advocacy as a profession—but with a lifetime fee cap of 10,000 sesterces, or about US$5,000 today. This cap was too low to enable a true profession to flourish.

Slip and Fall Lawyer
Carl Reisman

I am becoming
an acolyte of the slip
and fall;
slips on water,
over concrete blocks,
on icy walks. My family
fed by falls.

The film Flight is the story of commuter airline pilot Whip Whitaker (played by Oscar-nominated Denzel Washington). Spoiler alert: I’m about to describe some of the plot and the ending.

Whip is an accomplished veteran pilot. He’s also an alcoholic and a cocaine freak. One morning, after a sleepless night of rowdy flight attendant sex, heavy drinking, smoking bud and snorting coke, Whip shows up for work to pilot SouthJet Flight 227* with 102 souls on board.

The plane encounters nasty turbulence, but Whip masterfully flies through the chop without so much as breaking a sweat. As he is speaking to the passengers over the intercom to calm them down, Whip secretly mixes vodka with orange juice and consumes two of those before going back to the pilot’s chair and taking a nap.