Would you hire a lawyer who stutters?
Asked by
zenele (
8260
)
July 6th, 2010
There was a lawyer on TV being interviewed about soccer – because of the World cup – but he stuttered horribly.
I felt bad for him, on the one hand, but also impressed by the fact that this hadn’t stopped him from pursuing his studies and ultimately working as, of all things, a trial lawyer.
You know what I mean; it’s really based on communication, thespianism and communication. Not so easy if you stutter.
What do you think?
Could you get past the initial trepidation and stigma and hire the person as your lawyer?
Your kids’ lawyer?
A murder trial?
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33 Answers
If he was good at what he did, of course I would. Stuttering is something that comes and goes.
Maybe he was the kind of lawyer that doesn’t need to speak all that much? Like a corporate lawyer?
^ Skipped the details, bob. Trial lawyer.
No. As part of a defense team, but not as the one appearing before the jury. I am sure this lawyer you saw on tv must function that way if not being buried totally in corporate dealings and writing wills etc.
Perfectoing again—re seeing him on tv—this is not billable time, this may be one of the few times he gets to be heard
I just saw him, as I said, commentating on the soccer game.
Sure, for most things. I might not hire such an attorney for litigation, but my guess is that such an attorney would not make that the center of his practice.
Wow…good question. I mean, a good part of what a trial lawyer does is eloquent oration….I don’t know what I’d do!
@bob_ Go make Zen a sandwich because you didn’t read the details! Make me one too while you’re in there.
Pastrami sandwiches all around.
Pastrami??!! Blech! Kicks @bob_ in the shin…”
I would want to see him in the court room first to see how he does. I had a pastor when I was a teenager that had a stutter, but it was only evident in private. When he was doing his sermon during church, he didn’t stutter at all.
If the stutter was very distracting, I would probably hire him as part of a team, but not as the one doing all the talking. If it wasn’t very distracting, I wouldn’t worry about it.
I agree fully with what @seaofclouds said before me!
My Dad’s divorce lawyer stuttered.
Mom got 80% of the house, $700 a month in support, and 50% of his retirement.
Yes, i would hire him/her, because, besides he/she obviously is qualified, people (like what also happened to @zenele) may feel sympathy for him/her.
I would go strictly by the success rate, and not by anything else.
@rebbel If I ever sue you, I’ll hire James Earl Jones, see how much sympathy your guy gets.
@bob_
Going to look him up.
Edit: Apparently he’s an actor. He played a lawyer?
At face value anybody who can stutter and pass the bars has probably worked twice as hard as anyone else and I would expect would do the same for his clients. I would like to meet him right about now!!
@rebbel He’s the voice of Darth Vader.
@bob_
Aha, well if you hire him then i would hire Don LaFontaine.
@rebbel You don’t know Mufasa and Darth Vadar?? Go make Bob_ a sandwich!
Off the subject, James Earl Jones is an icon…..
To draw up documents, sure. To argue to a jury on my behalf, never.
No way…Not to represent me in the courtroom anyway.
“Mmmmmmmmayyyyyyy Yiiiiiiiiiii apppppppppppppprocach the bbbbbbbench yyyyyyyyour honor?”
Have you all seen Mr. James Earl Jones in “House”?
He’s getting on in years, but what a voice.
Sadly, he was bed-ridden the whole show; died at the end. But what a voice. What perfect enunciation. What tone, what timbre.
Presentation is worth a lot, in court, in business, in just about everything. Stutters tend to subtract from the quality of a person’s presentation.
If the guy’s record is good, then I probably would go for it. Or maybe not; I get annoyed when people ‘um’ and ‘uh’ too much, and I probably wouldn’t have much more patience for the lawyer.
If the stutter was so bad that it influenced his or her ability to communicate effectively and clearly, then no, I don’t think I would want want that person to represent me in a court room setting, as unkind and horrible as that seems.
I can’t imagine how frustrating and annoying it must be to have a speech disorder like that sometimes, and it seems like the sort of thing that could affect people in so many different areas of their life, depending on the severity. But if I had to choose between discriminating against someone with no personal attachment to me because of something they couldn’t help, or protecting myself or my family from some horrible legal situation, in all honesty, I’m afraid I would choose to be selfish. I’d do what I thought would be best for me or my family, and that would mean not choosing a lawyer who had a stutter severe enough to seriously influence the clarity of his or her communication. I think that really sucks, because it’s obviously something that they can’t help, but I think it’s how I would be if I was in that situation.
@Blondesjon
Ssssssssuckkks fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffor her.
I wouldn’t want to have surgery from a surgeon who had tremors or a nervous tick either…
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