Army of Lawyers: Difference between revisions

[[File:marching_lawyers_3144marching lawyers 3144.jpg|frame|SUE two three four, SUE two three four!]]

[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. These are [[Mooks]] in suits, used for intimidation. When a character in a story feels he's been wronged (or feels he can get the upper hand), especially if said character is rich, he'll often threaten to call upon his [['''Army of Lawyers]]'''. (Sometimes, "my legal team", same diff. In other words, lawyer overkill.) Sometimes that Army can actually be seen in a show, and when they are, they are invariably marching in ranks behind the character, in step and double-file (and often with an added foley effect of marching jackboots). Occasionally it will be a team of [[Yes-Man|Yes Men]] or [[Middle Management Mook]]s rather than lawyers, but with the same effect: [[Gunboat Diplomacy|a martial show of force]] in a corporate or legal setting. Sometimes the Army will be acting on behalf of an unseen (usually evil) client, all members of the Army working toward one ominous goal.

** A subtle yet deadly approach to this trope, as he's talking about eight [[Evil Old Folks]] - as in eight senior citizens who have been getting [[Mega Corp|Mega Corps]]s [[Off on a Technicality]] since they were his age.

** There's an [[Army of Lawyers]] surrounding the Lavish family in ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'', although they're mostly there to threaten [[Big Screwed-Up Family|other Lavishes]].

** The Elf Queen summons an [[Army of Lawyers]] in ''[[Discworld/The Wee Free Men|The Wee Free Men]]''; the one thing the Nac Mac Feegle are scared of.

* It's mentioned many times in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' that [[The Don|Gentleman Johny Marcone]] has an [[Army of Lawyers]] to protect him from any kind of legal charges.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* One episode of ''[[The Defenders (series)|The Defenders]]'' (the 2010 series with lawyers, not [[The Defenders|that comic book series]]) has one episode's bad guys use their [[Army of Lawyers]] as a blatant show of force. There are so many of them that when they sit down at their ridiculously long table they need two row of chairs.

== Newspapers[[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* Parodied in one ''[[Far Side]]'' comic, where an explorer at the edge of an island jungle is confronted with a group of men in suits with briefcases.

'''employer''': The academy requriesrequires to be razed to the ground. [[Talk to the Fist|We think that a number of missiles fired from a fast-moving warship might do the trick.]] }}

* Thief's Ninja Lawyers in ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]''.

* [http://www.boiledbeans.net/2008/03/27/yet-another-bluish-question/ IBM's lawyers have been compared] to the ''Nazgûl'' (of [[The Lord of the Rings|LoTR]] fame).

* A [https://web.archive.org/web/20130626120719/http://www.endbudgetgridlock.com/Websites/stopthebudgetgames/Images/P25_BriefcaseArmy.mp3 recent radio commercial] aired prior to the 2010 November elections in California warned voters that Proposition 25 was being fought by politicians and their "briefcase army" (with appropriate marching sound effects in the background).

* [[J. K. Rowling]] is said to have an [[Army of Lawyers]] in [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2100186.ece this Times Online article].

* On this[http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/400/ the website called "''Classic Adventure Gaming'']," the writer asks that an unidentified man not sue him with his [[Army of Lawyers]] http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/400/

* [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/prince_pirates/ "Prince sends [[Army of Lawyers]] to take on Pirate Bay"] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/prince_pirates/

* "Bowen: [[Army of Lawyers]] at the ready if Prop 14 passes" https://web.archive.org/web/20131025071131/http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/06/bowen-army-of-l.html "Bowen: Army of Lawyers at the ready if Prop 14 passes"]

* Humorous example: A famous entry in the [[wikipedia:Doo Dah Parade|Doo Dah parade]] in Pasadena, California was the Synchronized Briefcase Drill Team, with 16 men &and women in three-piece suits performing precision marching routines with attaché cases.

* Actual lawyers find this phenomenon very amusing, especially when you can be relatively sure that 3three of the 6six lawyers on one side of the bar are totally superfluous. They're only there to impress their own clients (and soak some more cash) and intimidate the other side's clients.

[[Category:ArmyWhite ofCollar LawyersTropes]]