On Lawyers and Gondoliers
Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 00:00
By Marcel Strigberger
I visited Venice with my wife recently. It was a fine summer evening and we decided to do what comes natural in this charming city, namely take a gondola ride. We approached a gondolier and with one foot in the boat I asked the gondolier how much. The Venetian air was charged with romance and passion and price of course was of no concern. The good fellow replied, "$100 American per hour sir".
I said "thank you sir" and we decided instead to settle for a lemon gelati. In any event this also comes natural.
While strolling along St. Mark's Square consuming our gelati, Shoshana and I were discussing that here was a gondolier charging $100 per hour U.S. which works out to over $150 per hour in Loonies. Many lawyers would only wish to make this much, or more than double what Legal Aid pays per hour. I asked myself why should a gondolier charge more than a lawyer? What do they have that we don't have? I decided to make a comparison.
Firstly I considered the popularity factor.
This is a real challenging one. People generally have visions and fantasies about gondoliers being romantic minstrels who wind their way through the canals strumming their mandolins. A ride along Venice's labyrinth of waterways can often be the memorable highlight capping a fantastic European trip.
A visit to a lawyer evokes a slightly different atmosphere. The greatest similarity to the aforementioned experience one can draw is that is that many clients will claim that lawyers have often taken them for a ride. I don't know about the singing part of it but I am sure that if you ask an account Assessment Officer none will tell you that clients appearing before them have ever suggested that their lawyer while conducting an examination for discovery broke out singing "O Sole Mio". We are however known for often singing the blues.
As for the romantic part there are however some lawyers whose love life would leave even the most colourful gondolieri drifting far behind on the Grand Canal. But this article is not about Bill Clinton.
And both lawyers and gondoliers are popularized prominently in the arts. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote an operetta about the enchanting life on Venice's canals entitled, The Gondoliers. William Shakespeare wrote, "Let's kill all the lawyers".
Then there is responsibility. If we mess up it is likely the clients will sue us. The gondolier's position is relatively claim free, short of him running his gondola into another at all of 5 kilometres per hour.
Gondoliers probably do however have some form or errors and omissions insurance. You never know when some disgruntled clienti might turn around and sue the gondolier for screwing up a few bars of "Funiculi, Funicula".
Then there is education and training. I find that although we invest years as students much of what we learn soon becomes outdated and we find ourselves enwrapped in a barrage of continuing legal education. Every other day there is a change in insurance or family law or other legislation and we are never sure of what we know or should know.
A gondolier on the other hand uses all he learns and he can remain at his comfort level indefinitely. After all what is left after the teacher shows you how to stand upright in the back of the gondola and push your oar? I don't imagine there was a newsflash in the Gondolier's Newsletter recently, which proclaimed:
"Gondolieri! Those striped shirts you have been wearing since the year 1542 are no longer valid after October 1st. After that date you must switch to sleeveless white undershirts. See next newsletter for more details."
And perhaps the best part of the job as compared to lawyers is that all gondoliers get paid in cash immediately. Over the barrel.
Or should I say over the paddle. After Lorenzo says "arrivederci" to you, he has already put away his $150 plus. We lawyers would only want to be so lucky. I have found that in over 24 years of practice, in most cases unless you get all you can get up front from your client, you can calmly say arrivederci to your money. You will have a receivable that will be as useful as an umbrella in Pompeii the day Vesuvius erupted. This may however sometimes still be better than a Legal Aid certificate.
So what are we all waiting for? Anybody know where you can get a good deal on sleeveless undershirts?
I visited Venice with my wife recently. It was a fine summer evening and we decided to do what comes natural in this charming city, namely take a gondola ride. We approached a gondolier and with one foot in the boat I asked the gondolier how much. The Venetian air was charged with romance and passion and price of course was of no concern. The good fellow replied, "$100 American per hour sir".
I said "thank you sir" and we decided instead to settle for a lemon gelati. In any event this also comes natural.
While strolling along St. Mark's Square consuming our gelati, Shoshana and I were discussing that here was a gondolier charging $100 per hour U.S. which works out to over $150 per hour in Loonies. Many lawyers would only wish to make this much, or more than double what Legal Aid pays per hour. I asked myself why should a gondolier charge more than a lawyer? What do they have that we don't have? I decided to make a comparison.
Firstly I considered the popularity factor.
This is a real challenging one. People generally have visions and fantasies about gondoliers being romantic minstrels who wind their way through the canals strumming their mandolins. A ride along Venice's labyrinth of waterways can often be the memorable highlight capping a fantastic European trip.
A visit to a lawyer evokes a slightly different atmosphere. The greatest similarity to the aforementioned experience one can draw is that is that many clients will claim that lawyers have often taken them for a ride. I don't know about the singing part of it but I am sure that if you ask an account Assessment Officer none will tell you that clients appearing before them have ever suggested that their lawyer while conducting an examination for discovery broke out singing "O Sole Mio". We are however known for often singing the blues.
As for the romantic part there are however some lawyers whose love life would leave even the most colourful gondolieri drifting far behind on the Grand Canal. But this article is not about Bill Clinton.
And both lawyers and gondoliers are popularized prominently in the arts. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote an operetta about the enchanting life on Venice's canals entitled, The Gondoliers. William Shakespeare wrote, "Let's kill all the lawyers".
Then there is responsibility. If we mess up it is likely the clients will sue us. The gondolier's position is relatively claim free, short of him running his gondola into another at all of 5 kilometres per hour.
Gondoliers probably do however have some form or errors and omissions insurance. You never know when some disgruntled clienti might turn around and sue the gondolier for screwing up a few bars of "Funiculi, Funicula".
Then there is education and training. I find that although we invest years as students much of what we learn soon becomes outdated and we find ourselves enwrapped in a barrage of continuing legal education. Every other day there is a change in insurance or family law or other legislation and we are never sure of what we know or should know.
A gondolier on the other hand uses all he learns and he can remain at his comfort level indefinitely. After all what is left after the teacher shows you how to stand upright in the back of the gondola and push your oar? I don't imagine there was a newsflash in the Gondolier's Newsletter recently, which proclaimed:
"Gondolieri! Those striped shirts you have been wearing since the year 1542 are no longer valid after October 1st. After that date you must switch to sleeveless white undershirts. See next newsletter for more details."
And perhaps the best part of the job as compared to lawyers is that all gondoliers get paid in cash immediately. Over the barrel.
Or should I say over the paddle. After Lorenzo says "arrivederci" to you, he has already put away his $150 plus. We lawyers would only want to be so lucky. I have found that in over 24 years of practice, in most cases unless you get all you can get up front from your client, you can calmly say arrivederci to your money. You will have a receivable that will be as useful as an umbrella in Pompeii the day Vesuvius erupted. This may however sometimes still be better than a Legal Aid certificate.
So what are we all waiting for? Anybody know where you can get a good deal on sleeveless undershirts?
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© 2007 Marcel Strigberger. This article CANNOT be copied or reproduced in any way without the expressed written consent of the Author.
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