Swimming in deep water : lawyers, judges, and our troubled legal profession

Bill Domnarski has been writing about the law and lawyers for decades, and now offers a thought-provoking book that pulls no punches, especially when it comes to judges, successful trial lawyers, and large firm lawyers. If you're looking for a brutal, raw and honest commentary on judges, lawyers, and the law, this book will make you laugh, but also provide valuable perspective and insight on the legal profession.

• Preface p. ix
• Alone but Connected p. 1
• Are We Happy Yet? p. 7
• Arrogance p. 11
• Associates Used and Abused p. 17
• Being Paid to Shower p. 21
• Betrayal in Plain View p. 25
• Big Law Fees and Big Trouble p. 29
• Big Law and Poetic Justice p. 35
• Brainy Lawyers p. 39
• Can We Talk? p. 45
• Clients and Their Lawyers p. 51
• Contemptuous p. 55
• Criminal Defense Lawyers and their Tough Job p. 59
• Discovery Wars p. 65
• Dissecting the Profession p. 71
• Don't Pooh-Pooh the Profession p. 77
• Dressing for Success p. 81
• Federal Reporter, Third Series p. 85
• Food Fights Masquerading as Depositions p. 91
• Glib and Oily Art p. 95
• Hope and Dread: The Nature of Legal Research p. 101
• I Am Right Because I Say I Am p. 107
• Introduction to Justice p. 113
• Judicial Writing p. 119
• Laugh Out Loud p. 123
• Lawyers Gone Bad p. 129
• Lawyers Writing p. 133
• Legal Writing Instruction Misunderstood p. 137
• Literary Allusions p. 141
• Modestly Put p. 147
• Movies and Television in Judicial Opinions p. 151
• Nature of Lawyers and Lawyering p. 155
• Nihilists Among Us p. 161
• Personality and Office Space p. 167
• Practice Before an Unhappy Judge p. 173
• Professional Cynicism p. 179
• Prosecutors p. 183
• The Saddest Place No More p. 189
• Seeing Yourself and Others p. 193
• Serendipitous Research p. 197
• Shakespeare p. 201
• So, How Did I Do? p. 205
• Taking Instruction from Others p. 211
• Thinking Like a Lawyer p. 215
• Typographical Errors p. 219
• What Am I Worth? p. 223
• What Would Socrates Think? p. 229
• Why are We (Lawyers) So Disliked? p. 235
• You Don't Say? p. 239
• Zeal or No Zeal p. 243
• Index p. 247