Question for lawyers/law students/anyone

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Interesting. All law school professor's I've ever know were "Professor So-and-so." I've only known one lawyer who called himself "Dr." based on his JD. All the other lawyers laughed at him behind his back.

In law school, it was professor. I assume it would be as much unless someone had an SJD, then he or she would definitely get to be called doctor (or whatever else they wanted to be called).

I'm talking about in an undergraduate college setting. The J.D.s all went by doctor and no one ever said anything about it. This includes the university's president.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I'm talking about in an undergraduate college setting. The J.D.s all went by doctor and no one ever said anything about it. This includes the university's president.

Ah, gotcha. Even then, though, the ones I've known, though, have gone by Mr. or Ms., unless they had another doctorate. In my experience, there is a real avoidance of calling someone "Dr." based on a J.D., perhaps because it's a relatively recent degree and many, many lawyers (and judges) didn't have a J.D. And again, maybe it's a regional thing.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Ah, gotcha. Even then, though, the ones I've known, though, have gone by Mr. or Ms., unless they had another doctorate. In my experience, there is a real avoidance of calling someone "Dr." based on a J.D., perhaps because it's a relatively recent degree and many, many lawyers (and judges) didn't have a J.D. And again, maybe it's a regional thing.

To be clear, Mr. or Ms. unless in an academic setting, then when surrounded by PhDs, "doctor" it is. If it's good enough for tenure, it should be good enough for everyone else.

It may be an Okie thing though, you may have me there.

LLB degrees haven't been passed out for quite some time, so perhaps the reason for avoidance of the term has faded?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Kevin

LLB degrees haven't been passed out for quite some time, so perhaps the reason for avoidance of the term has faded?

JD appeared in different states at different times. There are still a number of LLBs practicing and sitting on the bench around here.

Even so, I just think it sounds odd/pretentious/silly for a JD to use "doctor."

Originally Posted by DrPhil

In academia, including those who teach and conduct research, "Dr." tends to only be used for PhD, PsyD, and M.D.

Right. even in non-academic circles, I think lots of people tend to equate "Dr." either with a medical professional (physician, dentist, vet, doctoral level psychologist, etc) or with a PhD or something comparable to a PhD. I've known lots of people, and lots of lawyers (and I guess I'm probably one) who don't consider a JD to be a "real" doctorate. I mean, if you want an advanced degree after law school, you typically go for an LLM, a masters. That doesn't sound like you already have a doctorate to me.

I understand that the move to the JD was to make the law degree, which was then a bachelor's degree, more on a par with other professionals. But I feel quite sure that if someone called me Dr. MysticCat, I'd tell them I don't have a doctorate and am merely a Mister.