What is the word for a corrupt lawyer?
Asked by: Wyman Halvorson IV | Last update: January 23, 2026Score: 4.3/5 (74 votes)
/ˌpɛdiˈfɔgər/ Other forms: pettifoggers. A sneaky, underhanded lawyer is a pettifogger. If your neighbor hires an unscrupulous quack to sue you, you might call his attorney a pettifogger. You don't hear the word pettifogger much these days, since the word is fairly archaic, but you might come across it in an old book.
What is an unethical lawyer called?
unethical lawyer (noun as in shyster) Strong matches. cheater chiseler mouthpiece pettifogger scammer trickster. Weak matches. ambulance chaser crooked lawyer.
What is a derogatory name for a lawyer?
In the U.S., slang and derogatory terms include mouthpiece, shyster, shark, pettifogger (now rare) and ambulance-chaser. In the UK, there are legal professionals called “solicitors” who have a role that's different from that of “barristers,” the lawyers who appear as counsel in the highest-level courts.
What is a corrupt lawyer?
If a lawyer is stealing from clients, or taking bribes, or giving bribes, that's the absolute quickest route to disbarment. The second category is broader. Some lawyers are bad because, like in any profession, there are people who aren't competent.
What is a bad lawyer called?
A bad lawyer, or pettifogger, used dubious means to get clients and to win cases. The mid-16th century word itself combined petty — "small," from the French petit — with the obsolete word fogger, "underhanded dealer," which probably came from a wealthy 15th century Bavarian family of merchants, the Fuggers.
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What is a word for a shady lawyer?
Shyster (/ˈʃaɪstər/; also spelled schiester, scheister, etc.) is a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law, sometimes also politics or economics.
What do you call a fake lawyer?
crooked lawyer (noun as in shyster) Strong matches. cheater chiseler mouthpiece pettifogger scammer trickster.
What is the meaning of pettifogger?
pettifogger • \PET-ee-fog-ur\ • noun. 1 : a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable : shyster 2 : one given to quibbling over trifles. Examples: Charles Dickens's Uriah Heep was a complete pettifogger, an unctuous villain whose name became a byword for a falsely humble hypocrite.
What is misconduct as a lawyer?
Attorney misconduct may include: conflict of interest, overbilling, false or misleading statements, knowingly pursuing frivolous and meritless lawsuits, concealing evidence, abandoning a client, failing to disclose all relevant facts, arguing a position while neglecting to disclose prior law which might counter the ...
What is it called when a lawyer does not do his job?
Any time an attorney fails to meet the expected standards of his or her profession, their clients could take legal actions against them for what is called “legal malpractice.”
What is a negligent lawyer?
Negligence is the “failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.” When a lawyer fails to exercise the care that another lawyer can reasonably be expected to exercise for a client, then they have committed legal negligence.
What is an unscrupulous person called?
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unscrupulous. immoral. ruthless. corrupt. unprincipled.
What do you call someone who disobeys the law?
Definitions of violator. noun. someone who violates the law. synonyms: law offender, lawbreaker. criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw.
What is a slang word for lawyer?
Mouthpiece is a slang term for a lawyer, especially a criminal defense lawyer. The term stems from the view of lawyers as being the spokesperson for their client.
What is the word for bad lawyer?
- poor lawyer. n.
- prejudicial lawyer. n.
- worst lawyer. n.
- corrupt lawyer. n.
- demonic lawyer. n.
- immoral lawyer. n.
- rotten lawyer. n.
- vicious lawyer. n.
What are negative words for lawyers?
Common stereotypes of lawyers include negative labels such as: liar, greedy, wealthy, impersonal, overaggressive, and arrogant. While we understand that those labels can be and have been attributed to other professions, the legal world is particularly attacked.
What is a crooked lawyer?
Crooked attorneys love to corrupt court proceedings. If there have been bizarre outcomes in the case — say, a judge screaming at you for something that did not actually happen, while your attorney just shrugged — consider your case prejudiced.
How do you say "sketchy" professionally?
- incomplete.
- inadequate.
- perfunctory.
- rough.
- scrappy.
- superficial.
What does shaddy mean?
shady adjective (DISHONEST)
dishonest or illegal: They know some very shady characters. He was involved in shady deals in the past.
What do you call a bad law?
Bad law may be considered to include unsound interpretation of legal principles, or a proposition of law that is erroneous, or an attempted statement of the law that is inaccurate, or non-law.
What is another word for corrupt person?
crooked, fraudulent, nefarious, rotten, shady, unethical, unscrupulous, untrustworthy, venal. Strong matches.
What is law corruption?
World Bank economist Daniel Kaufmann extended the concept to include "legal corruption" in which power is abused within the confines of the law—as those with power often have the ability to make laws for their protection.
What is a bad attorney?
Other signs of an incompetent lawyer include poor communication, missed deadlines, lack of knowledge about relevant laws, unpreparedness in court, and general disorganization in handling cases.