the Zealous

The word "shark" entered the English language in the 1560s, well after professional lawyers emerged in the thirteenth century. The term "shark lawyer" has been used to describe lawyers for centuries and has multiple origins. Google Gemini Pro AI has this to say in response to the prompt, "Explain how lawyers came to be known as sharks":

r/Ask_Lawyers 12.07.2024 post by reddituser bettyx1138:

Why do lawyers prefer to be called attorneys?

NAL, I work amongst them. Is there a difference between the terms lawyer and attorney?

Imho it’s shorter to say a two syllable word than three syllables and it’s less letters to write 🤷🏼‍♀️ am I insulting lawyers/attorneys by calling them lawyers?

Principle: If your lawyer makes more money off of your investors than he does from you, he’s not really your lawyer.

If someone made you an offer to buy your home, but suggested that you use their real estate agent in the process, you’d hopefully immediately notice a problem with such an arrangement.  Most people would.  That being said, here’s a very common scenario in the early stages of a startup:

Investor (to Founder): Hey, we’d love to work with you guys on a possible investment, but first you need to get your legal stuff cleaned up.

Founder (eager to get investment): Awesome. But I don’t know any good startup lawyers.

Investor: No problem, I know a great startup lawyer, [X].  We’ve worked with him on several deals. I’ll put you in touch.

The problem with this scenario? When things go sideways.