Law is serious business. Lawyers, judges and the people who hire them are not always. Since the early days of InhouseBlog, The Weird, Wacky and Funny has collected the stories that make in-house counsel laugh, wince or forward a link to a colleague with “you have to see this.” This page gathers them in one place, newest first. When something new and ridiculous happens, it goes straight to the top.
Latest addition: October 2026. Have a story we missed? Send it to us.
The Weird, Wacky and Funny, Newest First
Caught With AI Fake Cites? Lawyers May Plead the Fifth NEW
October 2026. Courts now ask lawyers to certify that a human checked AI-drafted filings. A Harvard lecturer and former prosecutor points out the twist: if a judge asks whether you really did the checking, the honest answer could be used against you. A lawyer at the podium pondering the Fifth Amendment is not a great look for any client. Read our take and the original at Harvard Law Today.
Which Practice Area Has the Smartest Lawyers?
January 2023. Readers of a British legal site went to war in the comments. Tax lawyers are “the brightest in the City,” said one. Pensions lawyers outrank “glorified overpaid transaction managing paper pushers,” said another. Litigators, naturally, claimed to be the brains trust. See our post and the debate at Legal Cheek.
“I’m Not a Cat”
February 2021. A Texas lawyer joined a Zoom court hearing on a borrowed computer with a kitten filter switched on, then spent a long minute as a wide-eyed cat assuring the judge, “I’m here live. I’m not a cat.” The judge kept a straight face and posted the clip as a reminder to check your settings. It became the most famous courtroom moment of the pandemic. Read our take and watch the clip.
The $67 Million Pants
June 2020. A judge sued his neighborhood dry cleaner for more than $67 million over a lost pair of trousers. More than a decade later, the case finally cost him: a 90-day suspension from practice. Proof that some disputes are best settled with a store credit. Read it at the ABA Journal.
Law Students: Among the Least Hardworking Students?
August 2019. A U.K. study of student workloads found law students put in about 28 hours a week, behind medicine, dentistry, architecture and even arts students. No credit was given for hours spent crying over case law. Read it at Legal Cheek.
No Sympathy for the Legal Profession
July 2019. When a Noah’s Ark theme park sued its insurers over rain damage, one headline wrote itself: “the lawyers come two by two.” An ABA Journal columnist rounded up seven reasons the public has so little sympathy for lawyers, from Shakespeare onward. Read it at the ABA Journal.
An App to Sue Anyone at the Push of a Button
November 2018. A consumer app promised to let anyone file a small claims case without a lawyer, in a few taps. Litigation, now with the convenience of food delivery. In-house counsel everywhere quietly checked their dockets. Read it at Vice.
The CEO Who Covered His Ears
March 2016. When his in-house counsel raised concerns about the legality of the company’s web pages, a company president “put his hands over his ears” and refused to discuss it. A federal appeals court held him personally liable for millions in restitution. The moral for every executive: listen to your lawyer. For more on why in-house advice matters, see general counsel ROI.
The Texas Law Hawk Takes Flight
October 2015. American flag, check. Puppy, check. Explosions, very much check. A Texas criminal defense lawyer’s gloriously over-the-top commercials made him the internet’s favorite attorney for a week, and a case study in memorable marketing. Watch at the Texas Law Hawk Video Center.
You Cannot Copyright a Chicken Sandwich
August 2015. A ham sandwich may be indictable, as the old line goes, but a chicken sandwich is not copyrightable. A federal appeals court said so, ending a fight over a restaurant’s signature recipe. IP lawyers took notes; everyone else took lunch. Read it at the ABA Journal.
The Workplace Defecator Verdict
June 2015. A warehouse employer tried to solve a mystery in its aisles by collecting DNA samples from employees. The genetic testing broke federal law, and a jury awarded two workers about $2.2 million. The culprit was never named. Read it at The National Law Review.
A Woman Can Sue Herself
February 2015. In Utah, a widow was the heir, the estate’s representative and the driver blamed for the crash, all at once. The appeals court said she could bring the wrongful-death claim against herself. Settlement talks were presumably brief. Read it at Lowering the Bar.
Top 7 Responses to Legal Threats
October 2014. Lawyers rarely get to say what they are really thinking when a threatening letter arrives. Sometimes they do, and the results are glorious. A reader favorite: see our post and the full list at JD Journal.
Daimler Deletes Your Vacation Email
August 2014. Daimler installed software that does more than auto-reply while staff are away: it deletes the incoming email outright and tells the sender whom to contact instead. Lawyers on vacation everywhere wept with envy. Read it at Engadget.
8 Funny Out-of-Office Replies
July 2014. Your standard auto-reply gets ignored anyway, so why not have some fun with it? A reader favorite: eight out-of-office messages with more personality than most lawyers allow themselves. Read them at The National Law Review.
Confirmed: In-House Lawyers Are as Good as the Name Brand
July 2014. A plaintiff argued that in-house insurance defense lawyers were “a different product” from outside counsel. The Seventh Circuit disagreed. In-house lawyers everywhere nodded knowingly. Read the case summary at JD Supra.
A Conference Call in Real Life
March 2014. Every in-house lawyer has lived this: the beeps, the “who just joined?”, the person on mute delivering a speech. This short video acts out a conference call in a real room, and it is still painfully accurate. See our post or watch it on YouTube.
Lawyer Napped at Trial, Rated Himself an 8 or 9
September 2013. A Texas defense lawyer blamed sleep apnea for dozing off during a drunk driving trial, then rated his own performance an eight or nine out of ten. One wonders what he would have scored awake. Read it at the ABA Journal.
The 29-Hour Day
September 2013. An Ohio lawyer billed for workdays on court-appointed cases that included one stretching 29 hours. His lawyer said he did the work and just needed better records. Read it at the ABA Journal.
Lawyers Finish Last in “Contributions to Society”
July 2013. Americans rated ten professions on their contributions to society. Lawyers came in dead last. Happy Monday. Read it at LexBlog, and see what lawyers can do about their image in our guide to future-proofing the in-house counsel.
Need a Break From the Weird?
- Stressed after reading about a 29-hour day? See our guide to lawyer burnout.
- Working for a boss who covers his ears? See office politics for lawyers.
- Ready for a saner job? Browse in-house counsel jobs and openings on GoInhouse.com.
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