Q 6

PLAYBOY: Here's a literary question. Give Shakespeare an assist: What would be the most efficient way to "kill all the lawyers"?

Joel Hyatt: Require them to keep silent for a week.

Q 7

PLAYBOY: You're the pre-eminent attorney of the TV age; what's your assessment: Did Perry Mason ever have competition?

Joel Hyatt: No. Perry Mason will always stand alone. I loved that show. Then, unfortunately, I went to law school and learned that everything in Perry Mason's courtroom is unrealistic. He asks witnesses questions that are totally improper and would never be permitted in any court. He always solves the case by capturing the person who really committed the crime--who just so happens to be sitting in the courtroom. It's a wonderful show that, if anything, exacerbates the lack of information people have about our legal system.

The recent Paul Newman film The Verdict was actually more relevant to important issues facing the legal profession: the need for quality standards, the role that powerful institutions can play, the incompetence of some judges. But the movie went to extremes. For example, it wasn't necessary to have Newman be a lawyer with only one client to prove he was struggling. There are, unfortunately, many struggling lawyers who make the kind of improper ethical judgments he made. But there are very few lawyers who are as sad and pathetic as he was, and by carrying the characterization too far, the movie lost credibility.

Q 8

PLAYBOY: Lawyers are always tossing around Latin terms. Do you guys really know what that stuff means? That is, when is a corpus delicti?

Joel Hyatt: I used to refer to the women I wanted to date in college as corpus delicti. In truth, I don't know what many of those terms and phrases mean. The arcane and unique language that lawyers insist upon using is an attempt to keep themselves on a pedestal. They try to enshroud the law in a big mystery so that the public feels that it needs lawyers to explain what seems to be so inexplicable. Lawyers maintain the mystery in order to keep their very special place in society and keep their fees high.

A lot of law language is nonsense. I have seen legal documents that have provoked me--as a lawyer--to challenge the author to explain. Often, the author cannot explain the meaning except to say, "Well, that paragraph's always in the document." What a lousy reason. Our firm is demystifying the law and trying to use understandable, everyday language.

Q 9

PLAYBOY: What's most lacking in a lawyer's education?

Joel Hyatt: Anything to do with the practice of law. Law schools teach the law. You learn nothing about how to build a law practice or how to deal with clients, and those are the two critical elements in delivering legal services. Law schools are unwilling to involve themselves in those issues, because they are not viewed as scholarly matters.

Q 10

PLAYBOY: You were an undergrad at Dartmouth, which is famous for its wild weekends. How indefensible was your behavior during all that revelry?

Joel Hyatt: I am pleased to tell you that almost every weekend at Dartmouth is a wild one. There are many institutionalized blowouts, such as Winter Carnival and Green Key Weekend, but those are simply formalized justifications for typical weekends. As for my behavior, I plead the Fifth Amendment: Answering might incriminate me.

Q 11

PLAYBOY: Many attorneys marry their jobs; you married your partner. Do you recommend the strategy?

Joel Hyatt: Well, first, let me point out that I married Suzi before she was my partner, so to speak. But we have worked together for a long time. Her father is Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio. When I graduated from Yale Law School, I came home to Cleveland and was campaign director for his successful bid for the Senate. Suzi and I ran that campaign together. So, while I don't make lifestyle recommendations to others, working together has been extremely rewarding for us.

Q 12

PLAYBOY: It's no secret to those around you that you harbor political aspirations. Dare we elect one more lawyer to public office?

Joel Hyatt: An interesting question. There are too many lawyers in government. But you've got to be careful in indicting them. Some of the great contributions made in government have been made by lawyers. It's very natural for lawyers to become involved in public service at some point in their careers, and I do hope one day to add a public-service component to mine. It's important, however, that we have in government people whose previous experience is wide-ranging and certainly not limited to the practice of law. And were I to enter government, I would be bringing a lot more to it than just my being a lawyer.