All lawyers are guilty of “Humblebragging.” Young lawyers maybe even more so are guilty. What is humblebragging? Humblebragging has been defined as “bragging in the guise of humility, putting a thin veneer of humble over a clear expression of proud.” A lot of times the humblebrag is over social media but sometimes the humblebrag is executed to your face. This usually leads to sudden urges to slap someone.
Check out some of these examples of the legal humblebrag:
“I wasn’t able to get into the University of God’s Father’s Law School so I will have to just settle and go to the University of God’s Law School. I am still grateful for this opportunity!”
“I only got my client a million dollar settlement. I guess my kids will just be going to the local private school instead of boarding school. So happy for my client.”
“I’m so honored to be named a leading lawyer! My firm only had to make a $5,000 donation to the publication which named me a leading lawyer this year!”
“I’m so honored to be named a super duper attorney! I filled out a form and got my friends to say I am a super duper attorney! This is awkward because there are people who have been practicing law for 30 years and are not super duper attorneys! #feelingblessed.”
“It is such a pain in the ass to be invited to this prestigious conference for the 5th year in a row. Boooring!”
“I am so busy with clients. My phone keeps ringing. I don’t even believe I can write this sentence to you!”
“I don’t know how I am going to manage my crazy life. I just got invited to give a presentation to the entire state on my area of law. It is such a pain being this authoritative and sought after.”
“I’m humbled to be named a leader in my community. Every year right before this admirable and respected award is given out, I brave the elements outside of my firm for a quick photo opportunity and take a picture of myself giving homeless people food. It’s cold out there but I gave up one billable hour to those in need. #sacrifice. #frostbite. #theregoesmybonus.”
If lawyers would only say what they mean… I am very busy. I have money. I have influence. I piss excellence. I $#!t gold. I am the cat’s meow.
Anyway, I am so happy to be the one to bring this problem to your attention. I’m excited to hear if you have any other examples of legal humblebragging. (Special thanks to Elizabeth Morris for inspiring this entry by posting an article on Facebook on the subject. I am humbled and honored to know this great lawyer!)
What examples of humblebragging did I miss?
MORE IMPORTANTLY, is there a better way to self-promote or market oneself than the humblebrag?
Join The MSBA Young Lawyers Section
for
Networking and Happy Hour
at
AIDA Bistro & Wine Bar
6741 Columbia Gateway Dr.
Columbia, MD
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
5:00 – 7:00 PM
(Event is Free – Beer and Wine and light appetizers will be provided)
Please RSVP to Kelcie Longaker — [email protected] or Scott MacMullan — [email protected] space is limited
Co-Sponsored by:
LexisNexis
Gore Brothers
MSBA
Scott MacMullan Law, LLC is now offering, free of charge, the Clio Connect service. This service provides a secure portal through which clients can access specific documents or invoices in addition to a secure messaging feature.
Clio Connect enables Scott MacMullan Law, LLC to easily share resources and collaborate with clients or contacts through a secure web-based portal (extranet). This grants clients and contacts the latitude to review and contribute to relevant matter developments, and helps to mitigate associated inefficiencies related to time consuming communications.
In other words: You can find out for yourself what is going on with your case, any time, any place.
Scott MacMullan Law, LLC
Your Case. Any Time… Any Place.TM