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Synonyms

Philadelphia lawyer

American

noun

a lawyer of outstanding ability at exploiting legal fine points and technicalities.

Philadelphia lawyer Idioms

A shrewd attorney, adept at dealing with legal technicalities, as in It would take a Philadelphia lawyer to get him off. This expression dates from the late 1700s and, as lexicographer Richard H. Thornton observed: “Why members of the Philadelphia bar should be credited with superhuman sagacity has never been satisfactorily explained.”

Etymology

Origin of Philadelphia lawyer

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Philadelphia lawyer

The novel introduces Graham in the early 1960s, as a successful, if morally directionless, Philadelphia lawyer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Jim Schultz, a Philadelphia lawyer who served in Trump’s White House, published an opinion piece on Monday in support of Shapiro.

From Reuters ● Sep. 2, 2022

Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2021

Sheldon Bonovitz, a Philadelphia lawyer, is a trustee of the Barnes and a collector of outsider art with his wife, Jill, a sculptor.

From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2020

He was clerking for a Philadelphia lawyer, making less than $100 a week, when he drove out to Levittown for the first time to represent a home buyer.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023