Asshole Attorney: Musings, Memories, and Missteps in a 40 Year Career
Adult; Memoir; (Market)
“Doug, I been practicin’ law for fifty years. And I learned a long time ago, there ain’t no such word as ‘attorney’ or ‘lawyer’. It’s ‘asshole attorney’ or ‘fuckin’ lawyer.’ "
Author Douglas Wood first heard that advice from a southern lawyer nearly forty years ago. It was his inspiration to write Asshole Attorney, a book of observations and reflections over his lifetime and legal career. A self-proclaimed “Army Brat”, Doug moved to eight different homes throughout his childhood. His last move from Hawaii to Rutherford, NJ was a tough one, especially when faced with years of cold, snowy winters in lieu of sandy beaches and warm sunsets.
His madcap journey included college in Rhode Island, three law degrees, working with out-of-control rock stars, dealing with international crises in the dark alleys of Eastern Europe, and a partnership in one of the world's leading law firms. Readers will be charmed by Wood’s candor and humor and will laugh aloud at his sharp, witty commentary as he navigates the pathways of his life and the jungles of his profession.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.50 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: In his steadily flowing memoir, Wood recounts personal and professional achievements, relationships, and life altering moments. The author details his life experiences in a manner that is both accessible and intimate.
Prose: Wood infuses his life story with witty anecdotes and a friendly narrative voice brushed with candor and light sarcasm.
Originality: In addition to Wood's personal reflections, he provides a rich behind-the-scenes look at the sometimes brutal arena of legal work. Throughout the memoir, he inserts moments of council on life, death, law, and love.
Character Development: Wood reconstructs a unique and full existence, while offering earnest advice: what matters most in private and professional life, he suggests, is forming meaningful interpersonal relationships.
Date Submitted: June 07, 2018
Reviews
Wood (Please Be Ad-Vised: A Legal Reference Guide for the Advertising Executive) delivers an entertaining account of his adventures in media and entertainment law, where, he writes, he had to be tough but fair: “Maybe to some I was acting like an asshole attorney, but it felt right.” After graduating from NYU law school in 1977, Wood landed a job with a firm that specialized in groundbreaking entertainment cases such as the Monty Python’s Flying Circus lawsuit in 1975 against the ABC network after the show’s producers argued that the American network “butchered their work” by putting “commercial breaks at all the wrong moments.” In representing Earl Wilson Jr. and defending his satirical version of the popular song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)” in his play Let My People Come, Wood writes that the case “is considered by many to be the pivotal case establishing the principles of a valid parody defense.” Other anecdotes include his involvement in introducing the Belvedere vodka company to the U.S. market in 1998, which begins as a simple legal affair and turns into an international adventure, with Wood surviving a helicopter crash in Poland. The narrative moves at a good pace, and Wood is a straightforward, candid writer (“those who are unhappy about something I wrote, I offer no apology. Feel free to write about me. I have a thick skin”). Wood’s memoir is a refreshing look at an unusual legal career. (BookLife)
Kirkus Reviews
" The book’s longest memory reads like a comic tale of espionage, in which he’s exposed to danger in Poland and Cuba while representing the Phillips Beverage Company. Wood’s prose is crisp and anecdotal, and he’s refreshingly unafraid to poke fun at his misadventures."
Midwest Book Review
"Raw, candid, and utterly unforgettable, Asshole Attorney: Musings, Memories, and Missteps in a 40 Year Career is a no-holds-barred window into the lifelong career of author and entertainment lawyer Douglas Wood...Riveting to the final page, Asshole Attorney is highly recommended!"
