Philadelphia lawyer

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Philadelphia lawyer¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Idioms and Phrases

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.”