Monkey Scribe

Getting to tell an attorney what you really think of them = Well, it could cost one's job, depending on who you sare this information with.

Getting to say the words "monkey scribe" = The reason for living.

Making $195,000 for that privilege = Priceless.

Check http://www.kinsellalaw.com/audio/VoiceMessage.wav for the message. (Not to be listened to if there are little, impressionable children around.)

For the article explaining what's going on in Chicago:

F-bomb-dropping attorney gets worldwide notoriety
August 25, 2004
BY ERIC HERMAN Business Reporter Advertisement

So much for professional courtesy.

A Chicago lawyer's expletive-filled phone message circulating on the Internet is providing fresh evidence to those who say lawyers' standards of behavior are eroding.

In the voice mail, Winston & Strawn associate Ankur Gupta criticizes another lawyer for failing to make changes to a document in a real-estate deal.

"If you send one more f---ing e-mail message again, I can assure you your life on this deal is going to be very unpleasant.. . . Whether you consider it material or not, again, I don't give a flying f---. Make the f---ing change," Gupta said.

Voice mail to e-mail

The message began circulating by e-mail, according to a Web log by Stephan Kinsella, a lawyer in Houston. Kinsella then linked it on his Web site, www.kinsellalaw.com, making it more accessible.

"I felt a little bad, actually, because this guy is probably going to suffer a little bit because of this incident being publicized," Kinsella said.

Gupta did not return a call seeking comment. Winston & Strawn's Web site identifies him as a sixth-year associate with the firm. Winston lawyers at that level earn a base salary of $195,000 a year, according to one legal source.

Winston & Strawn partner Barbara Sessions declined to say if Gupta would be disciplined but said, "we do not condone this type of conduct on any level."

Lack of civility among lawyers has become such a concern to the Illinois Supreme Court that it founded a committee on professionalism in 2001. Last year, the justices began visiting law schools and administering an "Oath of Professionalism" to first-year law students.

Wheaton lawyer David Rolewick, who chairs the Supreme Court committee, called Gupta's message "very offensive, inappropriate and inconsistent with the purposes of the legal community." [Gee, offensive? You think?]

Now, we here at It's The End Of The World As We Know It believe that we should not discriminate against monkeys, who do not deserve to be compared to attorneys. That's a bit over the top, I'd say. They deserve love, compassion, and bananas. Of course, we already know that I have a thing for monkeys.