At 04:38 PM 6/5/2002 -0500, Susan Phillips wrote:
>I had an administrator ask why someone with a J.D. is not commonly
>referred to as "Doctor."
>Does anyone know where there is a written discussion of this point?
>I did a quick search in Byyan Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage but did
>not see anything.
>Thanks.
Dear Abby's sister discussed this issue in her column of 8/17/2000:
> Dear Ann Landers: A long time ago, you printed a letter about lawyers
> using the title "Doctor." You said this practice was improper. Several
> colleagues who have earned academic degrees are concerned about attorneys
> who ask to be addressed in this manner. Please elaborate.
> Associate Professor in Kansas
>
>
> Dear Professor: An attorney who has earned a J.D. ( juris doctor) , is
> a doctor the same as a PhD. It is an academic degree. An attorney can
> be addressed as "Doctor" if he or she prefers. Socially, however,
> lawyers and academic professionals should not use their titles. Those who
> do, I fear, are suffering from a serious case of low self-esteem and feel
> the need to be pumped up.
I wasn't able to locate the earlier column, but a Nexis search in the
Florida Bar News [juris doctor and headline(letters)] will lead to a flurry
of opinions on this topic published between July 2000 and October 2001.
Dr. Kent Olson
University of Virginia Law Library
kolson@virginia.edu
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