The Weird Massachusetts Custom Of Referring To Other Lawyers As “Brothers”

If you’ve ever gone to court you might have heard your lawyer refer to the other lawyer on the case as “my brother” or “my sister.”

This is a weird incestuous thing unique to Massachusetts and some other New England regions.

It’s simply a show of respect as lawyers are “brethren of the law.”

If you ask me, it’s a really weird custom and it always throws me off when someone calls me “brother” in court because I’m like… “I’m not your brother, guy”

Anyway,

If you hear your lawyer call the other lawyer “brother” or “sister,” it doesn’t mean that they’re related.

It also doesn’t mean that your lawyer is warming up to the other lawyer or has a non-adverserial relationship with them.

It’s just a weird custom, much like everything in court.