General Counsel, Take 3

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Tue, Feb 10, 2004 at 09:27:46AM -0500, Geoff Nathan wrote:
> I apologize for reviving a dead thread (how's that for an image?), but  I
> mentioned this discussion to Wayne's General Counsel and discovered a
> deliberate terminological intention.  According to him, 'Counsellors' spend
> most of their time advising the University, while lawyers spend their time
> in courtrooms.  Since most of what he does involves consulting on what
> might or might not be legal, rather than preparing for trial, he says, he
> is a 'counsellor', not a 'lawyer.'

A few more decades, and they might just decide to adopt the
British "solicitor" and "barrister" distinction.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED