Heyl: Lawyer stands by his humor
If conventionality was a crime, Daniel Muessig would be behind bars despite the fact that he's a defense attorney.
Less than a week ago, the 2012 University of Pittsburgh law school graduate toiled in obscurity at a Downtown law firm. One comedic self-promotional YouTube video later, he is a cause célèbre whose work the Allegheny County Bar Association considers about as appropriate as a whoopee cushion in a funeral parlor.
“When I uploaded it, I had hopes people would watch it,” Muessig, 32, of Squirrel Hill said of the video that had been viewed more than 150,000 times as of Tuesday. “But I never thought it was going to provoke the response that it has — positive and negative.”
Most attorneys make commercials in which they appear as serious as defendants on their sentencing dates. Muessig opted for a farcical approach, taping the three-minute, 27-second video that would not be out of place on “Saturday Night Live” just before the musical guest is introduced.
It begins with a collection of different criminals — armed robbers, a drug dealer, a prostitute — cheerfully thanking Muessig, apparently because his legal acumen is the reason they are out on the streets, being less than law abiding.
The video then shifts to Muessig in an office.
“Consequences — they sure suck, don't they?” he asks. “America was built on freedom — not a bunch of people with more money than you telling you what you can and can't do with their stupid ‘laws.' Laws are arbitrary.”
Muessig cops to having friends in jail. He offers to defend most any charge, “possibly even funny throwback crimes like moonshining or pickpocketing.” He says that while he might have a law degree, he thinks like a criminal.
The video didn't produce so much as a single snicker for county bar association spokesman Tom Loftus.
“I have a sense of humor,” he insisted. “But I think the video does a disservice to the great many attorneys who take pride in their profession. I personally find it insulting.”
Though he's respectful of people in his profession who didn't chuckle over the video, Muessig all but labeled them fuddy-duddies.
“I think there's a generational disconnect that even cuts across the legal profession in terms of understanding the satire and the meta humor that were the key components of the video,” he said. “If you don't get that stuff can be ironic and funny and convey a serious message at the same time, then you're going to hate it, no question.”
Muessig noted that while he wanted the video to appeal to everyone, it wasn't targeted specifically to attorneys. “Obviously, I made the ad for the people I was trying to connect with, the people I most likely would be able to help,” he said.
According to the unconventional attorney, it's working — not just in the number of YouTube views, but in the number of calls from potential clients he is receiving. He's not fearing any consequences from having made the video.
“I fully understand some people are offended,” he said. “I'm just not that concerned about it.”
Eric Heyl is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7857 or eheyl@tribweb.com.
