Stan writes:

> Sadly, Shakespeare's lawyer line is taken out of context.  Read in
>  context, it's basically saying that it would be silly to suggest
>  killing all of the lawyers.
>
>  Oh well ... wonder what that first draft looked like, prior to
>  Will passing it through the legal department?   :)
>
>
>  BTW, I tried to find a few URLs with the original text from the play ...
>  boy, what a mismash of misinformation is out on the web!  Many people
>  misquote the phrase (minor changes, mostly), and I saw it
>  attributed to the plays: Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI.
>  I also stumbled over www.killalllawyers.com.  I'm giving up!

This appears to be my week to disagree with Stan, at least on the truly
important things that we discuss here. An answer-at-length rebutting Stan's
contention appears at:

     http://www.spectacle.org/797/finkel.html

The fellow who put this web page together, Seth Finkelstein, strongly suggests
that any interpretation that "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"
is somehow complimentary of lawyers required the convoluted logic of a legal
mind to begin with.

As to the exact location of the quote (which isn't referenced in the URL
above), the line appears in "King Henry the Sixth Part II", Act IV, Scene II.

Wirt Atmar