Lawyers, you gotta love 'em

I CHUCKLE at CNN "legal analyst" Avery Friedman every time I see him on the air. I'm sure he is an able lawyer and the pride of Cleveland State University Law (Class of '72). Even Wall Street Journal calls him a “walking reference source” on civil rights law. That's good enough for me. The trouble is he looks and sounds like the proverbial "ambulance chaser," the kind straight out of Hollywood's central casting. The 66-year-old barrister sports not a trace of gray hair. And I'm certain his shifty eyes and fast-talking manner are simply hereditary. But it doesn't help that Friedman is often asked to comment on weighty topics like Charlie Sheen or today's topic: the imminent prosecution of Italian President Silvio Berlusconi, 74, for soliciting hookers (Friedman thinks Signior Silvio will beat the rap, and I suspect he's right). But hey, it isn't Friedman fault that he was born with the face of a two-bit shyster. A suggestion, counselor: Mute the verbal panting and lose the "Just for Men" hair dye. If you do that, you'll find yourself being invited to the PBS News Hour as a proverbial grey eminence. I, of course, kid the good Mr. Friedman. I simply couldn't resist.