Prague's dubious lawyers
"You're not a real lawyer," declares the older brother of James Morgan McGill in "Better Call Saul" (the prequel to "Breaking Bad.") "You're Slippin' Jimmy," he says, referring to his brother's past as a slip-and-fall schemer. "The law is sacred," his brother adds, "and if you abuse that power, people get hurt." Prague is full of Slippin' Jimmys. ČSSD didn't bat an eye when it was revealed that Jan Arnošt sold a deceased client's land to his own daughter, now ČSSD Vice Chair Lenka Teska Arnoštová. Prague Mayor Adriana Krnáčová sees nothing wrong with hiring a law firm (KŠB) recommended by the other side in a lease dispute. Radek Pokorný works for construction companies and runs the Arbitration Court but has no idea why ŘSD includes an arbitration clause in its contracts. The champion is Jiří Teryngel, who was charged with tax evasion and was disbarred for working both sides of a deal but was cleared and is again plying his wares.
Glossary of difficult words
dubious - suspect; not to be relied on;prequel - a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work;
slip and fall - a personal-injury claim or case based on a person slipping or tripping (or pretending to do so) and falling;
not to bat an eye - to show no reaction;
to be disbarred - to be expelled as a lawyer from the Bar, thereby removing the right to practice law;
to ply one's wares - to sell one's services or goods.