In the Winter 1986 edition of the ABA’s Litigation magazine, respected Washington. D.C. trial lawyer and wordssmith Jacob Stein wrote an article called “Willy Loman, Attorney and Counselor-at-Law”, and it began:
He was the man who knew the importance of being well liked. He subordinated everything to the needs of the territory and the wishes of the customer. He knew his product was unimportant compared to personal contact and the old eye contact. Everyone has a product to sell, but it takes a salesman who knows his customer to get the order. Thus, Willy Loman.
In the past few years, Willy Loman’s reading matter has been directed at trial lawyers. Books and articles tell us we are all salesmen. Our big customer is the jury. We must sell the jury our case.
The word “packaging” is in vogue for lawyers.