Monkey See, Monkey No Can Do

San-Francisco based solo appellate lawyer Andrew Dhuey is a legal sensation, with his clever  introduction to a motion to dismiss a suit to enforce a monkey’s copyright interest in her selfies dominating headlines at law blogs and traditional media. But to quote from Dhuey’s widely-published brief, “it should not be happening.”

You see, Dhuey does not have a website, a Twitter account or a professional copywriter. Nor did he, from what I could tell, issue a press release to herald the filing of his brief – another common PR practice.  Instead, Dhuey’s primary internet presence is his Linked In profile  [HT  Above the Law for digging it up] where Dhuey poses in a Chippendale costume, and admits without fanfare that “I’ve worked from a home office since 1995. Nothing fancy — it’s just me, a computer, a phone and whatever skills I have.”

Even though Dhuey either ignores or breaks all of the rules about online legal marketing, he’s getting the kind of notoriety and SEO that marketers dream of – because his work speaks for itself.  It’s important to understand that Dhuey’s hilarious opening line – “A monkey, an animal-rights organization and a primatologist walk into federal court to sue for infringement of the monkey’s claimed copyright” isn’t a joke at all. Instead, it’s an original approach to highlight the main point of the argument – the lack of standing – an appellate litigator’s most reliable bludgeon but also a deathly dull topic that’s often raised by rote.

Of course, Dhuey’s approach won’t work for everyone. Dhuey has the legal muscle to back a Chippendale’s photo, and the finesse to know when to employ humor in a brief. So while many monkeys may see and envy Dhuey’s recent fifteen minutes of fame, monkey no can do. But a good lawyer can.