The bleak midwinter has descended upon us - that post-holidays, pre-spring period of the calendar when summer seems like a distant mirage.

It's not just the weather forecast that is disheartening these days, though. The economy has hit a sustained rough patch we can now officially refer to as a recession, which inspires the gainfully employed to do everything in their power to maintain such status. All there is for a lawyer to do is bunker down in the office and kill some billables.

But even the most stoic of six-minute multipliers needs to occasionally take a break. In this challenging atmospheric and financial climate, it is important to take a few minutes for a good laugh.

As it happens, lawyers are very easy to make fun of. Every attorney has to admit that practicing law involves a certain amount of ridiculousness when it comes to the minutiae of rules and etiquette. Combine acute attention to detail with people who take themselves very, very seriously (as lawyers sometimes do), and the law becomes extremely funny.

Lawyer humor certainly is not new. Making fun of lawyers is a time-honored pastime across cultures. But the Internet provides a forum to aggregate and disseminate such mockery to a ready and willing audience - lawyers themselves, who sit in front of a computer for large portions of the day.

A Bitter pill

The popularity of sites such as YouTube and the easy shooting and uploading of digital video not only provide the public the opportunity to distribute video of real life online, but offer new opportunities for scripted shows. Over the past few years, various cable networks have introduced programs written and produced exclusively for distribution on the Internet, known as "webisodes." But anyone with a Web page, a script and a camera can do the same.

Enter the phenomenon of "The Bitter Lawyer."

During last year's Hollywood writers' strike, lawyer-turned-television-writer Rick Eid used his free time to start shooting webisodes of the "The Bitter Lawyer," a show based on his seven years as an associate at the white-shoe firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

He began posting webisodes last spring and, as of earlier this month, his Web site www.bitterlawyer.com offers 10 vignettes chronicling the life of Nick Conley, a graduate of a midlevel law school working at Sullivan & Moore, "the most prestigious firm in the country."

The show's general view of large firms is set up in the first episode, when Nick learns that Sullivan & Moore is extending him an offer despite a disastrous interview. Nick, who had been drowning his sorrows with a drink or two, starts to celebrate his job with a burly, cross-dressing bartender. However, upon hearing the firm's name, the bartender says, "Oh, you mean Satan and his invidious elves," then revealing that he was an associate at the firm for several years. In a blog entry explaining the episode, Eid writes, "obviously the bartender is the Ghost of Christmas Future."

Running about five minutes each, the webisodes feature the kind of dry, satirical humor used on the television show "The Office," but it hones in on the peccadilloes and prejudices of life at a megafirm. Nick struggles through the legal world with a stupefied look on his face as he constantly fields questions regarding why he didn't go to Harvard, attempts to use lawyerly phrases to impress dates, and tries to find favor with powerful partners.

The webisodes themselves are sure to elicit a chuckle, but The Bitter Lawyer Web site itself is also a treasure-trove of lawyer humor.

Eid maintains a blog called "Livin the Dream" - which is also the ironic title of the show's theme song - in which he relates the real-life lawyer experiences that inspired each episode. More than that, the site offers a number of columns and rants about associate life in the Big Law leagues as well as legally themed pictures that readers are asked to caption. Mostly recently, the site has added a column entitled "From Your Faithful Paralegal."

One cannot quite say that all of this is in good fun, as it seems that Eid genuinely and strongly disliked his time as an attorney, but even the many lawyers who are happy in their chosen profession will enjoy the sarcasm of "The Bitter Lawyer."

A Web of laughs

While Eid offers the perspective of someone who has left the profession, even those still in are on the lookout for a laugh.

Nicole Black, who practices law in Rochester, compiles the "Sui Generis" blog (nylawblog.typepad.com/suigeneris). While that site focuses on issues substantive and relevant to New York state litigators and criminal-law practitioners, Black also aggregates humorous material on another blog, "Legal Antics" (nylawblog.typepad.com/legalantics).

Asked why she chooses to spend time on these two very different legal blogs, Black says, "I think that lawyers tend to take themselves far too seriously. The law and lawyers are funny, and if we forget to point that out occasionally, we're in big trouble as a profession. Someone has to bring our profession back to earth - and I'm happy to contribute to that process."

She also makes the point that a great deal of lawyer humor is funny in a distinct way to practicing attorneys. There is a certain "Do not try this at home" aspect of legal humor.

"Lawyer humor related to the practice of law, as opposed to simply mocking lawyers, is more humorous for those involved in the legal field," Black says. "Those who have experienced the peculiarities of practicing law that are highlighted on legal humor sites are more likely to understand the humor. I would hazard to guess that for those not involved in the legal field, much of the content on those sites is either boring or irrelevant."

If it has been one of those days at the office and you are in search of a moment of levity, the "Bitter Lawyer" and "Legal Antics" sites will provide some giggles. A hysterical and original online satire of Big Law antics can be found in the archives of "Anonymous Lawyer" (anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com), which features commentary from a fictional managing partner at a large firm. A book based on the Web site was published in 2006.

The very popular blog "Above the Law" (www.abovethelaw.com), which has been mentioned in this space before, is a double-edged sword for those in search of legal humor. The site is a great source for legal news, but also obsessively chronicles the very news that can get lawyers down, including a rather thorough layoff watch. However, its team of writers produces snappy copy and are quick to post stories that rate very high on the laugh index.

For a quick smile, check out "Courtoons" (courtoons.wordpress.com), where creator David Mills posts a law-related cartoon each day. You will have at least one posted to your office door by the end of the week.

For sites run by attorneys who may spend more time making fun of lawyers than practicing law, look at loweringthebar.net or litination.com. They also regularly link to similar sites.

Caroline Bala Brancatella is a law clerk for a federal judge in Philadelphia, Pa. A member of the New York state bar, she can be reached at cbrancatella@gmail.com.