Lawyers (Waterdeep)

Commonly called the lawyers, a band of legal professionals briefly tried to establish themselves in Waterdeep in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR.

Membership
The lawyers wore dark robes and strange hats. One needed a law degree and to be "a member of the bar" before one could practice as a lawyer or attorney.

History
While Khelben Arunsun was away consulting Elminster, the lawyers approached Open Lord Piergeiron of Waterdeep with an offer. As the city had grown, so too had civil disputes, and handling these took up increasing amounts of the Lord's Court's time. The lawyers promised to streamline these and pushed Piergeiron for an agreement. Unwisely, he quickly agreed, signing a contract between the lawyers and the city. Under it, the lawyers would handle civil disputes and enforce the judgements they secured. Furthermore, magical assaults on them were enjoined, and Piergeiron had his own attorney. For these services, the lawyers charged hefty fees.

However, the lawyers proved to be more interested in the strict letter of the law than in its spirit or the circumstances of a case. They agreed with their fellow lawyers in cases, while Piergeiron simply made rulings based on their recommendations. When he returned, Khelben, being no fan of lawyers, sought to evict them from the city.

When the Lord's Court heard the case of a marriage contract signed by Onyx the Invincible under false pretenses (thinking he was signing an autograph) and extenuating circumstances (being drunk and distracted by Drusilla), his court-appointed counsel declined to argue and both lawyers cared only for the words on the contract. Piergeiron ruled in their favor, declaring the marriage contract valid and to be fulfilled to the letter.

Afterward, Khelben took the monocled lawyer to meet Onyx and his alleged wife on their court-appointed wedding night, claiming Onyx had to fulfill a dwarf marriage custom, the "Bedchamber Trek", or else the marriage would be invalid. Thus, the lawyer had to escort Onyx to the bed. However, in those few feet, Khelben created illusions of caverns and fiery pits, filled with trolls, giant spiders, and strange bird-like monsters. The terrified lawyer fled in horror, abandoning Onyx and thus reneging on the contract with the city, rendering it void. Khelben had planned all this, being in collusion with Kyriani, who in disguise took the role of the unsuspecting Onyx's wife. Khelben said lawyers would thereafter be forbidden to practice in Waterdeep.

Indeed, by 1372 DR, barristers were banned from practicing in Waterdeep, but were reluctantly tolerated in the form of professional witnesses and counselors. Meanwhile, civic matters were heard in the Common Courts rather than the Lord's Court.