Shyster

[poli]

This is a term for an unscrupulous lawyer. Is there a Spanish equivalent? I heard the term tinterillo, but I think that means an ineffectual lawyer, which in English, is a pencil pusher.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

You're right about "tinterillo", although the word might be a little anachronic. I only hear people over 40 years old using it.

We have "picapleitos". That's a bad lawyer, ill-prepared, someone pretending to be more capable or powerful than they actually are, and they don't actually care for their client, but the money they can get from them.
- Ten cuidado con ese tipo. No es más que un picapleitos.
Be careful with that guy. He's not a real lawyer.
- A Juan lo metieron a la cárcel por contratar a un picapleitos barato.
Juan got into jail because he hired a cheap incapable lawyer.
- Tengo que firmar estos papeles porque el picapleitos me metió en un lío con la aseguradora.
I have to sign these papers because the stupid lawyer got me in trouble with the insurance company.

[poli]

Oh, that's close. In English we use ambulance chasers, and I suppose most of them fit the category of shyster lawyers. Some shysters are prominent, truly skilled and successful at being unscrupulous.

[poli]

I came across the term leguleyo, that fits the description, and I wonder if it is a commonly understood word.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Yes, in Mexico it's a well understood term, I think.
I forgot about that word in the previous post.

- Usted no es abogado; es un leguleyo que sólo quiere dinero. (You're not a lawyer; you're just a shyster hungry for money.)
- El juez tomó una decisión injusta, como un vulgar leguleyo. (The judge made an unjust decision, as a lawyer who doesn't know the law.)
- ¿Crees que me asustas con tus trucos de leguleyo? (Do you think I'm scared by your pettifogger tricks?)