Editing Lionel Hutz (section)

===Personality===
Lionel Hutz is an [[ambulance chasing]] [[personal injury lawyer]] and, according to [[Lisa Simpson]], a "[[shyster]]" whom the Simpsons nonetheless hire as their lawyer in multiple episodes (a fact remarked on by [[Marge Simpson]] in a typically self-aware aside), mostly because Hutz is the only legal counsel the Simpsons can afford.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Burns' Heir |episode-link=Burns' Heir |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Richdale, Jace; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=April 14, 1994 |season=5 |number=18}}</ref>  His legal practice, shown to be located in a [[shopping mall]], is named "[[I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!|I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!]]" and also offers "expert shoe repair." He often tries to entice potential clients with gifts, including a "smoking monkey" doll, a pen that looks like a cigar, an exotic faux-pearl necklace, a business card that "turns into a sponge when you put it in water,"<ref>{{cite episode |title=Bart Gets Hit by a Car |episode-link=Bart Gets Hit by a Car |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Swartzwelder, John; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=April 14, 1994 |season=2 |number=10}}</ref> and even an almost-full [[Orange Julius]] he had been drinking himself. John G. Browning of the ''[[Beaumont, Texas|Southeast Texas Record]]'' describes the character of Hutz as a literal ambulance chaser: "Hutz typifies the sleazy lawyer. He exaggerates his academic credentials ('I've attended [[Harvard]], [[Yale]], [[MIT]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]], the [[Louvre]]')" and is "the very worst in legal marketing".<ref name="southeast texas record">{{cite web|url=https://setexasrecord.com/stories/510608291-legally-speaking-d-oh-what-the-simpsons-teaches-us-about-the-law|title=Legally Speaking: D'oh! What 'The Simpsons' teaches us about the law|first=John G.|last=Browning|newspaper=Southeast Texas Record | location=Beaumont, Texas |  date=August 15, 2007 | access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref>

Hutz is characterized as both a grossly incompetent lawyer and an unethical individual in general. This is supported in his first appearance in "[[Bart Gets Hit by a Car]]", an episode which also demonstrates his greed as he wants half of the Simpsons' settlement money. Hutz is disliked and mistrusted by both Marge and Lisa. In "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", Marge ultimately testifies against Hutz for hiring [[Dr. Nick Riviera|Dr. Nick]], a [[quackery|quack doctor]] with a shady reputation, and for making Bart lie about his injuries. Hutz's incompetence and greed are also noted by his rival, the more competent [[Blue Haired Lawyer]]. In the episode "[[Marge in Chains]]" Hutz describes the following as his "problem" with Judge Snyder: <blockquote>Well, he's had it in for me ever since I kinda ran over his dog. Well, replace the word "kinda" with the word "repeatedly" and the word "dog" with "son".</blockquote>

Hutz is characterized as a recovering alcoholic. In one episode he offers Marge a celebratory "belt of [[Scotch whiskey|Scotch]]" at 9:30 in the morning,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Practicing with The Simpsons |url=https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/253281-practicing-with-the-simpsons |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=www.dailyjournal.com}}</ref> remarking that he had not slept in days. In the same episode, he hastily leaves the courtroom after handling a bottle of [[Bourbon whiskey|bourbon]] in order to consult his [[Twelve-step program|sponsor]], [[David Crosby]]. He then gives his closing statement, unaware that he is not wearing any pants, and thinks that [[Clarence Darrow]] was "the black guy on ''[[The Mod Squad]]''". Beyond practicing law, he also tries his hand at selling [[real estate]], reasoning that it was a natural move as most of his clients ended up losing their homes anyway.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Realty Bites |episode-link=Realty Bites |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Greaney, Dan; Scott III, Swinton O. |network=Fox |airdate=December 7, 1997 |season=9 |number=9}}</ref> Out of desperation for work, he has resorted to [[babysitting]]. Hutz, left in charge of the children for longer than he was hired, nods off in a sitting position; he produces a switchblade upon awakening suddenly. He burns all of his personal documentation in the Simpsons fireplace, claiming that "Lionel Hutz" no longer exists and he is now "Miguel Sanchez".<ref>{{cite episode |title=Marge on the Lam |episode-link=Marge on the Lam |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Canterbury, Bill; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=December 4, 1993 |season=5 |number=6}}</ref> His other alias is "Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc". Hutz's incompetence and financial desperation sometimes lead him to resort to rooting through dumpsters, claiming it is client-related.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Springfield Connection |episode-link=The Springfield Connection |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |credits=Collier, Jonathan; Kirkland, Mark |network=Fox |airdate=May 7, 1995 |season=6 |number=23}}</ref> Hutz was briefly married to [[Patty and Selma Bouvier|Selma Bouvier]], although this storyline is not shown in an episode and instead mentioned in "[[Much Apu About Nothing]].” In “[[Selma's Choice]],” Hutz attempts to get his hands on the Bouvier sisters’ Aunt Gladys' inheritance. When he was caught forging Gladys' signature by Marge and Lisa, Hutz was forced to properly read the will and give Marge's family Gladys' inheritance. Hutz has also been known to use a phone booth as an office.

Hutz does not seem to care about [[conflict of interest]]; in "[[A Streetcar Named Marge]]" he represents clients in a lawsuit against the producers of a local production of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' for not giving them any roles in the play, although he had a role himself.

Another display of his incompetence takes place in "[[The Boy Who Knew Too Much (The Simpsons)|The Boy Who Knew Too Much]]" when, while representing a [[French people|French]] waiter who is accusing [[Mayor Quimby]]'s nephew Freddy of battery, he is surprised when the opposing counsel mentions that Hutz's client is an immigrant (despite the client's French accent). Hutz then demands that his client tell him everything from then on. Browning wrote that his "courtroom skills leave something to be desired"; in the episode "Marge in Chains", he motions for a "bad court thingy", to which the judge replies "You mean a mistrial?", and then refers to himself as the "law-talking guy".<ref name="southeast texas record"/><ref name="chains">"[[Marge in Chains]]"</ref>