A “pettifogging shyster” is an unscrupulous practitioner who disgraces his profession by doing mean work, and resorts to sharp practice to do it. Bailey v. Kalamazoo Pub. Co., 40 Mich. 251. See, also, Gribble v. Pioneer Press Co., 34 Minn. 342, 25 N. W. 710. Si a jure discedas, vagus eris, et erunt omnia omnibus incerta. If you depart from the law, you will go astray, and all things will be uncertain to everybody. Co. Litt. 2276.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
