Lawyers aren’t known for being the most patient or understanding group of people. And it isn’t just in the courtroom or boardroom where this is true (as plenty of spouses and family members can no doubt attest). Now this stereotypical personality trait is on display for the whole world to see, and it is directed at a newspaper institution.

In a recent Dear Abby column, Abby wrote that a contract in Georgia was unenforceable without being written (the original question had to do with how a birth mother could get her daughter to start paying back a student loan taken out by the birth mother for the daughter’s benefit). It seems ripped from a final exam fact pattern, and the gunners who also happen to be loyal Dear Abby readers are ready to pounce:

DEAR ABBY: Your advice to “Poor Birth Mother in Georgia” on June 12 — “Because the college loan agreement with your daughter was verbal and wasn’t put in writing, you don’t have a legal means to force her to assume the loan payments” — was wrong! Verbal agreements are enforced if they can be proven to be true. Even if the daughter didn’t promise to make the payments, she may be held liable for them because money provided for the benefit of another gives rise to an implied and enforceable obligation to repay it. If the statute of limitations has not run out, I think she’s got a pretty good case. Whether it’s economically feasible is another issue, as is the wisdom of getting into litigation with one’s daughter. Check with your own attorney. You made a mistake that you should correct. If you are a lawyer, you should have known better; if you’re NOT a lawyer, you should avoid giving legal advice. — ATTORNEY IN PALM DESERT, CALIF.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

It’s pretty obvious that if there’s a factual error it needs to be corrected, but you can also lay off the lecture. Abby is ready to take her lumps, aaaaaand also push some of the blame onto an unnamed attorney (what better use for an unnamed attorney).

DEAR PALM DESERT: You are not the only lawyer to say that. Attorneys nationwide wrote to point it out, and I apologize for that answer. Although I did consult an attorney who said my answer was correct, it appears we were both wrong. Read on:

And oh, the responses came. It seems folks just can’t help themselves when there’s an opportunity to be proven right:

DEAR ABBY: Under Georgia law, ORAL agreements are enforceable. That mother could bring a lawsuit against her daughter to repay the loan. A famous Georgia case involved Ted Turner, who was sued for $281 million based on an oral agreement. A Georgia court upheld the agreement, and Turner had to pay the $281 million. — SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY

I wisely live in a real legal market, but I pay enough attention to the world around me to remember this bit of trivia.

DEAR ABBY: Just the THREAT of a lawsuit may bring the daughter around. Lawsuits, sad to say, have enormous blackmail value; the cost to defend them is so high that people settle. I’m a magna cum laude graduate and former officer of Harvard Law School, and for a few years of my misspent youth, a professor at the Northwestern University School of Law. If I were licensed in Georgia, I’d represent her, probably for free (lawyers do such things). — ATTORNEY IN IRVING, TEXAS

Humblebrag much? I have some dynamite credentials (and I even spent time at Northwestern Law, how gauche), but aw shucks wouldn’t you know it I just can’t help. It’s a matter of licensing you see, it is out of my hands. But I’d help if I could, honest.

DEAR ABBY: Tell the mother to consult her local bar association and ask if it has a pro bono (free) hotline or clinic to advise her. — TEXAS LAWYER

At last: reasonably said, good advice. And it’s from a lawyer. Go figure.

Birth Mom Is Not Out Of Options For Repaying Daughter’s Loan [Dear Abby]