The title of this chapter is respectfully borrowed from a lecture published a generation ago by the foremost scholar of Greek law of his time, perhaps of this century, Hans Julius Wolff.1 Wolff was addressing a meeting of Berlin jurists, not specialists in Greek history, let alone Greek law, so his comments were meant to draw a general picture of the classical Athenian legal process as much as of Demosthenes himself. Wolff was also primarily a legal historian and was little interested in the sort of social aspects of Athenian law that have become more common in recent scholarship.2 He and his listeners were particularly interested in characterizing Demosthenes’ activity as a sort of profession or trade (Gewerbe, Beruf). The trade would of course be closest to that of a modern lawyer, though this characterization has sometimes been resisted. After all, Demosthenes and the other speech-writers (logographoi) of classical Athens did not as a rule represent their clients in court. They had no special qualifications and no legally recognized status. Every litigant was supposed to argue his own case, ostensibly without expert help. Nevertheless, in the absence of any institutionally recognized legal experts in Athens at all, the logographoi with their rhetorical training and practical experience writing speeches for others could fulfill many of the roles played by today’s lawyers. They offered legal advice at various stages of litigation before finally writing up a speech for their clients to use before the people’s court.