An acidic, graphic quote by Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr doesn't exactly improve the image of trial attorneys, a colleague of mine noted yesterday.

Here's Orr's quote from Monday night, his first public comments in a long time:

  

"Now look, I’m a trial attorney. I can cut somebody’s throat and leave them to bleed out in the gutter with the best of them. But I didn’t want to do that. That’s not my role in this job. My role in this job is sort of the zen of emergency management."

My colleague commented: "Whatever else he does, he certainly isn't going out of his way to improve the common perception of lawyers as shysters. Jesus, what a cocky little SOB!"

Orr seemed to get a good reaction from the audience at the hearing Monday, but he should be more careful in his descriptions.