There's No Order in the Court at Annual Cleveland Lawyer Comedy Event

An annual comedic performance by Cleveland’s most respected lawyers saw over-the-top costumes, musical numbers and, even, a Jimmy Buffett impersonator wearing a speedo on Friday and Saturday night. The Grand Assize is invite-only, limited to performers’ families and friends on Friday night, and their biggest clients on Saturday night.

The unique, vaudeville-styled event features dozens of performers, and it’s taken place for more than a century in Cleveland. Ahead of the event, carefully maintained portraits of each year’s Judge of the Court of Nisi Prius were displayed outside the grand ballroom of downtown Cleveland’s Marriott Hotel.

“I don’t really know any other cities where this happens,” says Rick Manoloff, this year’s judge of the troupe, and partner at Squire Patton Boggs.

The Grand Assize, now in its 123rd year, is one of the longest running annual performances in the city, hosted by the Court of Nisi Prius, a club of lawyers originally founded in 1900. It works the same today as it did back then: a group gathers on a weekly basis during the winter months to write and practice comedic skits, and to design props and sets. The work all leads up to the Grand Assize event, before quieting down until the next Election Day in November.

It’s an outlet for lawyers to unleash their creative sides. About 70 lawyers took the stage at this weekend’s Grand Assize event, including judges, prosecutors and partners from the city’s biggest law firms.

A series of three skits poked fun at Cleveland’s lakefront development, sports gambling’s legalization and national political leaders. An edit of the Top Gun: Maverick movie trailer showcased Jones Day senior advisor Dick Pogue, and Squire Patton Boggs partner Doug McWilliams rocked out in a Bruce Springsteen impression. In addition to the skits, videos interrupted the night’s programming to make jokes about a recent rise in Kia car thefts in the city.

Plenty of songs — including spoofy versions of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and “Circle of Life” from The Lion King — showcased the lawyers’ vocal skills, too. At the beginning of the night, a crew of lawyers dressed as cheerleaders sang a version of Toni Basil's "Hey Mickey," instead titled "Hey Ricky," to honor Manoloff's position as judge.

Before long, the weekend of shows wrapped up, inducting local chef and restaurant owner Brandon Chrostowski into the troupe’s prestigious Grand Order of the Double Cross.

Since the beginning, the Court of Nisi Prius has put on a unique entertainment event in Cleveland — but greater than that, it’s given lawyers an opportunity to get to know each other outside of the courtroom.

“Lawyers can be very isolated in their practices, and lawyers in their nature can get very combative,” Manoloff says. “I think it helps us all to get along better, and we still fight hard for the interests of our clients, but we also have an underlying bond, too, that makes the process, I would say, more civil than it otherwise might be.”