--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No brilliance is needed in the law…" description: "\"No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and relatively clean finger nails.\" — John Mortimer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-mortimer-7362_brilliance_no-brilliance-is-needed-in-the-law-nothi_1747091.jpg" --- # No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common… ![“No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and relatively clean finger nails.” quote by John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-mortimer-7362_brilliance_no-brilliance-is-needed-in-the-law-nothi_1747091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-mortimer-7362_brilliance_no-brilliance-is-needed-in-the-law-nothi_1747091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-mortimer-7362_brilliance_no-brilliance-is-needed-in-the-law-nothi_1747091.jpg) > “No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and relatively clean finger nails.” [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law requires practical sense more than brilliance; simple honesty suffices. **In simple terms:** Common sense over brilliance. Key Takeaway Focus on clear, honest work. Themes law common sense integrity Mood pragmatic thoughtful Type professional inspirational When to use this quote - courtroom - contract drafting - client advice Key Concepts legal practice ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you apply common sense in law? - When is expertise essential? A Different Perspective Complex cases may need expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [No brilliance is required in law, just common sense and relatively clean fingernails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/no-brilliance-is-required-in-law-just-common-sense-and-relatively/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Law without education is a dead letter. With education the needed law follows without effort and, of course, with power to execute itself; indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/law-without-education-is-a-dead-letter-with-education-the-needed-law/) [Rutherford B. 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If this be so, then also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-mind-is-common-to-us-then-also-the-reason-whereby-we-are-reasoning/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The unwritten law - the common law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latin-proverb/the-unwritten-law-the-common-law/) Latin Proverb > [The law of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/the-law-of-common-sense/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [It is undeniable that every human being is entitled to living space, daily bread, and the protection of the law as a common birthright;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-delp/it-is-undeniable-that-every-human-being-is-entitled-to-living-space/) [Alfred Delp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-delp/) > [Common law is common right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-coke/common-law-is-common-right/) [Edward Coke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-coke/) > [I wondered about Mrs. Winterbottom and what she meant about living a tiny life. 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The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) ## More by John Mortimer > [“Take sex, for instance.' 'What do you want me to do with it?' 'Try to be serious for a moment. Take the sex life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/take-sex-for-instance-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-with-it-try-to-be/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I knew nothing about farce until I read Puce a l'Oreille, and had no idea what a deadly serious business it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-knew-nothing-about-farce-until-i-read-puce-a-l-oreille-and-had-no/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Voting Liberal is a non-thing. Historically, it might be a good idea to have a Conservative government, because change is a good thing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/voting-liberal-is-a-non-thing-historically-it-might-be-a-good-idea-to/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“I sent out words like soldiers to battle and they never returned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-sent-out-words-like-soldiers-to-battle-and-they-never-returned/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. 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I think after you've read Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and Huckleberry Finn, you're ready for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-don-t-believe-in-children-s-books-i-think-after-you-ve-read/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“The main aim of education should be to send children out into the world with a reasonably sized anthology in their heads so that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-main-aim-of-education-should-be-to-send-children-out-into-the/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [On the three pigs he and his wife own: "We acquired the pigs last year. 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The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquillity of a lovely sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/sensual-pleasures-have-the-fleeting-brilliance-of-a-comet-a-happy/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I love the idea of a movie hero in a thriller who is able to get ahead by just his brilliance, and not with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-strong/i-love-the-idea-of-a-movie-hero-in-a-thriller-who-is-able-to-get/) [Danny Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-strong/) > [Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/most-brilliance-arises-from-ordinary-people-working-together-in/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) > [A man doesn't need brilliance or genius, all he needs is energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-m-greenfield/a-man-doesn-t-need-brilliance-or-genius-all-he-needs-is-energy/) Albert M. Greenfield > [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Enlightenment is like witnessing the brilliant sun for the first time in the morning. It is like seeing the beautiful flowers that grow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/enlightenment-is-like-witnessing-the-brilliant-sun-for-the-first-time/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Too much brilliance has its disadvantages, and misplaced wit may raise a laugh, but often beheads a topic of profound interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/too-much-brilliance-has-its-disadvantages-and-misplaced-wit-may-raise/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [It is not brilliance or facility that is necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/it-is-not-brilliance-or-facility-that-is-necessary-but-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [Our humanity is trapped by moral adolescents. We have too many men of science, too few men of God. The world has achieved brilliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-n-bradley/our-humanity-is-trapped-by-moral-adolescents-we-have-too-many-men-of/) [Omar N. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-n-bradley/) > [Here is just emptiness. There is no getting my ego out of the way, and all that stuff. There is just the seeing, shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-harding/here-is-just-emptiness-there-is-no-getting-my-ego-out-of-the-way-and/) [Douglas Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-harding/) > [“You can't stop the future. All you can do is pick a side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-sakey/you-can-t-stop-the-future-all-you-can-do-is-pick-a-side/) Markus Sakey [Browse all 411 Brilliance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No brilliance is needed in the law. 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