Title doctor or lawyer?

Is he an M.D.? Then he'd use the term Dr. Bob Smith or Dr. Mary Smith but in written material the Esq. could be added. Ministers and other doctors of divinity can use Dr. However, people who simply have a Ph.D. would use, Mary Smith, Ph.D. and not use the honorific 'Dr.'

Esq goes at the end the way Ph.D. does.

Depends.

But if he or she is a medical doctor, and is going for the full title, it would probably be Dr. John Smith, Esq. If he or she is not a medical doctor, it would probably be John Smith, Esq., Ph.D. (or whichever set of initials apply). Understand that some people have several sets of initials after their name.

If they're just dealing with one function, they'll probably go by just the one title that applies. For example, a lawyer I know who is also a doctor usually just signs as John Smith, Esq. It's only on his resume that the medical doctor shows up. (He's employed by insurance companies to defend malpractice suits.)

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

REMLIG said:

So as an example my characters name is Bob Smith and he is a medical doctor.

He would sign his name Dr. Bob Smith, Esq.

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There is some flexibility in the way people choose to use their titles or indicate their degrees. A lot depends on the purpose for which they are using their degrees. Which is more important in the situation?

Many people with degrees do not use them all the time. If Dr. Bob Smith is functioning as a physician in the situation, he might skip the "Esq." Vice-versa if he is functioning mainly as a lawyer. Being formal or informal can also affect the way he presents himself.

But "Dr. Bob Smith, Esq." looks kind of weird. For one thing, physicians rarely sign their names "Dr. Bob Smith." They sign "Bob Smith, M.D."

With multiple degrees, a person would put them all at the end:

Bob Smith, MD, LLD.
Bob Smith, LLB, PhD.
Bob Smith, MD, LLD, ABIM

Remember that "Dr." can mean a lot of different things.

I have known a great many lawyers in high-powered firms in New York and Chicago. None of them ever used Esq. (I think it's reverse snobbery, or they consider themselves too important to need any reinforcement.)

All medical doctors I have known use Dr. The only time they don't use it is when they are on vacation and don't want strangers coming up to ask what to do about their back aches.

I've also seen this situation as Bob Smith, MD, JD, or Bob Smith, MD, SJD, or Bob Smith, MD, PhD.

(Aside: people who have PhDs do use the honorific "Dr" frequently, in my field at least.)

Lil said:

I have known a great many lawyers in high-powered firms in New York and Chicago. None of them ever used Esq. (I think it's reverse snobbery, or they consider themselves too important to need any reinforcement.).

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In my local market (Midwest), Esq. is used when you're addressing someone else in correspondence, but is not used on yourself. My impression: it's not reverse snobbery -- it's to avoid looking like a self-important douchebag. In my experience, most people avoid using Esq. altogether. The few people I know with MDs and law degrees go by Dr. alone.

I have never come across lawyers using Esq. as an honorific, must be a US thing.

Waylander PhD, MA(Cantab), MRSC

Here in Orlando we have someone called the M.D. J.D. haha Personal injury attorney of course...

REMLIG said:

I wondering about titles and need some help.

If a person is a lawyer that is also a doctor what title is uses? Dr. or ESQ.

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It depends on the context - general use vs formal use vs use in their professional feild.

For instance, in professional sciences you will often see the abbreviation of the university they attended in brackets after the qualification, so 'Dr John Smith B.D.S (Gla.)' - this tells me that John studied dentistry at Glasgow.

Also, qualifications go in ascending order - so your bachelors first, then masters, then post grad then post doctorate.

StephanieFox said:

Is he an M.D.? Then he'd use the term Dr. Bob Smith or Dr. Mary Smith but in written material the Esq. could be added. Ministers and other doctors of divinity can use Dr. However, people who simply have a Ph.D. would use, Mary Smith, Ph.D. and not use the honorific 'Dr.'

Esq goes at the end the way Ph.D. does.

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People who have a PhD can and do use 'Dr' as they are entitled to - A PhD is a doctorate in philosophy (philosophy in the general sense of learning and not as in philosophy literal)

Nymtoc said:

There is some flexibility in the way people choose to use their titles or indicate their degrees. A lot depends on the purpose for which they are using their degrees. Which is more important in the situation?

Many people with degrees do not use them all the time. If Dr. Bob Smith is functioning as a physician in the situation, he might skip the "Esq." Vice-versa if he is functioning mainly as a lawyer. Being formal or informal can also affect the way he presents himself.

But "Dr. Bob Smith, Esq." looks kind of weird. For one thing, physicians rarely sign their names "Dr. Bob Smith." They sign "Bob Smith, M.D."

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Worth noting also that the very top doctors are no longer called Dr but simply Mr.

With multiple degrees, a person would put them all at the end:

Bob Smith, MD, LLD.
Bob Smith, LLB, PhD.
Bob Smith, MD, LLD, ABIM

Remember that "Dr." can mean a lot of different things.

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This.

Maryn said:

The use of "Esq." seems to be localized. In Boston, all the attorneys use it.

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Setting in all important, as this point proves.

In the UK, for instance, esquire doesn't really mean anything except that you are a bit posh - it has no actual significance, isn't a granted or earned title.

I was surprised to discover that Czech (and German) lawyers often use the title doctor. I guess that since JD stands for juris doctor, they earned the title.

Hootie821 said:

John Doe, MD, JD

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This is how the two I know list their titles. One also has PhD added.

Jeff