Ex-Attorney Who Bragged About 'Thinking Like Criminal' Pleads Guilty To Drug Offences

A former attorney who bragged about 'thinking like a criminal' has pleaded to guilty to drug offences. Watch his bizarre advert here:

Daniel Muessig, from Pittsburgh, USA, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (16 November) to conspiring to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possession of marijuana, following a 2019 investigation by an FBI task force, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The 39-year-old made international headlines back in 2014 after he shared an advert online in which he claimed to understand his clients because he 'thinks like a criminal'.

He also stated that 'laws are arbitrary' - but now he is facing a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

During his hearing his attorney told the judge his licence has been suspended for several years and he has been working in real estate.

Muessig is due to be sentenced in March.

Elaborating on why he was closer to the criminal community in a 2014 interview with Slate, he said: "It's my association with rap music and the hip-hop scene. That's not to say rap music is inherently criminal - that's very much not true.

"But rap put me in touch with a wide variety of people. It had me on the street a lot as a young man.

"I got to meet a lot of different kinds of people. And going to public school in the city, I formed friendships and associations that the vast majority of lawyers just do not have.

"That's how I got into this weird position, where I have a foot in both worlds."

YouTube

The advert unsurprisingly divided opinion after it went viral, with some claiming it was insulting to the profession; however, Muessig said the response was positive on the whole.

He said: "It's been largely supportive. There are some people who are like, 'Take that commercial down, you're a disgrace to the profession'.

"But 90 percent think it's awesome. I understand that some people are going to be angry at the ad, but I don't really get angry about anything anybody ever does.

"I did this to connect with clients and help people. As crazy and heavy-handed as the commercial is, it's a send up of that typical lawyer trope.

"Anybody I've actually represented in court can tell you that I'm conscientious, I care, and I work hard for my clients."

Topics: US News, crime, Weird

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey