“My dear man... it is really quite impossible for me to take on your case.... you are missing the most important piece of evidence.... (apart) the cash to pay my fees,” plate 20 from Les Gens De Justice 1846

This lithograph, “My dear man... it is really quite impossible for me to take on your case.... you are missing the most important piece of evidence.... (apart) the cash to pay my fees,” from Honoré Daumier’s series *Les Gens De Justice* (1846), satirizes the legal profession and the corruption within it. A lawyer, portrayed as a pompous, greedy figure, is shown refusing a client because he lacks the funds to pay legal fees. Daumier, known for his social commentary, uses caricature to expose the hypocrisy and injustice of the legal system in 19th-century France. The lithograph’s sharp wit and detailed linework have cemented Daumier’s place as a master of social realism.