“What are lawyers good for?” (lawyer joke)

One popular lawyer joke is:
 
Q. What are lawyers good for?
A. They make used car salesmen look good.
 
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1992.
       
 
Google Groups: rec.humor
Lawyer Jokes
Slime the Ooze
7/1/92
(...)
Q:  What are lawyers good for?
A:  They make car salesmen look good!
 
Google Groups: rec.humor
Canonical List Of Lawyer Humor 1/1
April Fool
3/14/95
(...)
What are lawyers good for?
They make used car salesmen look good.
 
Google Books
The Joke’s On… Lawyers
By Stan D. Ross
Sydney: The Federation Press
1996
Q: What are lawyers good for?
A: They make used car salesmen look good.
 
Google Groups: aus.jokes
Lawyer jokes
Hyatt Saikin
3/20/96
(...)
What are lawyers good for?
They make used car salesmen look good.
     
Google Groups: alt.humor
Lawyers (Q&A)
´¯`·.¸¸. Karel .¸¸.·´¯`
1/7/98
(...)
Q. Why did God invent lawyers?
A. So that realtors would have someone to look down on.
 
Q. What are lawyers good for?
A. They make used car salesmen look good.
     
Google Groups: alt.tasteless.jokes
Lawyer Jokes - 5
nemo
4/11/03
(...)
What are Lawyers good for?
They make used car salesmen and estate agents look good.
 
Twitter
cnpsupport
‏@cnpsupport
What are lawyers good for?They make used car salesmen look good.
9:17 PM - 3 May 2009
     
Google Books
Jokes and Targets
By Christie Davies
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
2011
Pg. 55:
Why did God invent lawyers?
So that realtors would have someone to look down on. (Field 2003).
 
What are lawyers good for?
They make used car salesmen look good. (Field 2003).
 
Google Books
The Last Good Paradise:
A Novel
By Tatjana Soli
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
2015
Pg. 64:
Q: What are lawyers good for?
A: They make used-car salesmen look good.