Staten Island Law: Joy Behar Meets Elura & Michele

This is the short version of the interview

This week Joy Behar had the ladies from Staten Island law, Elura and Michele, on her show, “Say Anything!,” on Current TV. The ladies were smart, funny and entertaining, much like on their OWN show. You can see there is absolutely no pretense whatsoever. They are down to earth and refreshingly honest, for lawyers. They both talk a mile a minute, so you get a lot for your viewing time.

Throughout the interview, Joy, Elura and Michele throw in some Italian lingo and culture, which really makes me laugh because most of my relatives are gone and I don’t get to hear those phrases being bandied about any more.

If you haven’t watched Staten Island law yet, you really should. The ladies give an intro to the show which is about two Staten Island lawyers who met in New York law School and became best friends. They got married around the same time, had their children about the same time and went into business together as mediators for people who can’t resolve their own problems. The ladies are full time mothers trying to juggle home life and business and strike a healthy balance. One day, after being told they should be on television because they are so funny, Michele says she started Googling how to get on television while her daughter was napping. She started to call New York production companies and pitch their idea for a show. They used videos they made for their other business, tutoring law school students” as a sample of their personalities. The production company was interested and pitched the show to other companies. They got their best offer from OWN and accepted. Four of the six taped shows have aired. The last two are being reserved for a new day and time to attract more viewers. I will definitely be announcing that information as soon as it has been decided. Meanwhile, you may be able to catch the first four episodes if they are being rerun on OWN.

Now for the rest of the interview. They are currently in the early stages of a case where the gay community wants to march in the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s a Catholic parade and those who run it don’t want them marching…Joy says, “What about the priests who are marching? Never mind.” Michele answers, “Thank God you said it.” And then they push right past that controversial issue back to the difficulty of getting a resolution for this case. Joy feels, “Not for nothing, but Staten Island is a little bit backward in their thinking a lot of times.” Elura and Michele agree. Michele says, “Once the old guard goes they bring the sauce with them.” (See Carmela, even Michele knows it’s legally called sauce, NOT gravy!). Michele is making the point that we don’t want to lose everything from the old ways o thinking, especially the recipes.

Joy brings up the Kim Khardashian/Chris Humphries case to get their opinion on it. The couple was married 72 days. Kim offered Chris 10 million dollars for a divorce as she is now pregnant with Kanye West’s baby. Chris wants an annulment so that she can remarry in church. He wants her to admit the marriage was a sham/fraud. They say they would advise Kim to find other grounds, a different fraud, for an annulment, because she would never say she married him for the publicity as it would open her up to all kinds of legal problems. They would tell Chris to stick to his guns. He is hurt, wants her to admit she was wrong and wants her erased from his past, so no amount of money is going to sway him. But they feel this situation is not right for mediation because they are not in the right place to be receptive.

They touch on Casey Anthony who wants to be a paralegal. Michele is revolted. Joy says would they ever hire her…they both say no. Michele can’t seem to stomach the thought of Casey Anthony. Then the both think she should be “sentenced” to law school, that would be a punishment! Then when she graduates she can spend a lifetime working with other lawyers who find a thousand ways to call you stupid everyday.

Elura and Michele have never met Oprah but they would love to one day. They want to give her the “Staten Island” treatment at the nail salon… Joy interupts them by saying that these two ladies are the first guests to come to the show and bring her pastries and two mozzarellas. Michele says she was raised right, you don’t visit someone’s home empty handed.

This interview was absolutely delightful. I am posting the link below. It runs about 14 minutes and I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Video Credit Current TV

Full Interview Link: Joy Behar "Say Anything!" with Elura and Michele