A well-known lawyer passed away and found himself standing before the Pearly Gates, dressed in his best suit and still holding his briefcase.

St. Peter looked down at his list, adjusted his glasses, and said, “I’m sorry, but your name isn’t on the entry list. You’ll have to go to the other place.”

The lawyer straightened his tie and immediately went into professional mode.

“Now, hold on,” he said. “I believe there has been a serious administrative error. I have spent my entire life defending people, interpreting the law, and ensuring justice was served.”

St. Peter raised an eyebrow. “Justice?”

The lawyer smiled confidently. “Exactly. I demand a fair hearing.”

For the next hour, the lawyer argued passionately. He cited moral principles, heavenly loopholes, procedural errors, and even questioned whether the Pearly Gates had a proper appeals process.

Finally, St. Peter sighed and said, “All right. You’re very persistent. Here’s the deal: you’ll spend the same amount of time in hell as you spent on Earth. After that, you can come up here and spend eternity in Heaven.”

The lawyer thought about it. “Well, I lived 65 years. That’s not ideal, but compared to eternity, I suppose I can accept that.”

St. Peter nodded. “Excellent. Then I’ll see you in 350 years.”

The lawyer froze.

“Three hundred and fifty years? That’s impossible! I’m only 65 years old!”

St. Peter looked back at the file and smiled.

“Yes,” he said. “But we calculated your time based on your billing hours.”