By longstanding software industry tradition, the dream of many a nerd was to get an aggressive sports car or motorcycle. It’s still true today, but was especially obvious in the late 90s, back when just about everyone involved in the high-tech biz had money.

Needless to say, fast cars and heavy feet breed traffic tickets. Local law enforcement agencies have been making a tidy profit off of aggressive drivers with high-tech jobs for years.

Eventually, those who’d been around the block learned what to do when they got pulled over for speeding: call lawyer Jeannie Mucklestone. I knew one developer who programmed Jeannie’s number into his cell phone as a speed dial.

Jeannie was famous. For a flat fee, she could get you out of most minor traffic infraction tickets, usually in about five to ten minutes of courtroom time. If you got pulled over for something major like DUI or reckless driving, she’d usually refer you elsewhere, but minor stuff like speeding tickets: no problem.

A deal like that eventually draws attention. Jeannie, and her brothers John and James, got a write-up in today’s P-I, as part of an article on the burgeoning legal industry of getting tickets dismissed.