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(Editor's Note: Recently named "Atlanta's Funniest Lawyer,"Lori B. Duffis a national award-winning author of four humor collections, including the soon-to-be releasedIf You Did What I Asked in the First Place.In a Q&A, she reflects on finding the funny in life.)

How does a lawyer, which some would argue is one of the least comical career paths, become a humorist?

I find it necessary to balance out my Karma. As a lawyer, I spend my time ruining people's days by filing suit against them and mailing them nastygrams. As a humorist, I go out of my way to give them joy.

What do your family and friends think about frequently being focal points of your writing?

My friends love being a part of my storytelling and get mad when I don't find our shenanigans worth writing about. My husband thinks I exaggerate. My children don't remember a life outside of being publicly exposed. My son thrives on the attention. My daughter thinks I make her look like an idiot, which is not at all true.

When it comes to your writing, are there any topics that are off limits?

I don't write about my clients or the people who appear before me in court. I don't want anyone to think that secrets or professional privacy will be betrayed. That's a hard line for me. I'm also bound by the judicial canon of ethics to avoid politics, which allows me to maintain fans on both sides of the aisle.

How do you make light of situations you've found difficult?

How do I not? How does anyone survive difficult situations without dark humor? That has always been my go-to coping mechanism. I've taught it to my kids. Whenever things are getting stressful, I say over and over, "Find the funny," and we always do.

There are some people who believe women aren't funny - what would you say to them?

Anyone who says that clearly hasn't talked to any of the women I know. I don't know that anyone who starts out with that attitude is interested in being convinced, or, for that matter, capable of laughing, but beyond demonstrating my own humor, I'd probably list all the funny women who paved the way before me. Going back to groundbreakers like Dorothy Parker and Mae West to Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers and Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett and Erma Bombeck and Jean Kerr, and then moving forward. If that didn't work, I'd probably use some decidedly unfunny language and laugh to myself, head back and mouth open. Humor is so subjective - not everyone thinks the same things are funny.