evidence: I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress! [...] What John Adams did not say about Congress, Peter Stone wrote. Such wit deserves proper attribution. Mention of "law firms" gives away the origin’s being much later than Adams’s — Adams died, as you know, on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. "Law firms" is 20th century language.