What do you make of Mark Twain’s “proof” of authenticity?

On the surface it seems Twain is attempting to breathe an air of legitimacy into his work. Though admitting his own shortcomings in the field of law, he tries to bolster the book's authority by assuring the reader that it has been pored over by a legal expert. Further, the author tries to puff up his own consequence by linking himself to Dante Alighieri - one of history's greatest poets - and by embracing the ancient Florentine senators as his own ancestors. However, closer examination reveals that what appears to be an attempt at legitimacy is in fact absurd satire. Twain's so-called legal expert, who ensures the accuracy of the novel's legal passages, has not practiced law in decades.