Integrity Legal

This is a  list of some of the best known on-screen Lawyers.  If it is not immediately apparent, I somewhat eschewed the usual courtroom movies (To Kill a Mockingbird etc.) in favor of the ones I actually enjoy rather than making an extremely boring list based upon movies that others claim are good. I am not saying that a movie such as To Kill a Mockingbird is bad, but I have just never liked some of the older movies about court (For some reason 12 Angry Men is one of my least favorite films). Some of these lawyers were good guys, others no so good. I am not condoning any of these characters’ actions. I also believe that all attorneys should have a high ethical standard, but fiction is fiction, fun is fun, and these characters are just entertaining to watch.

J. Lyman “Bruiser” Stone

Bruiser Stone was the Attorney Rudy Baylor went to work for in the beginning of the movie The Rainmaker, he was truly an ambulance chaser (using his network of police contacts to get a jump on the competition when an accident occurred).

Played by Mickey Rourke, Stone is as canny as he is flamboyant and a small exchange towards the end of the movie in which Bruiser or “Big Rhino” recites case law off the top of his head from an unknown offshore haven is a truly comical moment in an altogether great film.

Study hard in Law School and you two can go on to have 3 strip clubs and a life in self imposed Caribbean exile.

Sonny Seiler

Sonny Seiler was an actual attorney from Savannah Georgia and tried the first Murder trial of Jim Williams (which is basically the plot of the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). Jack Thompson’s portrayal of Mr. Seiler is almost akin to a caricature of the quintessential Southern Lawyer: sear sucker suit, heavy drawl, scotch at the bar, and an addiction to UGA football as epitomized by his caretaker position for the Bulldog mascot of the beloved Georgia Football team.

The best description of his abilities as an attorney comes from John Cusack’s character when he says, “I do believe that man can weave bullshit into Egyptian cotton.”

His ability to sway a jury is evidenced in his opening statements after a weekend “hard at work” preparing his client’s defense (if you’ve seen the film, then you’ll understand the use of quotation marks).

John Milton

In the Film The Devil’s Advocate Al Pacino plays the Managing Partner of a Manhattan law firm.  It turns out that Pacino is in fact Satan and he is using the young attorney played by Keanu Reeves in a complex scheme to take over the world (as the Devil is generally known to do from time to time). Looking back on this film, in my opinion it is not the best movie ever made, but I have always enjoyed Pacino’s portrayal of Satan as a playboy attorney/demon having a ball on the streets of New York.

It is just fun to watch him have a good time.

Tom Hagan

Tom Hagan, the indefatigable Consigliere in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, was one of Robert Duvall’s great roles and one of the key components missing from the third installment of the trilogy. Tom Hagan is definitely not the main character, but in a way he is the fulcrum of much of the plot surrounding the “family business.” His professionalism in such a cutthroat world is nearly awe inspiring especially when he is being held captive by a man who has already tried to kill his boss.

Tom Hagan fulfilling his role as the “guy behind the guy.”

Harry Rex Vonner

From the Film A Time to Kill: “What would Harry Rex Do? Cheat. Cheat like Crazy.” Although I’m not fond of the portrayal of all lawyers as being driven only by greed and having no regard for others, there was something mischieviously endearing about Harry Rex Vonner. Much like Doc Holliday helping the Earps in Tombstone, Harry Rex puts side his less-than-noble proclivities and uses his “legal acumen,” to help keep a man from going to death row.

…He may have just been interested in the free publicity.

Baldwin

Although Matthew McConaughey has played an attorney in more than one movie, his role in Amistad is often overlooked and it is one of my favorite portrayals of an attorney.  In the beginning of the movie McConaughey’s character is more interested in earning his daily bread than in making history or doing the morally right thing. As the film progresses he becomes entwined in the cause of the Africans and uses brilliant legal ability and courtroom oratory in order to win over a skeptical judge. Although John Adams, played by Anthony Hopkins, ultimately argues the case before the Supreme Court, were it not for Mr. Baldwin these people would never have made it that far.

I still can’t get Dazed and Confused out of my head.

Rudy Baylor

We return to the Rainmaker and my favorite of all the movie lawyers because he is an idealist who uses an insurance lawsuit to bring down a bloated and corrupt insurance company. Baylor’s trials and tribulations after law school graduation are both humorous and a realistic portrayal of what life is like for a young struggling attorney.  Baylor uses some questionable tactics when it came time for jury selection, but at the end of the day he was only playing the hand he’d been dealt. The fact that he chose a path somewhat more enlightened than that of Bruiser is all the more reason to like him.

“Sworn in by a Fool, and vouched for by a scoundrel, I am  lawyer at last.”

–The Rainmaker

Thanks for taking the time to read my little list, I hope you enjoyed it. For real life lawyers please feel free to visit us at Thailand Lawyers.

Tags: attorneys in film, attorneys in movies, lawyers in film, lawyers in movies, the rainmaker