# Movies about lawyers doing lawyery stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 28, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076 "2020-10-28T00:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/41 "2020-10-29T16:49:08Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > … I loved the book, but the movie was a little _too_ much like watching lawyers doing lawyery stuff, so not the most interesting movie in the world (imo). Yeah, I can see that. My wife and I are both lawyers. She teaches business law, and I believe she used to assign this movie as extra credit or something, felt it the best presentation of corporate litigation, liability, etc. But I can see how even the best representation might be dry to non-lawyers. (Well, I REALLY like Duvall, so there’s THAT!) > [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > The [Lincoln Lawyer] book was great. The movie really disappointed me. This is one of my wife’s and my favorite movies. In our experience, there are plenty of lawyers who are happy to cross those and other ethical lines. Not enough movies emphasize that a good many lawyers are just hustling to make a buck. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/42 "2020-10-29T16:59:54Z")
Erin Brockovich - Although it mostly focuses on the discovery process Rules of Engagement - Military courtroom drama Marshall - Chadwick Boseman and Josh Gad civil rights law film The Verdict - Paul Newman film Legally Blonde - ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/43 "2020-10-29T17:05:48Z")
The American Bar Association does a survey of members about their favorite legal films every year (I think around Oscar time). _To Kill A Mockingbird_ always takes the top spot (and Atticus Finch is invariably the fictional character most cited by lawyers as their inspiration). _My Cousin Vinny_ is usually in second place, and it has a surprisingly realistic depiction of courtroom proceedings, if you’re willing to overlook the bit about someone trying a capital case in a state where they aren’t admitted. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/44 "2020-10-29T17:10:30Z")
“Anatomy of a Murder” is one of those rare movies where the entire cast turns out enjoyable performances (even Eve Arden) and the plot is engineered beautifully. “Witness for the Prosecution” was also a gas. “I’ll give ya something to dream about, Mister.” While it probably wouldn’t rank too highly on a realism scale, “Intolerable Cruelty” featured unparalleled legal drama. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/45 "2020-10-29T17:27:47Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > One of the most realistic representations I’ve seen on screen was from Better Call Saul, where the associates were in a windowless room doing document review! Its pretty much the best depiction of legal life I have seen. Period. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/46 "2020-10-29T17:34:31Z")
_The Franchise Affair_. Based on a Josephine Tey novel. There’s more courtroom antics in the film than in the book. It’s free online, if you dig a little, and the quality is pretty good. It’s a UK film from the 50s. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/47 "2020-10-29T19:02:51Z")
Great thread topic, **JohnT** ; I’m getting some good ideas for the weekend! 🍿 🎞 > [@kayaker](#): > > And Justice For All > [@cormac262](#): > > More recent Sorkin **The Trial of the Chicago 7** on Netflix. Well done. I was going to mention both of these. _…And Justice for All_ is one of my all-time favorites. This thread reminds me that I haven’t watched it in a while. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/48 "2021-02-23T03:38:08Z")
Turned on the TV and one of the films being advertised is _The Lincoln Lawyer_, so watching it now. Enjoying the setup, but the first 15 minutes are the easiest to enjoy, imho. The movie starts falling apart after that, if it falls apart. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/49 "2021-02-23T04:55:19Z")
A decade before _My Cousin Vinny,_ my Legal Practice professor told us that _Anatomy of a Murder_ was among the most realistic representations of practice and trial advocacy. It’s now one of my favorites. Lots of lovely little touches, from Jimmy Stewart’s rapport with the jailer to the train station debriefing scene to the denouement at the trailer camp. Crowning glory for me, though, is the employment of pixieish Joseph Welch as the trial judge, which he was in real life at that point. The very same Joseph Welch who’d fatally punctured the gasbag Sen. Joe McCarthy at the 1953 Army-McCarthy hearings. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/50 "2021-02-23T05:32:07Z")
> [@digs](#): > > We got hooked on Bull,… Bull is…well bull. Altho there are jury specialists they are high paid consultants, not a band of do -gooders, who spend time tracking down evidence to prove the accused is really innocent. They are mostly used in Civil cases, but yeah , in Criminal cases, too. Their job is to try to find the weakest links in the jury so that the Defense can preach to them. Nothing at all like Bull. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/51 "2021-02-23T07:09:34Z")
Lawyers doing lawyery stuff - probably stretches broadly enough to encompass the doings of Thomas Cromwell in the dramatisations of Hilary Mantel’s _Wolf Hall_ series. And there is the hapless Denis Denuto in the Australian movie, [The Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(1997_Australian_film)). ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076/52 "2021-02-24T09:07:25Z")
How about **Legal Eagles**? I’ve always liked that movie. I know nothing about how law works, though. Terence Stamp is so good at playing bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-about-lawyers-doing-lawyery-stuff/924076.md?page=2)