# Why are lawyers so common in TV and movies and who is your favorite lawyer character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327 "2011-06-13T17:09:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/1 "2011-06-13T17:09:13Z")
Lawyer character are quite common in TV and movies. Who is your favorite lawyer character? Why? Any idea why lawyers are so popular as characters? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/2 "2011-06-13T17:15:47Z")
Lawyers (also doctors, cops and related professions) are popuular because they get to have scenes involving life and death situations, which makes for good storytelling. After all, how often do you see shows featuring real estate lawyers negotiating a contract or dermatologists treating a rash? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/3 "2011-06-13T17:16:56Z")
My favorite lawyer character would have to be [Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfrozen_Caveman_Lawyer). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/4 "2011-06-13T17:29:20Z")
Lawyer is one of those professions that IRL is so diverse and ubiquitous that you can pretty much have any sort of character be a lawyer and it can fit into any sort of story. A lawyer can be a downtrodden office drone everyman toiling away in some mundane office job like Mitch from Old School. They can be an all-powerful master of the universe like John Milton from The Devils Advocate. They can be a shaddowy enigmatic figure working behind the scenes like Michael Clayton. A lawyer can be an eager up and coming hot shot forced into an ethical delema like Mitch McDeere in The Firm. They can be a bumbling buffoonish ambulance chaser like Lionelle Hutz from The Simpsons. Other professions tend to be shorthand for the type of character you want them to be. IE: Accountant = uptight nerd Computer programmer = rebellious nerd Investment banker / stockbroker = rich guy, often doucebag Teacher = Usually idealistic and good natured Fireman = brave and heroic Musician = charismatic but flakey..usually struggling (or rock star douchebag) So on and so forth > [@kunilou](#): > > After all, how often do you see shows featuring real estate lawyers negotiating a contract or dermatologists treating a rash? [Seinfeld]Skin cancer![/Seinfeld] ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/5 "2011-06-13T17:29:29Z")
Barry Zuckercorn! “He’s very good.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/6 "2011-06-13T17:34:29Z")
The same reason snakes and sharks are, I would venture to guess. Atticus Finch would be my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/7 "2011-06-13T18:05:06Z")
Juliana Marguiles in _The Good Wife_. Not because she’s a lawyer, but because I think she’s incredibly hot. And she was incredibly hot as a nurse in _ER_ too. SS ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/8 "2011-06-13T18:12:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Lawyer is one of those professions that IRL is so diverse and ubiquitous that you can pretty much have any sort of character be a lawyer and it can fit into any sort of story… > > Other professions tend to be shorthand for the type of character you want them to be. But that’s not true even on TV. Is every cop the same in every cop show, or all the doctors the same on hospital shows? Are all the firefighters the same on _Rescue Me_? There is more diversity among lawyers on TV because, simply put, there are more lawyers on TV, and it would make for incredibly dull TV if every lawyer were the same…just like if every doctor on TV had to be the same, and thus we never got to see a doctor like Gregory House. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/9 "2011-06-13T18:13:17Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > Barry Zuckercorn! > > “He’s very good.” I liked Zuckercorn, until he [jumped the shark](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jm6B31HKBw). ---
**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:** [June 13, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/10 "2011-06-13T18:14:21Z")
Pretty much what **Msmith** said - you see lawyers (and their counterparts, cops) in TV shows because it allows for a lot of stories and variations thereof. _Law and Order_ is probably the best at this - one week the show could be a Very Special Episode about the homeless problem, the next it could be Wall Street bankers offing union organizers to save a high-dollar project, the next it could be a teenage drug addict who killed her baby while high, the next it’s a sordid affair where the ex-wife finally takes her revenge on her ex-husband… only to kill the wrong man, to be followed with an episode where a hooker and her john (is that capitalized?) frame men to extort thou$and$ only to accidentally cause the death of an overweight bank executive, to a show where a down-on-his-luck artist… Well, you get the idea. For American shows and movies, having a lawyer protagonist gives you a plot-framing device allowing you to tell almost any contemporary story you wish to. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/11 "2011-06-13T18:23:25Z")
Lawyers are involved in dramatic situations without being a party in them (so like police officers or doctors you can have them involved in a new situation every week without it seeming implausible). A court case is an adversarial situation which makes for good drama. And it’s a verbal setting which creates opportunities to good dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/12 "2011-06-13T18:40:02Z")
Most TV and movie lawyers seem to be pretty stiff-assed and not particularly interesting by themselves. This allows the drama to come from the case itself. However, there have been exceptions: Bill Murray’s character in “Wild Things” was a very interesting store-front lawyer. The two leads in “Civil Wars” were both interesting, three-dimensional people. And of course Angie Harmon’s bloodthirsty ADA in “Law & Order” was awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/13 "2011-06-13T20:16:25Z")
Horace Rumpole is by far and away my favourite fictional lawyer. Not that he’s that far removed from his creator, [del]Horace Rumpole[/del] John Mortimer. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/14 "2011-06-13T20:26:36Z")
My personal favorite was Denny Crane. Because, well, he’s DENNY CRANE … and he shoots people. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/15 "2011-06-13T20:27:59Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Juliana Marguiles in _The Good Wife_. Not because she’s a lawyer, but because I think she’s incredibly hot. And she was incredibly hot as a nurse in _ER_ too. > SS My vote is for her, too, and I agree that the show is better than she is. I think the cast and writers, especially [Archie Panjabi](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659544/) are able to put the notions of Truth, Integrity, Honor and those other high-minded concepts into real world terms where the main objective is to WIN. The ways they find of skirting around the rules and the values normally associated with Justice are educational to say the least. It makes me dread the day I would have to hire a lawyer, much less appear in court. I also loved _Boston Legal_ for the way they could let a blowhard like [James Spader’s](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000652/) character win every court argument no matter how foreign from real life it went. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/16 "2011-06-14T02:41:20Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > But that’s not true even on TV. Is every cop the same in every cop show, or all the doctors the same on hospital shows? Are all the firefighters the same on _Rescue Me_? There is more diversity among lawyers on TV because, simply put, there are more lawyers on TV, and it would make for incredibly dull TV if every lawyer were the same…just like if every doctor on TV had to be the same, and thus we never got to see a doctor like Gregory House. There are a lot more different kinds of lawyers and doctors than there are different kinds of cops or firemen. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/17 "2011-06-14T02:48:54Z")
Maurice Levy from The Wire. The perfect scumbag lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/18 "2011-06-14T04:21:51Z")
[DUI? Dealing Drugs? Better Call Saul!](http://www.bettercallsaul.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Dietrich\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@Dietrich\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dietrich_K)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/19 "2011-06-14T04:49:26Z")
My favorite lawyer character? I have three (in order of preference): [ol] [li]Atticus Finch[/li][li]Alan Shore[/li][li]Denny Crane[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327/20 "2011-06-14T12:16:06Z")
Sydney Carton. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-lawyers-so-common-in-tv-and-movies-and-who-is-your-favorite-lawyer-character/585327.md?page=2)