Lawyers: a Love – Hate Relationship

The public has love hate relationships with all types of professions from politicians to law enforcement officials.  Lawyers evoke the love – 

hate emotions as much if not more than these and most other professionals.  People express their disdain of lawyers or the legal system in general on one hand while on the other hand the very same people would probably be pleased to see their son or daughter become a lawyer.

Of course most people would not hesitate to seek the advice of a lawyer if they were in legal trouble or wanted to make sure their own rights were protected.  The media reinforces this love-hate dichotomy with their portrayal of legal professionals in the movies.  With the two sides of this coin in mind I prepared my own “top” list of movies that feature either (1) a lawyer I love to love or (2) a lawyer I love to hate.

Movies with lawyers I love to love:

1. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
2. Joe Pesci as Vincent LaGuardia Gambini “Vinny”: My Cousin Vinny (1992).
3. James Stewart as Paul Biegler: Anatomy of a Murder (1959).
4. Spencer Tracy as Clarence Darrow: Inherit the Wind (1960)
5. Matt Damon as Rudy Baylor: The Rainmaker (1997)

Movies with lawyers I love to hate:

1. Al Pacino as John Milton: The Devil’s Advocate (1997). By far, John Milton is the most evil lawyer on my list – he is the Devil himself, literally.
2. John Houseman as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr: The Paper Chase (1973) Prof. Kingsfield isn’t necessarily evil or corrupt like the other “love to hate” lawyers on my list – he is just a complete jerk!
3. Richard Gere as Billy Flynn: Chicago (2002)
4. Sean Penn as Dave Kleinfeld: Carlito’s Way (1993)
5. Gene Hackman as Avery Tolar: The Firm (1993)

Love the lawyer or hate the lawyer therein, I recommend every one of the movies on my list.

Weston S. Montrose, Esq.

Wes Montrose is a Certified Workers’ Compensation Lawyer with Arizona Injury Law Group. He offers caring and diligent service to all of his clients, and no retainer is required. Call (602) 346-9009 today!