Lawyer Movies and the Most Famous Lawyers in the World

• Philadelphia, The Lincoln Lawyer, and A Time to Kill are among the top lawyer-based movies.

• The most accomplished legal practitioners include Vernon Jordan, Amal Clooney, and Brenda Hale.

• There are many different types of lawyers: personal injury, family, tax, immigration, etc.
• Lawyer movies tend to influence our outlook on the law profession and the speed with which lawyers gather evidence.

Lawyer movies have been around for a while, and we have no complaints. After all, who doesn’t like watching Matthew McConaughey in lawyer movies?

Not just that, but everyone enjoys watching justice being served, as we constantly see and even feel injustice in the real world. In this article, you’ll find a few good lawyer movies and learn more about the responsibilities of a real lawyer.

The Best Legal Movies: A Countdown to the Greatest Lawyer Films of All Time

What do we look for in good lawyer movies? Naturally, there needs to be action, mystery, and a sudden twist that brings everyone to their knees. Depending on your taste, you can find various lawyer movies on Netflix.

Here’s our list of the top lawyer movies:

Philadelphia (1993)

One of the best black lawyer movies, Philadelphia, depicts the struggles of Andrew Beckett who is fired from his job as a senior associate at a law firm due to suffering from AIDS. Beckett reaches out to an admittedly homophobic lawyer to help him win a case against his former employers. Will he agree to fight this injustice?

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

The Lincoln Lawyer is one of the best Matthew McConaughey lawyer movies, where his character, Mickey Haller, defends a client accused of brutally beating a prostitute. Haller finds similarities between this case and a previous one, for which another man is already serving a sentence. Was the arrested man really innocent, and does his client know more than he’s letting on?

A Time To Kill (1996)

When searching for movies like Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, it’s only fair to check out this masterpiece. The story starts with two white men sexually assaulting and beating a 10-year-old girl. Her father scared that the men will walk free, kills them both. Will he and his lawyer Jake Brigance be strong enough to take down the entire unjust system?

The Client (1994)

If you like female lawyer movies, you’ll love ‘The Client,’ starring Susan Sarandon as Regina “Reggie” Love. The story revolves around an 11-year-old boy who witnesses the suicide of an attorney, Jerome Clifford. However, before pulling the trigger, Clifford tells Mark a secret.

Now Mark is afraid that Clifford’s client will come after him next. He refuses to tell the police anything and ‘hires’ Regina to represent him…

The Firm (1993)

If you enjoy Tom Cruise lawyer movies, this is a movie you simply must check out. In this movie, he plays a young lawyer fresh out of law school and is offered a job at ‘The Firm.’ All goes well until two lawyers get savagely murdered. Caught between the FBI and the firm’s security agents, he comes up with his own plan…

The Most Famous Lawyers in the World: From Criminal Defense to Civil Rights

Just like in the best lawyer movies, lawyers in the real world carry a load of responsibility on their shoulders. Being a lawyer is a noble job, and it’s no secret that power can quickly go to someone’s head, as we often see in some of the top lawyer movies. To be a good lawyer, it’s important to carry certain principles and values and specialize in a specific field, like risk mitigation strategies for businesses.

Here are some of the most famous lawyers that could easily star in good lawyer movies:

Johnnie Cochran

When it comes to criminal defenses, you’d probably want the best of the best to prove your innocence. Johnnie Cochran was one of the best lawyers in this field until he sadly passed away in 2005. Although he’s no longer with us, we will always remember him for his famous lawyer quote: “If it does not fit, you must acquit.”

Anne Bremner

Most famous for representing Michael Jackson in his child molestation charges, Anne Bremner looks straight out of those female lawyer movies we love. She’s an absolute legend and has tried over 200 cases during her career.

Dick DeGuerin

If you’re accused of money laundering like in those classic lawyer movies, who better to prove your innocence than Dick DeGuerin? After all, he did represent House Majority Leader Tom Delay and many bankers involved in the collapse of the Enron Empire.

The Most Successful Lawyers: An Overview of the Most Accomplished Legal Practitioners

Since most recent lawyer movies center around wealth and power, here are some of the most successful lawyers and how they got to that powerful position:

Vernon Jordan

Just like in our favorite black lawyer movies, Vernon Jordan has accomplished so much, including being a leading civil rights activist and fighting racial discrimination while also holding honorary degrees from over 60 colleges and universities in the US.

Jordan started his career by studying Political Science. At DePauw University (Indiana), he was the only black student in his class. He continued studying at Howard University School of Law, where he earned his law degree.

Amal Alamuddin Clooney

Another role model for female lawyer movies, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, works as a human rights lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers. Some of her achievements include representing Armenia in recognition of the Armenian Genocide, being a Senior Advisor to Kofi Annan, working as a Counsel for the 2013 Drone Inquiry, etc.

Before all this, however, Clooney studied Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford. She got her Master of Law at New York University and was called to the Bar in New York in 2022.

Brenda Hale

Besides being a President of the Supreme Court of the UK since 2017, Brenda Hale is also known for being a judge in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice and being the first female Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

Before we got to know her for her achievements, Hale was a law student at the University of Cambridge. She then worked as an assistant law lecturer at the University of Manchester until she got called to the Bar in 1969.

The Most Popular Lawyer Types: Exploring the Different Types of Lawyers and Their Roles

Movies like The Lincoln Lawyer tempt us to enroll in law school immediately. However, while everyone enjoys watching good lawyer movies, not everyone can handle the workload. A good look at a lawyer’s day-to-day responsibilities will ensure that it’s not all action and last-minute ground-breaking evidence.

Here are some of the most famous lawyer types:

Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury lawyer ensures clients injured in an accident get financial compensation. Having a personal injury lawyer can benefit you greatly, especially because they can help you understand how a certain accident and legal issues can affect your human rights.

Family Lawyer

While family lawyers have a vast field of practice, we usually encounter them in family issues like divorce, adoption, child custody, etc. Since family issues are known to be very sensitive and stressful, having a good family lawyer will make the process more bearable. Furthermore, a family lawyer can help you protect your beneficiaries.

Tax Lawyer

We all have to pay taxes, yet only some people know how to address tax issues adequately. Getting all your tax affairs in order is tough, so getting a tax lawyer will give you much-needed control. These lawyers specialize in tax legal issues and tax planning laws, so getting one is well worth it.

Immigration Lawyer

Immigration can be complicated, especially if you’re new to it. Having an immigration lawyer can help you better understand and analyze your rights, possibilities and strategies. Sometimes, even a minor mistake in documentation can lead to long delays in your immigration or, in some cases, deportation.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

As we commonly see in lawyer movies, everyone loves a good criminal defense lawyer. To defend their clients, criminal defense lawyers must go through the process of gathering evidence and testimonials to prove their innocence. If found guilty, the lawyer must negotiate plea bargains and get a good sentencing program with the prosecutor. 

Conclusion: The Influence of Lawyer Movies and the Importance of Legal Practice

The best lawyer movies on Netflix and globally tend to influence how we think about courtrooms and the legal process. While cool-looking on the big screen, lawyers in the real world fight difficult battles daily, whether resolving human rights issues or providing criminal defense.

That said, it’s a much more serious profession than Hollywood lawyer movies make it out to be.