A first-year law student at Harvard Law School struggles with balancing his coursework and a woman, unaware that she has a connection that affects their relationship. Director: James Bridges | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman, Graham Beckel. Votes: 7,886 | Gross: $1.85M. 13.
Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience. Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield. Votes: …
Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and, along the way, reconnects with his estranged family. Director: David Dobkin | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton. Votes: 189,002 | Gross: $47.12M
Live. •. Dark Waters - A corporate defense kawyer decides to take on an environmental lawsuit against a powerful chemical company that exposes a long history of environmental pollution. Length: 126 minutes. Director: Todd Haynes. Stars: Anne Hathaway, Bill Camp, Mark Ruffalo. Watch Movie: Dark Waters.
His string of hits continued with The Client, which tells the rather simple story of a plucky young kid (Brad Renfro) who witnesses a suicide and the resourceful lawyer (Susan Sarandon) who helps him take on the system. (Tommy Lee Jones, a little off his game here, gets less to do as the ego-driven District Attorney.)
Let's get this out of the way: The Devil's Advocate is a wild movie. It's alternately a slow burn courtroom drama with a murder mystery and a supernatural horror plot. It's also very hard not to spoil because the reveal is part of its glorious kookiness. Keanu Reeves plays a cocky young Florida lawyer named Kevin Lomax who can't and won't lose a case, getting even the most heinous criminals acquitted. He's invited to come to New York and help a hotshot law firm with jury selection and is ultimately recruited by the company run by Al Pacino's mysterious John Milton. The title really says everything you need to know about who this "John Milton" is and soon enough some very creepy stuff starts to happen to Kevin and his wife (Charlize Theron). But the thing you might forget about The Devil's Advocate is how much of a law movie it is in between all the Pacino yelling.
With Aaron Sorkin's courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 arriving on Netflix and the recent Supreme Court hearings playing out in the headlines, it's an ideal time to escape into the twist-filled, monologue-packed world of a legal thriller, a genre that's largely faded from the multiplex in recent years.
A Few Good Men (1992) Considering this list was inspired by the release of The Trial of the Chicago 7, we had to include Aaron Sorkin's debut film as a writer, the adaptation of the play that made him a star, A Few Good Men.
It's easy to boil down A Few Good Men, directed by Rob Reiner, to Jack Nicholson yelling, "You can't handle the truth!". but it's similarly easy to forget what a disturbing and tense film about the cultish cronyism of the Marines it is.
There are a lot of moving parts to A Few Good Men, but it centers around the murder of bullied Marine William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo), and the two mismatched lawyers, JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) and Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), assigned to defend his accused killers, two fellow soldiers. That puts them up against Nicholson's sinister Colonel ...
Keanu Reeves plays a cocky young Florida lawyer named Kevin Lomax who can't and won't lose a case, getting even the most heinous criminals acquitted. He's invited to come to New York and help a hotshot law firm with jury selection and is ultimately recruited by the company run by Al Pacino's mysterious John Milton.
Deemed one of the greatest courtroom dramas of all time and based on the novel with the same title, Anatomy of a Murder follows Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler (played by James Stewart), who has his work cut out for him after agreeing to defend Lt. Manion (played by Ben Gazzarra), who murdered a local bar owner after learning he’s been accused of rape.
The Rainmaker (1997) The Rainmaker, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, follows a new attorney by the name of Rudy Baylor, who, struggling to find work, is forced to take a job under another lawyer of questionable morals, played by Mickey Rourke.
5. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) In this film, Tyrone Power plays Leonard Vole, who has been accused of murdering a wealthy woman.
In this film, Tyrone Power plays Leonard Vole, who has been accused of murdering a wealthy woman. Vole is represented by the legendary Sir Wilfrid Robarts (played by Charles Laughton) and, in order to win his case, must have his alibi corroborated by his wife, Christine (played by Marlene Dietrich).
Directed by Jonathan Demme, Philadelphia tells the story of lawyer Andrew Beckett, who struggles to hide his homosexuality, as well as his HIV status, for fear that they will have a negative impact on his career at a prestigious Philadelphia law firm. Eventually, his secrets are exposed by a colleague.
The only lawyer who will help him with his case is Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington.
Elle follows her ex, Warner Huntington III (played by Matthew Davis), to Harvard law school after he breaks up with her on the night when she expects him to propose.
The Client - A small boy who saw the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to help protect him when the DA tries to use him to take down the mob family.#N#Length: 119 minutes# N#Director: Joel Schumacher#N#Stars: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro#N#Watch Movie: The Client
...And Justice for All - An attorney is forced to defend a guilty judge, while still helping other innocent clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.#N#Length: 119 minutes#N#Director: Norman Jewison#N#Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe#N#Watch Movie: ...And Justice for All
Murder in the First - A young attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner who has been accused of killing another inmate, despite his client having just spent over three years in solitary confinement.#N#Length: 122 minutes#N# Director: Marc Rocco#N#Stars: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman#N#Watch Movie: Murder in the First
Reversal of Fortune - Rich Sunny von BĂĽlow lies brain-dead, and husband Claus is found guilty of attempted murder; but he maintains his innocence and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.#N#Length: 111 minutes#N#Director : Barbet Schroeder#N#Stars: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver#N#Watch Movie: Reversal of Fortune
Legal Eagles - A New York DA works and flirts with his legal opponent and her bizarre artist client, who is on trial for a murder that she didn't commit.#N#Length: 116 minutes#N#Direct or: Ivan Reitman.#N#Stars: Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah#N#Watch Movie: Legal Eagles
Absence of Malice - When a prosecutor leaks an untrue story that a warehouse owner is involved in the murder of a local union head, the man's life begins to come apart.#N#Length: 116 minutes#N#Director : Sydney Pollack#N#Stars : Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban#N#Watch Movie: Absence of Malice
Breaker Morant - Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for killings prisoners as a way of diverting attention from war crimes committed by their superiors.#N#Length: 107 minutes#N#Direct or: Bruce Beresford#N#Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters#N#Watch Movie: Breaker Morant
Legally Blonde is the definition of a classic. The film is a redemption story centered around the unforgettable “Elle Woods”. She begins as a sorority girl socialite from a rich family who has very little ambitions outside of marrying her college sweetheart. When he leaves her, she decides to also apply and go to Harvard Law School to prove he was incorrect about his assumptions about her “not being serious”, and him “needing a Jackie O., not a Marilyn.”
A Civil Action is a thrilling tale about an aggressive and gutsy lawyer taking on a case that will put his entire career and potentially his firm at risk. He’s convinced he can win and the movie tells a great underdog story about a man fighting against the world he lives within and trying to prove himself capable of doing the impossible.
The story centers around a star attorney’s return home to attempt to salvage his father’s reputation after he is accused of murder. The plot is made more fascinating by his father being one of the town’s judges, who has sentenced countless people over his years.
The Pelican Brief in an enthralling tale following a law student who writes a paper theorizing about the perpetrators of a heinous crime: the murder of two sitting Supreme Court judges. After her professor sends the “Pelican Brief” along, he is murdered and the president convinces the FBI to hold off the investigation. The movie is thrilling and will leave an audience guessing until the very end.
Suspect is a story about a legal team attempting to do the right thing and finding all kinds of wrongdoings along the way. The film is a great “stick-it-to-the-man” tale. It stars the enigmatic Cher, as well as the great Dennis Quaid and prolific Liam Neeson.
Holly Hunter was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” and David Grusin was nominated for “best original musical score.”. The film is great and truly unforgettable as it challenges a lot of people’s preconceived notions of morality and reality. 20.
The Accused is a brutal story about a woman who suffers an awful group sexual assault and decides that she will not let the monsters get away with it. She seeks justice and does everything in her power to ensure that both the attackers and those who cheered the event on are brought to justice.