Contests, Movies, Reader Polls, Television

Fictional Lawyer Madness: Regional Finals Part Two

By Elie Mystal

onJune 30, 2011 at 6:02 PMJune 30, 2011 at 6:48 PM

1) Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci; My Cousin Vinny)

Sponsored

Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance

In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.

From Pilot and Above The Law

3) Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise; A Few Good Men)

Do you realize we’re now officially living in a world where Daniel Kaffee is one of the eight most popular lawyers of the past 30 years? Is that a little bit strange to you? Why does a Lieutenant Junior Grade with nine months’ experience and a track record for plea bargaining get into this position? Would it be because most lawyers never see the inside of a courtroom?

Of course Vinny Gambini was also a lawyer handling his first capital murder case. You know what’s the interesting connection between both of these lawyer movies? The Oscar went to the star witnesses who gave climactic testimony, while the main lawyer characters asked questions and stayed out of the way. Yes, the takeaway from that sentence is that Marisa Tomei has an Oscar.

Let that be a lesson to young lawyers everywhere. You clients are the star. The evidence is the star. You are not the star, you’re just the star’s lawyer.