Contests, Movies, Reader Polls, Television

Fictional Lawyer Madness: The Winner

You, the readers, have spoken. Who is the most popular fictional lawyer of the past 30 years?

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Perhaps the winner of our Fictional Lawyer contest was never in doubt. Perhaps it was always obvious that the main character from the longest-running legal drama in the history of television was going to win this thing.

Perhaps, it was all about the eyebrows.

The most popular fictional lawyer in the past 30 years is Jack McCoy from Law & Order. Here’s the updated bracket.

Our CEO here are Breaking Media had a bracket that looked a lot like the final version. Mine? Not so much…

McCoy had a pretty easy time overcoming Vincent Gambini in the finals. In fact, most of the commenters were still horrified that McCoy beat out Lionel Hutz. Many of them blamed “baby boomers” for McCoy’s victory.

But actually I think it was the kids who spurred on Jack McCoy. Think about it: Lionel Hutz was relevant in the ’90s. Phil Hartman died in 1998. If you are a rising first-year law student this fall who went straight through from college, you were what, seven years old when Hartman/Hutz died? Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (the other Hartman character that was untimely dismissed) came out before you were born. My Cousin Vinny was released in 1992. It’s almost 20 years old.

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You know who was still on the air and going strong when today’s young lawyers were forming their incorrect opinions on what lawyers do? Jack McCoy, that’s who. I started out this contest limiting it to lawyers from the last 30 years because I didn’t want the competition dominated by old guys. To my horror, this contest has taught me that I’m the old guy. The other day I made a Harry Potter reference and a Hangover reference because I realize that people like our newest ATL writer haven’t gotten around to catching the Big Lebowski or Ghostbusters on AMC Movie classics. “Boomers” didn’t vote for McCoy. It was the millennials who were voting for the one lawyer they recognized from their lifetime.

You know who figured this out? Breaking Media CEO John Lerner. There is nothing quite as annoying as organizing an office pool that your boss ends up winning, but that’s my life. Lerner won the Fictional Lawyer Madness Office Pool while Lat and I finished off the pace. You can check out our brackets by clicking here.

Congratulations to Sam Waterson, Dick Wolf, and the entire Law & Order brain trust. You’ve created a character that is extremely popular and will live on in the minds of young lawyers for at least another generation.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to update the information on my medical alert bracelet.

Earlier: Fictional Lawyer Madness

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