ATL March Madness: The Greatest Work Of Legal Fiction Ever
Cast your ballot in our annual bracket showdown.
It’s March Madness time again, and while you gear up to spend the next couple of days watching streaming coverage of basketball while billing it to “professional development” and competing against fellow Above the Law readers and editors in our bracket challenge, don’t forget to take a time out to participate in Above the Law’s annual March Madness “Bracket O’ Things.”
Every year, we come up with something ridiculous for you all to vote on. We’ve crowned the Worst Law School in America and declared the Law Firm with the Brightest Future. This year, we’re going big time to finally declare the greatest legal fiction of all time!
Well, technically the greatest legal fiction of all time is corporate personhood, so perhaps it’s best to label this the hunt for the greatest work of legal fiction of all time. We’ll have 64 entries in this crowded field divided into 4 regional brackets — Movies, TV, Books, and a Miscellaneous Bracket featuring entries from all genres. Today, we begin with Movies.
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
You have until Monday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern to cast your vote. Stay tuned all this week as we unveil a new region every day.
MOVIE REGION
(1) Legally Blonde vs. (16) A Cry In The Dark — Elle Woods consistently earns the adoration and respect of ATL readers for reasons that defy any good goddamned explanation so she’s going to earn the top seed in this bracket. Her first adversary is A Cry In The Dark, yet another movie to remind you that Australia is terrifying.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (1) Legally Blonde (88%, 240 Votes)
- (16) A Cry In The Dark (12%, 32 Votes)
Total Voters: 272
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Loading ...(2) A Few Good Men vs. (15) The Devil’s Advocate — A Few Good Men carries the viewer to a fictional world where the commander of Guantanamo Bay doesn’t interact with lawyers questioning his view of torture every day. Meanwhile, The Devil’s Advocate allowed Al Pacino to burst into flames while screaming, making it arguably his most understated role of the last 25 years.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (2) A Few Good Men (84%, 218 Votes)
- (15) The Devil's Advocate (16%, 41 Votes)
Total Voters: 259
Loading ...(3) 12 Angry Men vs. (14) Intolerable Cruelty — A timeless classic showing how frightening it is that we let juries decide what to order for lunch much less a person’s guilt squares off with the movie that reminds every good lawyer to never forget about Kershner.
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (3) 12 Angry Men (90%, 211 Votes)
- (14) Intolerable Cruelty (10%, 24 Votes)
Total Voters: 235
Loading ...(4) The Verdict vs. (13) Primal Fear — Newman’s Own Legal Thriller is one of those throwback tales about justice that everyone should be forced to watch whenever some slack-jawed yokel candidate preaches tort reform. Primal Fear was Ed Norton’s first movie and it’s pretty clear he hit the ground running.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (4) The Verdict (62%, 132 Votes)
- (13) Primal Fear (38%, 80 Votes)
Total Voters: 212
Loading ...(5) Philadelphia vs. (12) Shaggy Dog — Tom Hanks loses his hair while Tim Allen grows a lot more hair. Frankly, the Dean Jones movie Shaggy D.A. is better than the vapid Tim Allen version, but whatever.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (5) Philadelphia (92%, 199 Votes)
- (12) Shaggy Dog (8%, 18 Votes)
Total Voters: 217
Loading ...(6) People vs. Larry Flynt vs. Liar, Liar — Hustler’s chief speaks truth to power while Jim Carrey speaks truth because of some mysterious power.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (11) Liar, Liar (61%, 140 Votes)
- (6) People vs. Larry Flynt (39%, 88 Votes)
Total Voters: 228
Loading ...(7) A Man For All Seasons vs. Amistad — Justice Scalia loved A Man For All Seasons because it’s also about someone steadfastly holding to entirely arbitrary hokum in the face of practicality. Anyway, we’ve got Scalia’s favorite film up against a movie about judicial activism he surely hated.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (10) Amistad (67%, 135 Votes)
- (7) A Man For All Seasons (33%, 68 Votes)
Total Voters: 203
Loading ...(8) Inherit the Wind vs. Michael Clayton — It’s disturbing how contemporary the Scopes Monkey Trial feels, isn’t it? And George Clooney plays a lawyer who isn’t worried about Kershner.
Greater Work Of Legal Fiction
- (9) Michael Clayton (50%, 103 Votes)
- (8) Inherit the Wind (50%, 102 Votes)
Total Voters: 205
Loading ...