Why Hollywood Loves Lawyers

Thane Rosenbaum, a distinguished fellow and director of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society at New York University School of Law, writes:  Academy Award-winning actress and Harvard heartthrob Natalie Portman announces that she has signed on to do a biopic on the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and law lovers everywhere come to a halt—Bluebooks drop in mid cite-check, throats go dry at oral arguments, billable hours stop for a minute (actually, just a second), and court watchers turn off Judge Judy and long for selfies with the glamorous Portman dressed in a black robe.

Football is America’s game, but movies are its favorite form of entertainment. And movies about the law are as essential to Hollywood history as cowboy Westerns or romantic comedies. Heroism that acquits the falsely accused will hold its own against any nonstop action flick.

When the American Film Institute published its list “100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains,” defense attorney Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird topped the list, beating out Indiana Jones and James Bond. Finch, however, didn’t need a whip or gadgets from Q to earn the title or thrill moviegoers worldwide.

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Illustration Credit:  American Bar Association and Stephen Webster