More of a lawyer reacting to TV or Movie lawyers and cases

A couple of days ago I posted a video of a lawyer commenting on courtroom scenes from movies and TV shows.  Because I watched that video on YouTube, the next time I visited YouTube, it recommended other similar videos and I came across a channel called "Think Like a Lawyer" by "Legal Eagle" in which a lawyer comments on many different things, and which has a bunch of videos of him giving very detailed commentary on movies and TV shows, including My Cousin Vinny, Better Call Saul, A Few Good Men, The Bee Movie, Liar Liar, The Rainmaker and more.  He also has a lot of videos on advice for law students.  I watched some of those and I agree with a lot what he has to say, but not all ... but that is the subject of a different conversation.

You could spend a lot of time watching videos on this channel, so save the link for when you have some free time....

Former prosecutor comments on courtroom scenes from TV and the movies

I recently found this video in which a former prosecutor comments on courtroom scenes from TV shows and movies. She comments on a lot of different aspects of litigation, from substantive issues, rules of evidence, conduct of lawyers in the courtroom and the role of the judge.  The clip is a bit long, but I enjoyed watching it.  You can watch it below or by going here.  She discusses clips from, among others, A Few Good Men, Legally Blonde, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, A Civil Action, Class Action, Roman Israel, esq, and from TV shows like Suits, The Good Wife, and The Practice.

There are, of course, a lot of other scenes from movies that could have been included, but there is only so much time...  One I recommend you take a look is the scene of the plaintiff's deposition in the movie Class Action.

Movies with pivotal lessons for lawyers

As many of you know, I keep a list of recommended movies for lawyers and law students.  It does not includes all the law related movies out there; only ones I have seen and would recommend.   Now for those of you interested in movies, here is a link to an article in the ABA Journal.com listing twelve movie scenes that offer important lessons for lawyers.  You can click on each movie title for a short description of the relevant scene and the lesson the authors think it helps teach.

Ethics lessons from fictional lawyers

Here is the link to an article on fictional lawyers, from movies and novels, and the ethical issues they faced.

Movie review: William Kunstler, Disturbing the Universe

Last Thursday, I posted an announcement about (and the trailer of) the new documentary on William Kunstler currently playing at the Gene Siskel Film Center (see here). I went to see it on Friday and here is my review.

I think the film is excellent. But let's start with the basics. In case you don't know, William Kunstler was one of the most important civil rights lawyers of his generation. He was either an activist or a lawyer with the Freedoom Riders, the protests against the Vietnam war, the American Indian Movement, the Attica prison revolt and others. He represented "the Chicago 8" accused of causing a riot during the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago in 1968 and activists of all types. He also represented common criminals, mobsters and defendants noone else would dare be associated with.

The documentary does an excellent job of providing all that information, but the most important thing about this movie, in my opinion, is that it is not a biography. The movie is really a memoir from the perspective of Kunstler's daughters who struggled to understand him and his passion for his work and his clients. Kunstler was a radical, a lawyer, an activist, a public figure and a celebrity. But he was also a father and a husband. These are a lot of roles to play at the same time, even for a giant like him.

I met Kunstler many years ago when he briefly visited Puerto Rico to represent some Puerto Rican independence activists. I was familiar with his work and had admired it for a long time and was, quite frankly, "star-struck" to make his acquaintance. When he shook my hand and asked me "how are you?" the one thing that immediately struck me was that I realized he actually cared. He actually really wanted to know how I was. He wasn't just looking for me to say "OK", he wanted to know if I really was ok. I am sure I just said "fine" or something like that, but I am also sure that if I had said I was worried about the case (or something else for that matter) he would have spent some time with me talking about it.

There is a little spot in the movie when one of the interviewees says that if someone shouted an insult at Kunstler, he would stop and ask the person why he felt that way and that Kunstler would then spend some time talking about it. I know that is true, because he was that kind of a person. Even if he met you for just a few minutes, those few minutes mattered to him.

And years later, you would realize that they mattered to you too.

That, I think, is also the experience the Kunstler sisters are trying to describe in the movie. As they were growing up, they did not fully realize (or understand) why their father would represent criminals, why people gathered outside their door to yell insults or why they got threats in the mail.

Now, years later, they have put together this movie to answer those questions in a very touching way. Their father did what he did because he cared. He cared about justice. He was not a perfect father or husband or lawyer or person. He made mistakes and bad decisions. But he would not sit idly by while others acted; he acted.

The movie has some great footage both of the social events of which Kunstler was a central figure but also of family life in the Kunstler home. I was touched by the little clips of home movies of him playing with his daughters when they were little and by a famous photo of him working with one of the girls, then just an infant, lying on top of the desk looking at him. To me the movie is not just about lawyering, activism, history and politics; it is also about personal relationships.

In my Professional Responsibility class, I try to spend just a little bit of time teaching my students how important it is to really understand our roles as lawyers in society and how important it is to be able to explain it to others. We could take a lesson from Sarah and Emily Kunstler. In "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe" they have given us a very personal memoir that shows why it is so important.

Documentary film about William Kunstler

William Kunstler was one of the most important and influential civil rights lawyers of his generation. (If you are in my class at JMLS, check the problem on page 309 of the casebook.) His daughters made a documentary about his life and work called "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe" which will be shown at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St. for a few days starting tomorrow (Friday Jan 22). Sarah and Emily Kunstler will attend the 7:45 p.m. screenings on Friday and Saturday and participate in audience discussion. For more information visit the film's Web site. Here is a trailer: