Thursday, August 11, 2016

Lawyers at the Movies

Summer is traditionally Hollywood blockbuster season, and even the ABA Journal is getting in on the fun. This month's cover story includes a colorful round-up of The Six Types of Lawyer Movies, illustrated with "trading cards" for each category. The six types, and a famous example of each, include:
  1. The Crusading Lawyer (To Kill a Mockingbird's Atticus Finch)
  2. The Heroic Lawyer (Jimmy Stewart's character in Anatomy of a Murder)
  3. The Obtuse Lawyer (John Travolta's character in A Civil Action)
  4. The Disillusioned Lawyer (George Clooney as the titular Michael Clayton)
  5. The Vengeful Lawyer (the legal team in Runaway Jury)
  6. Buffoons in Law (Vinny Gambino in My Cousin Vinny)
The online version of the story also includes a quiz to determine Which Movie Lawyer are You? You'll need to answer a few questions to ID your Hollywood alter ego; the results also list a few other recommended movie titles in your genre.

While the Goodson Law Library doesn't own every film title which is mentioned in the article, the Legal DVDs collection on level 3 includes a sizeable majority. DVDs in this collection of law-related films and television series may be borrowed for a 3-day loan by bringing the empty case to the Circulation/Reserve desk. View a list of Legal DVD titles from newest to oldest or by Most Popular. You can also search for particular film titles in the Duke Libraries Catalog. (Are we missing a favorite legal movie? Let us know in the online Suggestion Box.) For help with locating a legal DVD, be sure to Ask a Librarian.