The Top 10 Fictional Lawyers

As a criminal defence barrister, I've always looked to my fictional counterparts for inspiration. So what makes a great fictional lawyer? It’s never just about winning the case, but conquering something much bigger, often within themselves. My choices may be controversial…

1. Mitchell McDeere

John Grisham’s graduate in The Firm has to stay one step ahead of his new employers and the mafia in order to survive and, despite temptation, manages to hang on to the most important thing of all – his integrity.

2. Joe Miller

A personal injury lawyer played by Denzel Washington in the film Philadelphia has to confront his own prejudices about homosexuality and AIDS before successfully defending a fellow lawyer, played by Tom Hanks, in a case of unfair dismissal.

3. Atticus Finch

In the face of racial prejudice towards his client from the whole community, Harper Lee’s attorney from America’s deep south in To Kill A Mockingbird never turns his back on the fundamental principal of justice – everyone has the right to a lawyer – now enshrined for all Europeans in Article 6 of European Convention on Human Rights.

4. Horace Rumpole

Ageing defence barrister John Mortimer’s Rumpole of The Bailey is beaten down by life and She Who Must Be Obeyed, but, like all great lawyers, he always rises to the occasion in the courtroom, outwitting his usually pompous opponent.

5. Vincent Gambini

Dale Launer’s mechanic turned lawyer in the movie My Cousin Vinny, who passed his Bar exams at the sixth attempt, defends his first trial: his cousin on a charge of murder. Spending hours studying a photograph of skid marks, he learns a valuable lesson for any lawyer – bring your experience of life into the courtroom.

6. Jack Brigance

In John Grisham’s debut novel, A Time To Kill, a southern lawyer represents a man charged with shooting dead the men who raped his daughter. Despite acts of violence and death threats, Brigance never abandons his client, doing his duty to act ‘without fear or favour.’ Brilliantly played by Matthew McConaughey in the 1996 film version.

7. Martha Costello

Maxine Peake’s character, created by Peter Moffat in BBC drama series Silk, is a tough criminal barrister with the common touch. Like all great jury advocates, she is able to see below the surface, relying on an innate understanding of human nature.

8. Lt. Daniel Kaffee

Living in the shadow of his dead father, Kaffee – a newly qualified military lawyer, played by Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men – has to meet his greatest challenge: fear of the courtroom.

9. Matthew Shardlake

C.J. Sansom’s sixteenth century lawyer in Dissolution is driven by his passion for church reform. Like all the best lawyers, Shardlike is an outsider, his hunchback setting him apart. Living with and overcoming his disability, he always manages to find the truth.

10. Victor Scott

Played by Edward G. Robinson in the 1955 film Illegal, the ruthless District Attorney lives every prosecutor’s nightmare – winning a trial and discovering later the defendant was not guilty. Learning the truth too late, an innocent man is sent to the chair, marking the beginning of a decline for Scott. He has to face up to his own feelings of guilt and get back into the courtroom.

Want more fictional lawyers? Check out Jack Kowalski, the young Polish barrister who's the hero of my new novel, Cut-Throat Defence.