The 20 best defense attorneys on screen

Seinfeld excelled at creating humorous and outlandish secondary characters, and they don’t come more outlandish than Jackie Chiles. He’s a spoof of the real-life Johnnie Cochran, and he deserves a lot of credit for being willing to take on Kramer as a client (particularly given the latter’s tendency to be outlandish and get into trouble). He might not always be able to get his client acquitted — most notably in the finale — but there's no question that he’s immensely funny to watch.

Night Court was, in many ways, peak 1980s sitcom television, focusing on the titular court. The late Markie Post played Christine Sullivan, the public defender who often matched wits — during trials and afterward — with John Larroquette’s Dan Fielding, who often made a point of trying to seduce her. Sullivan deserves a lot of credit for being willing to be a public defender in New York City, arguably one of the most thankless professions one could take on in the legal world. The fact that she is so often able to defeat Dan makes her even more appealing.  

It’s impossible not to fall in love with Reese Witherspoon’s performance as Elle Woods in the beloved film Legally Blonde. She has all of the personality traits of a stereotypical dumb blonde, but, as the film makes clear, her opponents in the courtroom underestimate her at their own peril. She’s the one who ends up having the last laugh since her unique brand of knowledge and perspective end up being the key to solving the case and ensuring that the wrong person isn’t found guilty. 

Witness for the Prosecution is one of those series that is a true embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast. Of particular note is the great British actor Charles Laughton, who plays Sir Wilfrid Robarts, who decides to take on a case even though doing so puts a strain on his already fragile health. Robarts is a man of strong principle, and even though his client successfully dupes him, he still commands respect. Such is the power of Laughton’s performance and his skill at legal maneuvering.

Few defense attorneys have appeared with quite as much panache as Vinny Gambini, memorably portrayed by Joe Pesci in the comedy film My Cousin Vinny. Though he initially appears to be quite a novice when it comes to the law practice — he has just been admitted to the bar — he soon proves that there is far more to his courtroom antics than meets the eye. Indeed, despite his brash demeanor and the fact that he repeatedly gets into trouble with the judge, the fact is that Vinny is actually quite a good defense attorney, and the events of the film suggest that he has a very bright future ahead of him once he returns to New York.

Tom Cruise gave one of the most memorable performances in his career as Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men.  During the film, he goes from a defense attorney willing to accept a plea bargain to someone who genuinely wants to get to the heart of the crime. Cruise brings his usual piercing intensity to the role, and while he sometimes takes things over the top (as he’s wont to do in even his most restrained performances), one has to admit that Kaffee is still a very good defense attorney. After all, who else could goad Jack Nicholson’s Nathan R. Jessep into blurting out the truth on the stand?

Though Andre Braugher may be best known for portraying Captain Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he also had a recurring role as defense attorney Bayard Ellis in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ellis is one of the defense attorneys willing to put his money where his mouth is, and he’s noted for going from defending the worst sorts of people to actually trying to reform the justice system. It’s a remarkable performance from Braugher, and even those who face him in the courtroom seem to admire him.

Annalise Keating wasn’t the first defense attorney that Viola Davis played. Fans of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will recognize her for her recurring role as Donna Emmett. Even though defense attorneys are usually antagonists in the Law & Order universe, it’s clear that the ADAs do genuinely admire Emmett. It’s easy to see why since she has a subtle legal mind and really performs the best job that she possibly can when it comes to her clients. Given the extent to which the Law & Order universe tends to view defense lawyers with skepticism and sometimes disdain, the fact that the series wants the viewer to appreciate her is truly remarkable.

Dylan McDermott gives a powerful performance as Bobby Donnell in the long-running legal drama The Practice. Donnell repeatedly shows that he’s a very good lawyer committed to his clients, even when he knows they are guilty. As is often the case with so many other defense attorneys, he often finds himself feeling qualms about the lengths to which he has to go to achieve his ends, and his obvious morality is exactly what makes him such a compelling defense attorney and television character. 

Beneath his sarcastic wit, Community’s Jeff Winger clearly has a sharp legal mind. Of course, this didn’t stop him from getting a sham law degree that ended up with him losing his legal license, but before that, he’d clearly shown how good he was at the practice of law. Even though he never quite achieves the level of success he had before his downfall, he does at least manage to become a legal professor at Greendale Community College, so he’ll be able to share his legal knowledge with future generations. 

Throughout his career, James Stewart played characters with strong moral compasses, which is true in his role of Paul Biegler in the legal drama film Anatomy of a Murder. After being drawn out of retirement, he quickly shows that he is a truly remarkable defense attorney capable of playing the courtroom like an instrument. He might appear to be something of a hick, but his opponents in the court learn the danger of underestimating him and his shrewd legal acumen.

Created by Erle Stanley Gardner, Perry Mason is arguably one of the most famous defense attorneys in the history of fiction. He has been portrayed several times on the small screen, most notably by the late Raymond Burr. Mason is the type of defense attorney who will go the extra mile for his clients, and he not only gains an acquittal but also usually finds the true culprit. The character was subsequently portrayed by Matthew Rhys, who added a neo-noir edge to Gardner’s original character. 

It can sometimes be difficult to portray defense attorneys in a sympathetic or complicated light, but Viola Davis more than does this as Annalise Keating, the primary character of How to Get Away with Murder. Annalise is the very definition of an antihero willing to sacrifice her principles when she thinks that it’s convenient to do so. There’s no denying that she is absolutely captivating to watch, and Davis grants her a wrenching humanity that is as tragic as it is damaged. 

Atticus Finch remains one of the most beloved defense attorneys to have appeared in the movies, largely because of the indelible performance given by Gregory Peck in the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is the embodiment of morality and doing the right thing, no matter how difficult it might be. It’s thus understandable why this character, particularly as portrayed by Peck, should be a true American hero and someone that people can look up to in the pursuit of justice.

Mickey Haller is, of course, the defense attorney hero of The Lincoln Lawyer, which has been adapted to both film and TV. In the film version, he’s played by none other than Matthew McConaughey, who endows the character with his usual folksy charm and charisma. In the TV series, by contrast, he’s played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. Each, in their own way, manages to capture much of what makes the character so appealing, though the TV show has the slight advantage of being able to show how Haller grows and develops as a character. 

Andy Griffith delivered a memorable performance in the series Matlock, where he plays the title character. There’s a folksiness to Matlock that evokes Griffith’s character of Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show, though Ben is arguably much more prickly. Even so, he’s still a man who will do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of a case and, like so many other fictional defense attorneys, succeeds in proving his clients’ innocence, even if he charges quite a lot for his services.

Tatiana Maslany made quite a splash in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner, who became known as She-Hulk. The series as a whole is a brilliant take on the sitcom and the legal drama and is, as such, a bit of a breath of fresh air in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Walters is also a fun addition to this universe, and as the series goes on, she proves that she’s both quite strong and a surprisingly good lawyer.

The series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law was one of the stranger offerings from Adult Swim, but it still managed to offer a refreshing and irreverent take on some of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The show's heart is the title character, who is often tasked with defending his fellow cartoon characters against various crimes. Gary Cole provides his inimitable voice to the character, and however strange he might be at times, Harvey proves that he’s actually a fairly good lawyer, even when confronted by bizarre clients and even more bizarre prosecutors.  

Futurama demonstrates why Matt Groening has been and remains one of the major voices in adult animation. In addition to its beloved main characters, it introduced several recurring figures for its run, including Hyper-Chicken, a defense lawyer who, as his name suggests, is a chicken. This is one of those characters that fully emphasizes the silliness at which the show so often excels. Despite the ridiculous concept, he repeatedly proves to be a remarkably good attorney.

Bob Odenkirk gave one of the performances of his career as Saul Goodman, a major character in Breaking Bad and the emotional center of Better Call Saul. Though he begins as a defense attorney, he soon begins his slide into darkness, and, as with Walter White, it is fascinating to see his many depths and his fall from grace. The brilliance of Odenkirk’s performance lies in his ability to turn this character into someone audiences can genuinely like, even as they feel dismay and sadness at his fall from grace.