The Best Legal Movies Ranked, with Gary Wax

The California Appellate Law Podcast

A good trial involves heroes and villains, themes of good and evil, tense conflicts, and, at the end, a difficult moral choice. All stuff that could make a few good movies.

Gary Wax is a filmmaker-turned-appellate lawyer, and he brings his insider’s eye and his top-500 list to help us analyze some of the best law movies of all time.

We discuss:

• Why 12 Angry Men is such a great legal film—it reminds us attorneys where the process of persuasion really happens.
• How a single famous line made A Few Good Men unforgettable.
• Why My Cousin Vinny is unique among law films—a comedy that actually works as a legal movie.
• In the jury’s eyes, you, the attorney, are one of the characters in the story. Act your part.
• But oral argument is not a time for theatrics.
• Film references in legal briefs?

Gary Wax’s biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.

Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.

Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page.

Sign up for Not To Be Published, Tim Kowal’s weekly legal update, or view his blog of recent cases.

The California Appellate Law Podcast thanks Casetext for sponsoring the podcast. Listeners receive a discount on Casetext Basic Research at casetext.com/CALP. The co-hosts, Jeff and Tim, were also invited to try Casetext’s newest technology, CoCounsel, the world’s first AI legal assistant. You can discover CoCounsel for yourself with a demo and free trial at casetext.com/CoCounsel.

Other items discussed in the episode:

• Gary’s top 5 legal movies: 12 Angry Men, A Few Good Men, The Verdict, True Believer, Primal Fear.
• IMDB top 10 legal movies list.
• Videos from this episode will be posted at Tim Kowal’s YouTube channel.