Jeff Cohen, Esq.—who in a past life was known as Chunk from The Goonies—posted his top 5 lawyers from the movies on Lawyerist.com . In a shocking upset, Tom Hagen from The Godfather (Pts. I and II, never III) bumped Attius Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird from first place. Cohen’s rationale—flawed as it may be—for favoring Hagen is worth the read.
Choosing top fictional lawyers is a rather charged endeavor. In 2010, the ABA decided to take Atticus out of the running with the 25 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Are Not Atticus Finch) . Bitter Lawyer responded to the ABA’s list with their own 10 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Overlooked by the ABA Journal) , which also puts Hagen on top. A year later, Constitutional Daily got in on the action with their list of the Top 6 Overlooked Fictional Lawyers to cover all those the ABA and Bitter Lawyer missed.
Clearly this is a debate that will rage on, and it will only be a matter of time before someone decides to comment on Chunk’s list. One can only hope that the next list will put Atticus back on top.