So far, these come to mind:
Edit: Now with current rankings.
- (1) 12 Angry Men (I listed it first by chance, but it may be the best.)
- (2) To Kill A Mockingbird (But, man, the prosecutor was horrible.)
- (5) A Time To Kill (The only Grisham film worthy)
- (3) My Cousin Vinny (more realistic than you think)
- (4) The Paper Chase (great law school movie)
- (6A) Jagged Edge (underrated)
- (10) Witness for the Prosecution (oldie but a goodie)
- Anatomy of a Murder (ditto)(And, I admit, it's been a long time since I've seen it and might under value it.)
- (7) The People vs. Larry Flynt (Has the greatest line ever when the defense lawyer is simply fed up with him but Flynt replies with: "You don't want to quit me, I'm your dream client: I'm the most fun, I'm rich, and I'm always in trouble."
- A Few Good Men (overrated)
- (9) Philadelphia (better when you watch it now)
- (10) Devil's Advocate (Pacino's performance alone makes it worthy of the list)
- (6) Presumed Innocent (Still confusing to me but very realistic if you want to know how a DA's office works, the pressure of being a defense lawyer and, more importantly, the pressure of being accused.)
- (9) The Verdict (A great movie on legal ethics.)
- Edit: Cape Fear. (This was nominated by a reader and I wanted to dismiss it because it wasn't a "legal" movie. But the more I think about it, it is exactly that. )
- Edit: Fracture (Something about it just bugged me. I can't put my finger on it, though)
- Edit: (8A) Primal Fear (I'm thinking it might go higher)
- Edit: Suspect
- Edit: Murder in the First
- Edit: Sleepers
- Edit: JFK
- Edit: Kramer vs. Kramer
Edit: Nominated by readers but which I have not seen:
- Justice For All
- Body Heat
- Lincoln Lawyer (my bad for not seeing this)
- Absence of Malice
- Inherit The Wind (how have not seen this?)
- Judgment at Nuremberg
- Class Action
- Ghosts of Mississppi
- Life of David Gale
- Legal Eagles
- Legally Blonde
- The Firm
- The Juror
- The Rainmaker
- The Pelican Brief
- Runaway Jury (as you can tell, I don't think much of John Grisham movies because I don't think he ever spent time in the courtroom.)
- Liar, Liar