Reflection on The Client Film Essay

The Client is a film released in 1994 that is based on a novel by John Grisham. It tells the story of a young boy who witnesses a lawyer with ties to the mob commit suicide. The boy hires a female lawyer to protect and represent him when the district attorney embarks on using him to take down a mafia family. This essay reflects on the role of lawyers as advocates as stipulated by the rules of professional conduct of the Law Society of Ontario in Canada. It will discuss whether three lawyers depicted in the film act as advocates in accordance with those rules.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Reggie Love is a lawyer and a former alcoholic who agrees to represent Mark Sway, the boy who witnesses the suicide. She comes out as zealous, but not unscrupulous by agreeing to a hopeless case from a client who cannot afford the required legal fees. Rule 2 states that a lawyer is obligated to go about their duties with honor and integrity while also upholding the reputation and standards of the legal profession. Rule 3 requires the lawyer to be competent and apply the relevant skills when representing a client. Rule 4 stipulates that the attorney shall offer legal services in a convenient and efficient manner.

It is evident that Reggie Love abides by the rules mentioned above. For instance, her first task is to protect Mark from a manipulative federal attorney who tries to trick her client into reveling what the dead lawyer told him before he died. She then negotiates certain terms and guarantees of protection before Mark can testify, thus ensuring her client and his family are not killed by the mob. Although Love is tough, world-worn and weary, she is warm enough to understand Mark's sensitive emotional needs. It is revealed that she is spurred to help him by the fact that she had lost legal custody of her own children.

Jerome Clifford is a desperate lawyer who suicide is witnessed by Mark Sway, setting up the plot for The Client. He is a prominent attorney from Louisiana whose current client is a ruthless mafia hit man called Barry 'The Blade' Muldano. It is revealed that Barry killed a US Senator and hid the body somewhere. Before Jerome commits suicide, he tells Mark where the body is hidden. Jerome is depicted as not zealous and very unscrupulous considering that he chose to associate and represent a mafia assassin. The fact that he tells Mark where the body is hidden is a violation of the attorney-client privilege, meaning he does not follow the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. Although it is not explicitly stated in the film, it is likely Jerome Clifford is a corrupt and greedy individual who works for the mob. He also chooses to commit suicide rather than face the unpleasant realities of a murder case.

Roy Foltrigg is a publicity-seeking and flamboyant federal prosecutor. He goes by the nickname "Reverend" because of his habit of quoting religious scripture while hosting press conferences, most of which are usually inaccurate. While he is zealous, he is also very unscrupulous as evident in the way he tries to manipulate Mark into divulging where the Senator's body is buried. Such actions are in a stark violation of rule 2. Towards the end of the film, Foltrigg convenes a press conference to brag about finding the body before he can even go to the location to confirm it. It is evident that he is using the case as a strategy to further his political ambitions.

Conclusion

The Client is a legal thriller that is characterized by court cases and lawyer characters. Three of the characters, Jerome Clifford, Reggie Love and Roy Foltrigg, are attorneys of varying ability to follow the rules. While Reggie Love is zealous but not unscrupulous, the other two are not. All three seem to have a problem sticking to the rules of professional conduct for lawyers.

References

Machura, S., & Robson, P. (2001). Law and film: Introduction. Journal of Law and Society, 28(1), 1-8.