Film and the Law Series: Intolerable Cruelty, April 17, 2019

Description:

This film and the law seminar will challenge the lawyer to be “kind” and “less cruel” in the practice of law.  We will start by looking at various ethical violations attorneys faced from being cruel in the practice of law.  From creating fake dating profiles for an opposing attorney to ratting out a former client in a tell-all book, it’s not a good look for the profession when attorneys chose to be cruel. We will then look at the recent Supreme Court term to learn what our highest court is doing. This past term the Court dealt with wedding cakes, sports gambling, and Supreme Court hazing.  Finally, after watching the movie Intolerable Cruelty, we will hold an attorney forum where we unpack the various ways attorneys can go too far, including inadvertently encouraging clients to lie, settlement bluffing and conflicts of interest.  We hope that by the end of the day, a call to civility will be the departing rallying cry!

Movie Synopsis:

Intolerable Cruelty (2003) – Joel and Ethan Coen take on the classic battle-of-the-sexes screwball comedy with Intolerable Cruelty. George Clooney plays Miles Massey, a high-powered Los Angeles divorce lawyer nearing a midlife crisis. While representing wealthy client Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann), Miles meets his match in Rex's gold-digging wife, Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones). He's impressed by her similarly heartless ways of using marriage to fuel an expensive lifestyle, but he still defeats her in court. With Marilyn looking to get her revenge and Miles finding himself attracted to her, the two engage in a ruthless romantic pursuit to out-swindle each other. Billy Bob Thornton shows up in a small role as Texas oil tycoon Howard Doyle.