Counsellor at Law - Rediscovering A Forgotten Legal Masterpiece

by Kenneth R. Kupchak When we think of John Barrymore if we remember him at all we identify him vaguely as Drew Barrymores grandfather. He is counted among the classical actors, a stagetrained thespian from an era when most movies were little more than filmed plays. Counsellor at Law, a pre-Code film adaptation of an Elmer Rice play, reveals why Barrymore was considered the leading actor of his day. His portrayal of George Simon, the private practice lawyer of the title, bristles with energy as he ricochets from one crisis to another, some his clients, others his own: a murdering heiress, a love-lorn secretary, a sassy receptionist, a wife who thinks hes just a touch too down-market for her silk-stocking upbringing and appetites. And, most critically, an ethical lapse that may end his career. No other legal film better captures so genuinely the hum of a highpowered law firm. Brimming with nuance, the action takes place entirely within his law office in the Empire State Building, which in 1933 was relatively new, the worlds tallest building and the toniest location in Manhattan. Not bad for a lawyer up from the Jewish ghetto, who now embodies the American Dream. Despite his humble roots, Simon has risen to the apex of his legal profession: Senators fawn over him, available at his beck and call; his spellbinding eloquence conjures jury verdicts for his clients; he orchestrates mergers and acquisitions. You name it, Simon is your lawyer when you really need one. This major directorial debut of the legendary William Wyler (Ben Hur, Roman Holiday, The Best Years of Our Lives) transports an audience to the pulsing heart of Simons hustle-and-bustle law office. Although lacking the technical detail of more modern films,

Kenneth R. Kupchak is a Director in the Honolulu law firm Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert. With a practice that centers in complex litigation, international joint ventures, land use and construction, Mr. Kupchak has been an advocate, mediator and arbitrator as well as a negotiator of complex dispute resolution clauses critical to the formation of international joint ventures, including a billion dollar project.

Wyler captures the essence of private practice in a mere 82 minutes. From the time the door is unlocked in the morning until its closing curtain late that evening, we never leave the confines of his law office. Finally, a legal movie without a single courtroom scene. Wyler wisely avoids exposition and explanation, and the scenes do not wait for an audience to immediately digest what is happening. Instead, he respects them by allowing the multitiered story to unfold via action and crackling dialogue. Professions, in the classic sense whether law, design or medicine usually center on the employment of judgment, the exercise of specialized knowledge rather than labor. Those of us permitted to exercise specialized judgment are often elevated within society, as long as we adhere to codes of professional or ethical conduct. These codes allow professionals to maintain monopolies, supposedly designed to insure that standards of service protect an otherwise vulnerable public. Just how does Simon manage all of this, how does he blend his roots with the white-shoe ideals and demands of his profession? He does so by severely testing practically every tenet of every code of professional practice ever envisioned. But if you accept that law is the glue binding a society, and that you cant have one without the other, then his approach surely mirrors us. Barrymores Counsellor at Law lives on the razors edge, and he multitasks half a century before the term was coined. But is he a Robin Hood or a criminal? Is he even a bad person? Neither Wyler nor Barrymore directly answer that question, but both permit the audience to make up its own mind by imposing a challenge: keep up with Barrymores balancing act and the films whip-smart script, and you will be rewarded. _____________________ About the presenter During 1950s Saturday 20 cent Double Bill Matinees at the Rivoli, reached by a dime trolley ride, Ken vowed to see every movie ever made. Ken faithfully kept up this endeavor until Uncle Sam decided that it needed a weatherman in Saigon, where the only movie fare involved Spaghetti Westerns and French movies banned in the U.S. Failing at his lifes first goal, Ken became a lawyer at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert, while still gamely attempting to see 1-3 movies a week into his 70s. At least his eldest son caught the movie bug, obtained a film degree with honors and continues to toil as a visual effects editor in Hollywood with credits in The Last Samurai and HBOs Pacific miniseries, a visual effects Emmy awardee. Ken presents the Cornell Book Award to the outstanding junior in Mid-Pacific Institutes School of the Arts, where he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Contact Ken at krk@hawaiilawyer.com.