History Main / AmoralAttorney

* Darrin Russom of ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''. Defends most of the series' suspects.

* Played with in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' book ''[[Recap/AsterixAndTheLaurelWreath Asterix and the Laurel Wreath]]''. Their lawyer isn't evil but doesn't care about getting them off and is taking the case for publicity. He gets into an argument with the Prosecutor when they start their speech with "Delenda Carthago Est" as he planned to. Then again, Asterix doesn't care either and actively torpedoes his own case and Obelix doesn't really grasp the situation.
* Downplayed in one ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story; attorney Vincent Oleck successfully defended a [[MafiaPrincess mobster's son]] (who had brained his date to death in the middle of a crowded bar) by applying superhero tropes (mind control, evil duplicates, ComicBookDeath, etc.) to the case, not because he actually believed that was what was going on, but because he wanted to see if he could get away with it. However, it's explicitly mentioned that defending a client as best he can (and irrespective of their innocence) ''is his job'', and when the mob boss starts showering him with gifts and [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse offers him an, ahem, life-long position,]] he [[OhCrap realizes he's messed up good]]. Ultimately, he comes to realize that his mistake was in thinking of his job as a game that he was supposed to win, rather than as a ritual intended to keep society functioning (and... darker things at bay).
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Some continuities (such as the Batman newspaper strip, and ''Two-Face: Year One'') have [[ComicBook/TwoFace Harvey Dent]] turn into this ''very, very'' briefly after the acid hits and before he descends into CartoonishSupervillainy. His origin in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' has him indulging in this, violating attorney-client privilege in order to get the crime family he was family lawyer to (at the behest of Batman and Gordon) in order to get them convicted.

* Mentioned briefly in one ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' story arc. The Twelve, a group of brothers named after the Chinese Zodiac (with Rabbit acting as their spokesman and leader), each with near Shiva-level martial arts talent, are sent to defend a shipment of drugs to Gotham. The Birds of Prey engage them until Lady Blackhawk renders the whole fight meaningless by blowing up the drug shipment with her fighter jet. Having failed their mission, the Twelve surrender:

** The classic Creator/CarlBarks story "The Golden Helmet" (and Creator/DonRosa's sequel "The Lost Charts of Columbus") features corrupt lawyer Sylvester Sharkey working with con man Azure Blue. Barks wrote his story shortly after he'd been through an ugly divorce with his second wife, and was presumably not a big fan of lawyers at the time.
** Just one year later, Barks would introduce Chisel [=McSue=], in ''The Horseradish Story''. He gleefully uses an old bit of fine print to try to swindle Scrooge out of his fortune, sends Scrooge and his nephews on a crazy, seemingly impossible quest to try to retain his money, and then -- when it looks like he might actually succeed -- drops all pretenses of being a RulesLawyer and heads out in a speedboat to kill them all. He even turns on his accomplice in the end, to get rid of any witnesses.
* Eustache in ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' cheats on his girlfriend, is known more for his parties than his law practice, and will get mad if you outright don't follow any law he tries to circumvent. When xenophobic rabbit people sell his girlfriend to a whorehouse, the hero says they should have their throat slit, Eustache takes it as a just sentence.

* ''ComicBook/GothamByGaslight'' has [[OriginalCharacter Jacob Packer]], Bruce Wayne's HonoraryUncle as a close friend of Thomas Wayne, who defends Bruce in court when he is framed as UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper. [[spoiler:He's also the real Ripper, due to Martha Wayne spurning his advances, '''''and''''' the one who framed Bruce.]] Too bad he didn't tell the highwayman to kill Bruce too if he was with them, and that he resumed killing after returning to Gotham City. Batman exposing him, and Batman existing in the first place, were both ultimately his own fault.
* ''ComicBook/GreenLanterns'' introduces Singularity Jain, an alien/demon/living black hole who might be the most extreme version of this trope in existence. A very literally predatory defense attorney, she approaches people who have nowhere else to turn to, refusing payment and instead asking for a single favor. This favor inevitably ends up being something (usually murder) that drives her client even deeper into despair, until they lose hope completely. It's at this point that she ''eats them whole'', feeding on their despair and pain.
* In one ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'' story, a highly successful and brilliant lawyer, whose sole moral lapse is having extramarital relations, is forced to become an Amoral Attorney for Grendel's organization. Grendel goes to some pretty extreme lengths to hire him: he starts by trying to blackmail the lawyer with photos of him and his mistress. The lawyer's response is to immediately confess to his wife, refusing to be blackmailed. [[MoralEventHorizon Then Grendel threatens to kill his wife and children.]] ''That'' convinces him. The lawyer's life is ruined since everyone around him, his friends and colleagues and family (who leave him), is disgusted by the lawyer defending the kind of scum that works for Grendel.
* ComicBook/IronMan: Tony Stark's former lawyer Bert Hindel plays this trope entirely straight. Tony ordered Hindel, as the head of his legal department, to use the courts to stop [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Justin Hammer]] from using technology Hammer had stolen from Stark Enterprises. Hindel did such a poor job of representing Stark's interests that Tony finally fired him. Hindel would later return as the defense lawyer for Stark's StalkerWithACrush, Kathy Dare, who was facing attempted murder charges for [[{{Yandere}} shooting Tony]]. He used all sorts of sleazy legal tactics to make Stark look bad and portray Kathy as being under considerable mental stress. As a way of getting revenge on Stark, he also planned to write a juicy tell-all book with Kathy about what Tony was supposedly really like. Fortunately, Hindel didn't do any better than when he was the head of Stark's legal team, and ended up getting Kathy committed to a sanitarium.

* This is subverted in the last chapter of ''ComicBook/TheMonsterSocietyOfEvil'' as Mister Mind is being tried, his lawyer, who he knows to be a slick Amoral Attorney, hears of Mister Mind's crimes and tells Mister Mind [[EvenEvilHasStandards he hopes he gets the electric chair]].
* In ''ComicBook/TheNewTeenTitans: ComicBook/WhoIsDonnaTroy'' [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Dick]] and [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna]] learn that the attorney for the orphanage Donna's mother gave her to was using his information to blackmail and frighten new adoptive parents to give up their kids to him, thinking him to be legit, and then selling the kids on the black market.

* ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'' has Shyla Kor-Onn's unnamed and supremely smug attorney, who accepts testimonies of untrustworthy sources, changes his statement constantly, objects to the mere fact of the defense presenting evidence… for the sake of helping a criminal convict ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}.
* Shark-man lawyer, Mr. Larry "Frenzy" Fischmann, in ''ComicBook/TopTen'' is a prime example. When one of his clients commits suicide in police custody, all he cares about is his fee. When [[{{Kaiju}} Gograh]] shows up at the Top Ten, causing the earth to shake with each footstep, Frenzy says he'll sue the department if he gets whiplash from falling down in their building. At one point, Alexei "Spaceman" Glushko makes a comment about his people not having evolved in millions of years - Frenzy takes offense and cites this as one of many common misconceptions about sharks. Spaceman wasn't talking about sharks. Fischmann is a senior partner at Metavac, Fischmann, and ''Goebbels'', by the way. That's ''Eddie'' Goebbels, a ''hypnotist''.
* ''ComicBook/TheTrialOfTheFlash'': N.D. Redik is a famous and unscrupulous defense attorney who sees the Flash trial as a chance to boost his career to permanent glory. When Franchise/TheFlash turns to other lawyers, Redik tries to have them killed to force Flash to employ him.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman''

For every do-gooding CrusadingLawyer out there, there is their inverted opposite: the Amoral Attorney, an asshole who is some combination of opportunistic, arrogant, cynical, and slimy. They [[MisaimedFandom worship the ideas of]] Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli as gospel and decide to put them to work in the field of law. If they're defense attorneys, they really do not care how evil the CorruptCorporateExecutive / SleazyPolitician / [[TheDon Mob Boss]] / [[DiabolicalMastermind Criminal Mastermind]] they serve is, as long as the money comes flowing in. Meanwhile, prosecutor-style amoral attorneys pursue glory and a political career from closing cases and convicting defendants, while little details like [[MiscarriageOfJustice whether the person being tried is actually guilty]] are considered irrelevant. Whether they're a slick, two-faced charmer lying through their teeth, or an intimidating bully with a law degree, the amoral attorney is a big threat to our heroes. It doesn't matter that you captured the criminal, exposed the MegaCorp's dangerous scheme, or gotten the decisive evidence to acquit the defendant, if that criminal just walks out of court a free man the next day, or the corporation's misdeeds are crafted to somehow be actually legal, or the evidence ''just so happens'' to "disappear".

[[caption-width-right:300:[[ThePerfectionist To maintain a perfect win record]], ''everyone'' must be found guilty!]]

In general, amoral attorneys won't flagrantly violate the law themselves. Their legitimacy in polite company is one of their strengths, after all. They'll absolutely break the spirit of the rules, though, and cheerfully look the other way as they encourage perjury, "forget" to hand over evidence if not [[DestroyTheEvidence destroy it outright]], or subtly encourage their clients or underlings to [[JuryAndWitnessTampering intimidate]] ([[MurderIsTheBestSolution or worse]]) witnesses hostile to their case. If they do decide to directly engage in criminal activity to further their goals, expect this revelation to come up in the finale.

* Evil prosecutors just want to score convictions and aren't deterred by any ethical concerns that suggest they work in the interest of justice, not merely getting wins. They might work side-by-side with any [[DirtyCop corrupt cops]] on the force to doctor whatever evidence is needed to close the case, or to suppress any evidence that casts doubt on the defendant's culpability. Sometimes they're [[OnlyInItForTheMoney just in it for the money]], but other times, they want influence: flashy court victories will further their career, and perhaps they'll even get elected the next HangingJudge or AntagonisticGovernor. (The other option is a LawfulStupid zealot who [[KnightTemplar genuinely believes]] that cheating in service of gaining convictions is a [[TheNeedsOfTheMany greater good]] action because it's stopping perceived criminals, although that's less amoral and rather a malfunctioning moral compass.)

Since most Amoral Attorneys work for hire, some stories might include a spicy twist if the ''protagonists'' somehow scrape up enough money to hire one. Can be especially fitting for settings with very corrupt legal systems where the only way to take down certain foes is to use their own weapons against them, and to find an attorney willing to bend some rules and deliver some overdue LaserGuidedKarma.

Entire books have been written about legal ethics, but the obligatory disclaimer goes here that fiction is very different from reality, most notably in that in fiction, the audience might already "know" that the defendant is innocent or guilty. But in real life, that isn't true, or else we wouldn't need courts at all! In adversarial systems, the logic is that the only way for the innocent-person-who-looks-guilty to receive fair representation is for lawyers to defend all clients, even those who look guilty. Such lawyering might even be considered LawfulGood. (If you're curious, there's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system) civil-law]] jurisdictions as well that often use [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system Inquisitorial systems]] in court, where the defense attorney might be less bound to zealously advocate for their client.)

The Amoral Attorney is generally more competent and outwardly respectable than the AmbulanceChaser, a much crazier flavor of unethical and self-serving lawyer who files [[FrivolousLawsuit Frivolous Lawsuits]] and is usually PlayedForLaughs. See also EvilLawyerJoke, which originated from how widespread this kind of attorney is in fiction. To meet his opponent, see CrusadingLawyer. For another courtroom villain, see HangingJudge.

* The ''Anime/AceAttorney2016'' anime adaptation not only has the canon examples from the ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' trilogy, but also [[CanonForeigner anime-exclusive character]] Tristan Turnbull. As the prosecutor in Avery Richman's retrial, he doesn't seem too suspicious at first, save for insisting that retrying the case will change nothing, but then it turns out that he [[spoiler:was in charge of he trial in which Richman was convicted. Because he was ordered to convict Richman to dispose of a potential economic threat to the U.S., he ensured that a key witness, who was the true killer, never took the stand. When the witness later blackmails Turnbull, Turnbull murders him.]] When the truth is revealed, Phoenix, Edgeworth and the U.S. chief prosecutor all call Turnbull a disgrace to his profession.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''. One of these attacks Togusa on the stand after he shoots a rich cyborg kid, trying to make it seem like it was a cold blooded attack on the cyborg due to Togusa's supposed technophobic beliefs, instead of the fact that the cyborg was in the process of murdering his ex-girlfriend. When Section 9 discover that the lawyer is linked with elements plotting against it, he and his client [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident have a fatal road accident]].

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Big Five member Chikuzen Ooka (called Johnson in the dub) is actually ''immoral''. As a lawyer, he told outright lies and used fabricated evidence to win cases. As a duelist, he tried to cheat against Jonouchi, but was caught by Noah (the apparent BigBad of the current arc who claimed to not tolerate cheating [[spoiler:until he did so himself]]) and lost.

* Played with in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' book ''[[Recap/AsterixAndTheLaurelWreath Asterix and the Laurel Wreath]]''. Their lawyer isn't evil but doesn't care about getting them off and is taking the case for publicity. He gets into an argument with the Prosecutor when they start their speech with "Delenda Carthago Est" like he planned to. Then again, Asterix doesn't care either and actively torpedoes his own case and Obelix doesn't really grasp the situation.

--> '''Kitch:''' I'm glad I became a cop, Mellonshaw. I'm proud of it. It means I don't become something like you.
* Mentioned briefly in one ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' story arc. The Twelve, a group of brothers named after the Chinese Zodiac (with Rabbit acting as their spokesman and leader), each with near Shiva level martial arts talent, are sent to defend a shipment of drugs to Gotham. The Birds of Prey engage them until Lady Blackhawk renders the whole fight meaningless by blowing up the drug shipment with her fighter jet. Having failed their mission, the Twelve surrender:

* In one underground comic, the marriage of "Dino-Boy" (yes, he's a human with a dinosaur body, or a dinosaur with a human head) falls apart. They both hire lawyers -- who happen to be partners, and they decide to milk both spouses for all they're worth.

** The classic Creator/CarlBarks story "The Golden Helmet" (and Creator/DonRosa's sequel "The Lost Charts of Columbus") features corrupt lawyer Sylvester Sharkey working with con-man Azure Blue. Barks wrote his story shortly after he'd been through an ugly divorce with his second wife, and was presumably not a big fan of lawyers at the time.

* Eustache in ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' cheats on his girlfriend, is known more for his parties than his law practice and will get mad if you outright don't follow any law he tries to circumvent. When xenophobic rabbit people sell his girlfriend to a whorehouse the hero says they should have their throat slit, Eustache takes it as a just sentence.
-->'''Hyacinthe:''' Eustache wait that was just a figure of speech.\\
'''Eustache:''' (slitting a rabbit's throat) those who lives lawlessly must face the consequences.

* ''ComicBook/GreenLanterns'' introduces Singularity Jain, an alien/demon/living black hole who might be the most extreme version of this trope in existence. A very literally predatory defense attorney, she approaches people who have no where else to turn to, refusing payment and instead asking for a single favor. This favor inevitably ends up being something (usually murder) that drives her client even deeper into despair, until they lose hope completely. It's at this point that she ''eats them whole'', feeding on their despair and pain.

* ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'' has Shyla Kor-Onn's unnamed and supremely smug attorney, who accepts testimonies of untrustworthy sources, changes his statement constantly, objects the mere fact of the defense presenting evidence… for the sake of helping a criminal convict ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}.

** [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]]: Donna Milton is a lawyer who knowingly and gleefully works for organized crime and sleeps with one of her immoral clients. She also claims to have killed someone herself in her past and is [[MemoryGambit actually Circe is disguise as a mortal]], meaning she's killed many.

** The company lawyer is usually like this, and sometimes downright immoral, and not always towards the side he's representing. In one series of strips, Wally sued them, saying he was being discriminated against because he was bald, nearsighted and boring; the company lawyer told him he "might have a slight bias" (the lawyer was ''also'' bald, nearsighted, and boring) and negotiated a ''huge'' settlement in Wally's favor.

* [[MeaningfulName Victoria Thorne]], the prosecutor in the Film/{{Apocalypse}} film series movie ''Judgment'', who is such a manipulative bitch.

* ''Film/TheBorrowers1997'': [[BigBad Ocious Potter]] is an arrogant, greedy and evil real estate lawyer who lies to the Lenders about their house lacking a will just so he can take their property for his own gain build luxury apartments in its place. When he discovers the secret home of the Borrowers, he is determined to get rid of them by all means necessary.
* James Donovan's colleagues in ''Film/BridgeOfSpies'', who seem more interested in creating the ''illusion'' of a defense for accused Soviet spy Rudolf Abel than actually defending him. The East German attorney Wolfgang Vogel is even worse (combining this trope with HistoricalVillainUpgrade), since he's keeping a man he knows to be innocent solely to help East Germany get a leg up in the Soviet hierarchy.

** Betty is one of David's partners in his synthetic drug scheme, and is also a lawyer who does money laundering for the cartel.
* In ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'', Satan himself runs an entire corrupt legal office with global connections, composed of immoral humans and his own demons, as part of a plot to drive the world to apocalypse by providing every CardCarryingVillain in the world with [[OffOnATechnicality the best legal assistance in existence]]. An explicit example is the [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]], Kevin Lomax: while he does retains some moral qualms against defending a pedophile in the beginning of the movie, he more or less completely eschews them. [[spoiler:After he defeats the devil and is revived, he loses the "amoral", and risks disbarment to expose his pedophile client]].

* A much more slimy version, played by the same actor no less, appears in ''Film/ErnestGoesToJail'' as the mob lawyer for the likes of criminals like Rubin Bartlett and Felix Nash, the later of whom is a murderous womanizing bankrobbing (but ''incredibly'' suave) CriminalDoppelganger of Ernest. Unlike Blatz who ''does'' at least follow the law, this guy outright conspires with the two criminals to swap Ernest for Nash, so Ernest will get the chair while Nash will pressure the rest of the jury to find Bartlett innocent. He apparently does this for no reason whatsoever other than it's the only way he can win the case.

* Played with in Hugh Lang, Whip's attorney, in ''Film/{{Flight}}''. While he quashes Whip's toxicology report with a technicality, despite the fact that he knew it was very much accurate, and casually mentions that the dead flight crew members "don't matter" (due to workers' compensation) he shows open disgust with Whip the first moment they meet regarding his behavior, and back tracks after the "don't matter" comment, saying he meant that legally, the airline is not at risk from them.

* Sofie Fatale in ''Film/KillBill'' was a O-Ren Ishii's lawyer, second-in-command, and best friend, which pretty much meant she was the Tokyo {{Yakuza}}'s best attorney. And you really couldn't have that position unless you were okay with having blood on your hands. In fact, the Bride saw her at the original wedding chapel massacre, likely to assist O-Ren, casually talking on a cell phone as the bloodshed was happening.
* Nick Rice, the ''[[DesignatedHero protagonist]]'' of ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen'', is a high profile prosecutor too proud of his perfect conviction record to focus on actually serving justice any more. The plot of the movie is kicked off when, feeling he doesn't have enough evidence to guarantee the conviction of two men involved in a home invasion where the husband was assaulted, his wife was raped, and both her and the couple's daughter were murdered ([[HollywoodLaw he's totally wrong]]), he makes a plea bargain with the psychopath who actually committed the rape and murder to frame his accomplice ([[EvenEvilHasStandards who only wanted to rob the place and tried to stop his partner's more horrific crimes]]) for the crimes and get him sent to the chair, while the murderer gets off with a slap on the wrist. This bites him in the ass when [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge the husband isn't happy about it]].

* ''Film/MichaelClayton'' (2007) deconstructs this trope several times. The DesignatedVillain is this, but is a PunchclockVillain who is [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil extremely neurotic and edgy]] off the clock. One of the main characters does a HeelFaceTurn from this at the beginning of the movie, the protagonist [[spoiler:does the same by the end]].

* ''Film/PromisingYoungWoman'': Jordan was once a defense attorney who specialized in defending accused rapists, using any means necessary, and he bullied Cassie's friend Nina to drop her complaint. He openly admits to getting off hundreds, and was rewarded for doing so. Later he had a revelation about how terrible this was, and is wracked with guilt.
* ''Film/ReapTheWildWind'': King Cutler, the murderous head wrecker, is a also an attorney and [[spoiler:defends Jack when he's on trial for wrecking the ''Southern Cross'', a crime which Jack is guilty of. He then bullies Loxi when she's on the stand and tries to frame Steve for his crimes.]]

* The BigBad of ''Film/Shotgun1989'' is a lawyer who does not only dabble in criminal undertakings, but who also gets his jollies by donning an all-leather outfit and beating up prostitutes within inches from their life.

* In ''Film/TheWalkingDead1936'', Nolan is one of the top defence attorneys in the city, and secretly a high-ranking member of TheSyndicate that controls it. He takes on the job of defending John Ellman specifically so he can ensure Ellman is found guilty gets the death penalty. After Elllman is brought back to life, he has himself appointed Ellman's guardian so he can keep control of the situation, and attempts to have Ellman committed to a psychiatric institution.

* ''Literature/OneQEightyFour'': Before being kicked out of the Tokyo Bar Association, Ushikawa was a lawyer that helped the yakuza and other unsavory types get away with money laundering and fraud. He had to take such clients mostly due to the difficulties his ugliness caused in getting normal clients.

* ''Literature/BenSaffordMysteries:'' ''There is No Justice'' features a Supreme Court nominee with some skeletons in his closet. Specifically, [[spoiler:in the past, he secretly represented both sides during high stakes court cases, filing the paperwork for one side under his wife's name.]]
* Mr. Tulkinghorn and Mr. Vholes from ''Literature/BleakHouse''. The sphinx-y, menacing Tulkinghorn relentlessly pursues the secrets of his client, Lady Dedlock, mostly because he derives pleasure from the power knowing such secrets offers him. Vholes is the definition of a slimy lawyer, masquerading under the pretense of efficiency and good faith, while milking his client (one of the protagonists) of all his inheritance.
* ''Literature/ChocoholicMysteries'': Clementine Ripley, the VictimOfTheWeek in ''Cat Caper''. Among other things, she accepted Troy Sheepshanks as a client when he'd been driving drunk and had struck and killed another person; the District Attorney wouldn't even press charges simply because it was her on the opposite side. As a direct result, the man got his license back, drove drunk again and caused ''another'' death, this time of Lee's maternal uncle Phil.

* Subverted with Consanza from ''Literature/AConspiracyOfTruths''. Consanza describes herself as this, and Chant also describes her as this late in the book. She starts out trying to convince Chant to bribe his way out of trouble, but ultimately drops it after he objects.Despite being called lazy by Chant she tries to help in other ways, losing sleep and time with her family in the process. [[spoiler:Even when he's sentenced to death, she goes out of her way to fulfill his requests and comfort him, even though she has no obligation to help him anymore]].

* ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' has Rauol Duke's traveling companion, the 300 pound Samoan lawyer Dr. Gonzo. He's greedy and self-indulgent, and spends most of the book out of his mind on drugs. He also gives terrible advice, which mainly consists of advising Duke to do drugs and break the law. He's based on the real life antipoverty and Latino rights lawyer Oscar Acosta, who was about as wild as Gonzo, but dedicated his life to more worthy causes.

** Duparquet is a law-abiding man determined to keep Bannerman from misinterpreting the constitution. He can also be ambitious, wrathful, and arrogant, and is accused of caring more about the appearance of integrity than actual integrity.

*** Said progatonist unfortunately gets caught up in the greed and files a lawsuit on a drug that he believes to cause benign cancer, and then settles for an amount that makes him incredibly and quickly rich, but also gets the plaintiffs he represents very little. This causes a problem when he is sued for legal malpractice after it turns out that the cancer is very, ''very'' malignant, and his former clients start dying and want to punish him for settling too fast for his own benefit. This reversal of fortune causes him to refuse a settlement offer in another case, where he puts his own financial needs above the needs of his clients, which gets him ''assaulted'' by those clients. And his reckless charge on other class action suits already caused his legal reinsurance company to drop him because they couldn't cover his exposure, so when the chips fall, he goes from one of the richest, most successful class action lawyers in the country to declaring bankruptcy and running away to try to live in secrecy for the rest of his life. In a period of about 18 months. It's hard to say that Grisham wasn't trying to write some karmic justice for amoral class action lawyers here.

* ''Literature/KillingTime:'' Multiple corrupt city councilmen are lawyers, the district attorney has no interest in justice and Tim’s lawyer friend Ron (although an affable guy who wants to help him out) has been trying to set up up a scheme to double tax a neighborhood of down on their luck World War Two veterans in order to get admitted to the local machine.
* Even British secretary of state Lord Chesterfield decried these in the ''Literature/LettersToHisSon'': "But the public lawyers, now, seem to me rather to warp the law, in order to authorize, than to check, those unlawful proceedings of princes and states" (letter 52)

** Despite being wildly successful, he hates himself on some level for being an AmoralAttorney. But when he tries to turn his life around and run for DA, one of his old clients ends up killing someone while driving under then influence, ruining his chances.

* Earlier in his life, Edgar from the ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' novels was a very successful small town attorney. Edgar is a Dark Other. Do the math.

* Surprisingly subverted in ''Literature/OneOfUsIsLying''.The lawyers are consummate professionals giving perfectly good advice, which the characters just find it impractical to follow. However, their job is to protect their own client, not the rest of the Four, nor to solve the murder. Eli, who works for a non-profit called Until Proven, is downright heroic.
* Napoleon Chotas in ''[[Creator/SidneySheldon The Other Side of Midnight]]'' and its sequel ''Memories of Midnight'' specializes in getting wealthy, powerful clients declared not guilty of their crimes -- ''especially'' when there's a ton of evidence that would support a guilty verdict. In ''Memories of Midnight'', he drinks the poison a woman used to kill her husband to prove to the jury that it wasn't actually poison at all; in truth, it ''was'' poison and he barely manages to get his stomach pumped afterward. In ''The Other Side of Midnight'', he is immediately hired by Constantin Demeris to represent his mistress Noelle in her murder trial, and does a stunning job of it. [[spoiler:However, Constantin has Napoleon lie to Noelle and her lover (the other defendant) that if they plead guilty, they'll get a lighter sentence, when, in fact, they'll be put to death by a firing squad; this is Constantin's way to punish the lovers for crossing him. The sequel reveals Napoleon's regret; he too fell in love with Noelle. Constantin tries to have him killed to hide his crimes, but Napoleon survives to successfully defend him in his own murder trial -- and immediately afterward, kills him and himself.]]

* ''Literature/RatsBatsAndVats'': Tesco, the prosecutor of a KangarooCourt in the sequel, is so smarmy and ObviouslyEvil that one of the court-martial board members at Chip's trial mistakes him for the defendant and asks to be excused because she's already prejudiced against his character. He, señor prosecutor Gainor (who runs a drug ring), and a man they try to foist on Chip as his attorney (he requests Capra instead) are interested in nothing but making money by protecting Castrup and his cronies from the consequences of their GeneralFailure and CorruptPolitician actions.
* ''Literature/RobRoy'': Attorney Joseph Jobson is a jerkass, self-serving bigot who is more interested in suing and jailing people than in delivering justice. When Frank Osbaldistone turns to Judge Inglewood to defend himself against charges of highway robbery, Jobson is dying to issue a warrant ordering his preventative detention without bail. Later, while harassing Diana Vernon, Jobson proves he has memorized every law passed in England since the Norman Conquest so he can dump them on innocent folks' heads. Still later, he finally crosses the line between obnoxious pettifogger and corrupt lawman when he submits an affidavit charging Frank with high treason to help Frank's cousin seize Osbaldistone Hall, a gambit which costs him his job and position.

** The lawyers who attempt to file suits against Jake for his on-campus behavior, who eagerly drop their cases upon being offered generous settlements by Jake's grandfather.

* ''Series/Adam12'' has a very balanced position in the early episode, "Courtroom", where Reed makes a drug bust with a legally questionable search. In the resulting trial, the defense lawyer gets his client off with a well reasoned argument based on clear legal decisions, but his only response to the client afterward is that the defendant will get his bill. Furthermore, the defense lawyer makes it clear to Reed that he is as committed to his own binding oath to serve his necessary role in the Justice System as the officer is.

* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'': The series 3 episode "Brief for Murder" has two of these. The Lakin brothers are two solicitors preparing criminals to be for the perfect crime like treason or murder giving their "clients" precise instructions as to what to do and what to say. When executing the crime said "clients" leave enough evidence to implicate them to make sure they are tried. Yet the evidence planted is too inconclusive for a guilty verdict. John Steed and Cathy Gale come up with a plan to give the solicitors a taste of the own medicine.

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has the usual examples as prosecutors, as you'd expect of a ForensicDrama. The notable example isn't a direct one, as Bones isn't an attorney, but the exact same UnfortunateImplications of the trope are explored in episode 1x08 ''The Girl in the Fridge''; Bones and an OldFlame turned {{Rival}} are opposing experts in a murder trial. Bones clinically delivers her conclusions, her ex makes somewhat less professional conclusions while chatting up the jury - and implies that Bones isn't really as smart as she sounds. In between sessions, her ex states that he's merely "playing the game" - he's supposed to argue that the evidence supports the defendant, just as she's for the prosecution. In-universe, Bones' consultant argues for impartiality and sweet-talking the jury, but sees nothing wrong with her ex using inside knowledge (which he got by ''sleeping'' with her) to attack her character instead of the evidence. The prosecution objects and the judge sustains[[note]][[http://remediallawnotes.blogspot.com/2014/07/character-of-witnesses.html Character of Witnesses]]; "Personal opinions on the moral character of a witness, being usually too general, sweeping or subjective, are excluded." Bones' ex isn't saying that she's reading the evidence wrong, he's saying she's a lousy scientist. Such a broad accusation is ''absolutely illegal'' in a courtroom where she is not the defendant.[[/note]], but Brennan's consultant waves it off as a technicality; "He looks like a regular guy who's not allowed to speak the truth because the stupid rules get in the way." This leads into the same Unfortunate Implications as Amoral Attorneys - that ''scientists'' aren't supposed to be impartial, but to have agreed in advance as to who is guilty no matter which side they're on.

*** Kim Wexler starts the first season a straight-arrow associate at HHM. But as her relationship with Jimmy strengthens, she begins compromising her morals and professional ethics a lot, but she is really remorseful of this and trys to balance her karma by taking pro bono public defense cases as she grows disillusioned with her career in banking law. [[spoiler:She completely falls into this trope by the end of Season 5 when she plans to frame Howard and destroy his career to get the money from the Sandpiper case]].

* In Brazilian soap-opera ''Series/{{Chocolate com Pimenta}}'' (Chocolate with Pepper), a woman wanted to con her deceased brother's widow out of the fortune he bequeathed to her. In order to do so, she forged a document where said brother allegedly signed over everything to her to protect him from being tricked by gold-diggers. Her accomplice suggested hiring a ''honest'' lawyer to take the case to the courts because: a) honest lawyers would be less likely to figure out the document was a fake; b) even dishonest lawyers would refuse the case once they figured out; and c) the more regarded their lawyer would be for honesty, the more likely would be their chances a judge would rule in their favor.
* The final season of ''Series/TheCloser'', which did a storyline where Brenda and the LAPD are being sued after Brenda leaves a murderer to a lynch mob consisting of gang members who were not thrilled at his crime and his attempt to frame an innocent man for his actions, featured dueling versions of this trope. The lawyer Brenda hires is a brilliant but morally ambiguous ex-district attorney who was forced out because of his methods and the opposing council was an equally devious attorney who's case was largely bolstered by an anonymous leak in the LAPD which made him aware of a good amount of morally ambiguous behavior on the part of Brenda.
** Deconstructed with a recurring villain, a defense attorney for sex offenders who may or may not be a rapist himself and teaming up with his clients to drug and rape women with their help. In the end however, it turns out that he's innocent of the rapes after one of his victims identifies a bartender as the accomplice of the guy who raped her and several other women. His final appearance leaves it vague towards whether or not he was truly innocent though as he threatens to sue the department and Brenda if they don't leave him alone (as Brenda and her fellow detectives had, after their first encounter, made a point to tell anyone who brought his name up, that he was a sexual predator, damaging his reputation as a result).

* The ''Franchise/CSIVerse'' has a very long list examples, so to provide a few:

*** A recurring foe of the series was Darren Vogel, a defense attorney played Creator/MalcolmMcDowell who had absolutely no problem with finding ways to tamper with forensic evidence (breaking the chain of custody among other things) to make it inadmissible and have his clients OffOnATechnicality.

*** Later in that same season, we get the episode "Enough", which has a very odd, somewhat subverted case of this trope. A trio of drug dealers are on trial for murdering another dealer. One of the three defense attorneys outright says that he doesn't usually care when a witness testifying against one of his scumbag clients "goes missing", because said witness is usually another killer or drug dealer. However, when the three defendants attack, threaten, and mutilate a witness who's an innocent, law-abiding young woman, the attorney convinces the other two to help him [[VigilanteExecution murder all three of their clients]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even scmubag lawyers have a heart."]]
* The more commonly seen prosecutors seen in ''Series/TheDefenders2010''. Thomas Cole never sees anything positive in the defendants, doing everything he can to get the most of their guilty verdict. A female prosecutor seen in the first few episodes is called out on it when she tries to get a full guilty verdict on a client that she knows is not guilty. The titular duo themselves are also considered this by their opposition, despite doing everything they can to get the truth out of their clients and get the best win they can get for them, i.e. getting a week in jail compared to six months.

*** Sadly, Marci's the only Landman & Zack attorney to actually have a soul. In a flashback in "Nelson v. Murdock," the firm is shown suing a plaintiff who became severely sick for working for Roxxon Oil. They sue for "damages" after the man told his doctor about his work to find out what had made him sick. Parish Landman claims that the man had violated his confidentiality agreement by sharing this info with his doctor. Matt and Foggy are so disgusted by this that they decide to start their own firm as a result. In the present day, Parish Landman is on Wilson Fisk's payroll, and is among those arrested by the FBI when Marci and Hoffman turn on Fisk.

*** In the second season he gets much, much worse. When Mariah appears to have run out of money because Bushmaster bankrupted her, he immediately declares he will no longer be representing her or Shades... while both of them are in custody and being questioned by the police. This is known as "abandonment of a client," and is grounds for disbarment in New York State. He then goes to work for his former client's opponents in a legal (as well as illegal) dispute, also grounds for disbarment. Then when he realizes Bushmaster is more likely to kill him than pay him, he goes back to his old client and does what he not only should have done instead of leaving his old client in the lurch, but should have advised Mariah to do before the temporary cash flow issue came up in the first place (namely, report that Piranha Jones, the guy with power of attorney over Mariah's assets, had been kidnapped; and freeze his ability to make money transfers, on the grounds that duress invalidates any and all such transactions).
*** Donovan is a bit less involved in the day to day operations of Fisk's criminal enterprises. In season 2 of ''Daredevil'', it seems that outside of arranging money transfers like setting up a protection fund for Vanessa or the movement of funds to ensure a guard gets Frank Castle to blow his trial to meet Fisk, he's not too involved in the organization. As season 3 shows, most of the shady street stuff in Fisk's outfit is handled by Felix Manning, with Donovan and his partner Nicholas Lee (who according to Donovan's actor Danny Johnson is Donovan's insurance policy) primarily being invested in using legal means to help Fisk re-obtain "Rabbit in a Snowstorm".
** [[Creator/CarrieAnneMoss Jeri Hogarth]], at first. She starts off in season 1 of ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' as the kind of lawyer who manipulates juries into thinking “beyond a reasonable doubt” means you need thirty witnesses or a video of the defendant doing it. She is willing to hire a clearly unstable Jessica Jones for private investigation work (even wants to bring her in-house), and even is willing to try using [[MindRape Kilgrave]] to get her ex-spouse Wendy to agree to lesser assets in their divorce. This backfires ''hard'' on Jeri, as Wendy gets killed and her secretary/mistress Pam gets thrown in jail. The whole ordeal with Kilgrave leads Jeri to clean up her act, and when she turns up in ''Series/IronFist2017'', she's a much nicer person, who helps Danny Rand reclaim his identity and turns out to have also tended to the Rand estate after Danny's parents were killed. Of course, season 2 of ''Jessica Jones'' sees Jeri resort to her old tricks: her response to being conned by Inez and Shane is to buy a gun from Turk Barrett and manipulate Inez into murdering Shane. And she blackmails Chao and Benowitz into giving her a larger buyout offer.

** The prosecutor in Bree's murder trial is willing to blackmail Renee with having her fiance deported in order to extract a testimony against her best friend.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in season three. Assistant DA Miguel Prado accuses his rival defense attorney Ellen Wolf of being one of these for "gaming the system" to let criminals off the hook. She in turn accuses him of judicial misconduct to get convictions. [[spoiler:Miguel is eventually revealed to have manipulated Dexter all along to learn the art of murder from him. Miguel lacks the very integrity that he accuses Ellen of not having as he not only wants to subvert the legal process to kill criminals, but anyone who pisses him off.]]

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "Trial of a Time Lord," the Valeyard, a villainous prosecutor [[spoiler:and [[FutureMeScaresMe future regeneration of the Doctor]]]], accepts a bribe [[spoiler:of the Doctor's remaining regenerations]] to falsify evidence in order to secure the Sixth Doctor's conviction.

* ''Series/ForLife'': Glen Maskins is a pretty clear-cut example of the trope, and will stoop down to blackmail, intimidation and threats to keep his power.
* ''Series/ForThePeople'' follows both prosecutors and defense attorneys, who both see the other side as this. The defense is stereotyped as ignoring the importance of the law to do whatever they want and protecting dangerous criminals. The prosecution is stereotyped as government suck-ups who use the letter of the law to punish innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

* As a realistic LawProcedural, ''every'' lawyer in ''Series/TheGoodWife'' is amoral when it comes to defending their clients. Some are also corrupt, granted (in "Hail Mary", ADA Geneva Pine is shown to have hidden evidence that would have exonerated Cary Agos, [[spoiler:evidence ''not'' fabricated by Kalinda, underline]]), but even the ethical ones will resort to any number of underhanded but technically legal antics. One memorable case of the latter was Alicia Florrick getting around a super-injunction by having her husband's campaign manager use his army of Website/{{Twitter}} users to put their opponent's dirty dealings back into the public spotlight.
** ''Series/TheGoodFight'' spinoff introduces [[Creator/MichaelSheen Roland Blum]], a Roy Cohn-like lawyer, who is fond of theatrics and underhanded tricks. He doesn't skimp on the f-word or racist and sexist terms, but he usually never underestimates his opponents and plays dirty. He states repeatedly that his goal isn't to prove that his side is right, it's to portray the other side as wrong. He ends up getting Maia fired by calling the cops on the drugs he gave her.

* ''{{Series/Guilt}}'': Stan is pretty cheerfully amoral, and shows no signs of caring about anything apart from the money he makes.

* ''Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder'' follows the professor and students of a law school course intended to train new Amoral Attorneys. Said professor informally calls the course the same name as the title of the show. [[spoiler:It's not a joke.]] It should be noted that Professor Keating isn't a bad person as such, she just takes the attitude that whatever the client's done, she ''will'' get them found innocent.

-->''I'm doing my job right, I'm doing the right thing''.

* Almost all the defense attorneys on the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' shows would fit this trope like a glove. Incidentally, an episode of the show (Serena Southerlyn era) had an attorney on trial give a very stirring closing argument about why defense lawyers were necessary, even though [[HatedByAll everyone hates them]]. He still was found guilty for not reporting the location of his client's murder pit, though he reappeared about year later (with the implication that his conviction got overturned on appeal).

*** And Stabler is sort of a one-man justification squad for the trope, proving that we actually ''need'' amoral attorneys. He's a protagonist and easy to sympathize with, but he does a lot of stuff that's ethically questionable (legally speaking, it's ''not'' questionable, it's flat out illegal).

** When Francis decided that he wanted to be emancipated, one of his friends from military school introduces him to an amoral attorney who specializes in legally emancipating kids from their parents that have been exiled to boarding schools and military schools. His secret is that he lets the kids forge their parents signatures ''in front of him'' so that the paperwork can be processed with no delay.

** The Crown Prosecutor in "Hangman", who does everything to make sure the defendant gets hanged, even the obviously innocent ones. Once a judge suspects his methods, [[spoiler:he confronts the judge, kills him, and frames a known criminal for it]].

** Samantha Fitzgerald was likewise introduced as an ethical lawyer who had no issues working with Jarrod, but was gradually turned into this in later guest appearances, as a result of DerailingLoveInterests (this despite the couple she was a RomanticFalselead for, Libby and Dan, having long since broken up). In her 2020 guest appearance, she represented Claudia Watkins in a custody dispute against the Kennedy family and resorted to blackmailing the judge in a murder trial to get the baby's mother Elly out of the picture.
* James Sinclair, Esq. on ''Series/NYPDBlue'' is a brilliant lawyer who has no qualms about defending mob bosses or other high-profile criminals. He usually gets them acquitted to, which doesn't endear him to the detectives.

* One of the main antagonists of ''Series/PerryMason2020'' is District Attorney Maynard Barnes, who is perfectly willing to frame an innocent and grieving couple for the murder of their own son just so he can solve a high profile case and advance his career, and does so with zero hesitation or empathy. After the father is proven innocent, he immediately frames the mother and has her arrested in the middle of her own son's funeral and, upon realizing how flimsy his case is, [[spoiler:blackmails her attorney EB Jonathan into suicide]].

* Barrister Michael Kidd from the Australian TV cop series ''Series/{{Phoenix}}'' and its LawProcedural spin-off, ''Series/{{Janus}}''. Based on a famous real-life Melbourne lawyer, he's despised for defending copkiller Malcolm Hennessy, but is respected for his abilities as well -- the main detective protagonist doesn't hesitate to recommend Kidd to a fellow officer who'd been accused of police brutality. On another occasion, Kidd is assigned to defend a child molester, and though Kidd listens to his briefing with a cold silence quite unlike his usual 'average bloke' demeanour, he still defends him well.

* This trope is parodied in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' which features a sketch about two lazy script writers who do not research the films and TV shows they write. One of their productions is a parody of "Shark" about a defense attorney becoming a prosecutor. When the character is asked why he used to defend known rapists, he responds, "I don't know, I guess I just liked rapists." Then he laughs and says that that's not the real reason.

* Sophia Lopez initially seemed like a moral attorney when she campaigned to get the sentences of fan favorite group Wrestling/{{Caged Heat|Wrestling}} overturned during Wrestling/{{W|OWWomenOfWrestling}}omen Of Wrestling's {{reviv|al}}ed third season but [[TheSvengali Lopez turned out to be using them]] as [[UnwittingPawn pawns]] in an increasingly complicated plot to destroy independent circuit wrestler Santana Garrett, who her true client, RichBitch Lana Star, felt [[GreenEyedMonster threatened]] by.

* The ''[[Radio/TheShadow Shadow]]'' tackled one of these in ''The Shyster Payoff'', who ran a criminal gang and recruited new members by defending their cases, pressuring their family members into giving perjured testimony to rope them in too. He then hangs the threat of a retrial (Which is ArtisticLicenseLaw, as double jeopardy prevents you from being tried again after acquittal) over them to get them to comply. In the same episode he gets a doctor out on parole to serve as the gang's surgeon, since he has to get a job or violate probation. The Shadow not only gets him and his lieutenants in the end, he also gets their victims to turn states' evidence in exchange for amnesty.

* In ''[[{{Creator/Aristophanes}} The Birds]]'', one of the uninvited visitors is a summoner who wants to be able to fly between the islands and Athens so fast that he can hold the trial without the defendant, so that the decision automatically goes in the prosecution's favor. Then, fly back to the still-en-route defendant's home to confiscate whatever is forfeit (and possibly a little more for himself). Peisthetaerus will have none of this.
* ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' has the "silver-tongued prince of the court room", Billy Flynn, who takes only high-profile, scandal-ridden cases for the fame and fortune, and is not above using UnconventionalCourtroomTactics and using and abusing the court of public opinion via reporters (including having the Chicago-born Rosie blatantly lie that she's a simple Southern girl out of her depth in big-city life).

* The classic form of ''Il Dottore'', a stock character in ''Main/CommediaDellArte'', is one of these. The ''Dottore'' was a learned man typically, [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible but not always]], in law, whose erudition and high social station has made him pompus, self-indulgent, lecherous, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking stone boring]]. True to the form, this is usually PlayedForLaughs, and the character is often the comic foil to the more sinister ''Pantalone''.

* Max [=McMann=], the protagonist of ''VideoGame/DevilsAttorney'' is a typical example. In the game, he takes on every criminal who are as guilty as sin, but Max keeps making up lame excuses for their behavior to the prosecutors and then crushes them in court through various CourtroomAntics and, sometimes, outright illegal means (e.g. one of the skills Max can learn is "Tamper with Evidence"). In the final case of the first chapter, Max openly admits that his client will buy him a new apartment and an office if he wins. The final chapter reveals that his father is a famous prosecutor who's ashamed of his son. Guess who prosecutes the final case and is the toughest opponent in the game?

* Igland of the Swift Sword in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' is willing to apply InsaneTrollLogic in order to secure a conviction, doesn't care if there are mitigating factors, and begins screaming about bribery should you succeed. His statement is essentially that "the defendent is a dirty savage and therefore we should hang him." Despite the apparent lack of legal precedent for this tactic, Igland claims never to have lost a case before. Your character is permitted to ''commit out-and-out bribery and corruption'' in order to get the defendant off.

* "Legal" Lee from the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series is the player's contact for Insurance Fraud missions. In the beginning of ''Saints Row 2'', he's defending [[AxCrazy Johnny Gat]] on a triple-digit murder charge when the player busts up the trial to rescue him. In the aftermath, all Lee does is hide and ask if anybody's hit and needs a lawyer.
* ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'' has ''eight'' of these, forming the "Lawbot" faction of the Cogs. They are, going from lowest-level to highest: Bottom Feeder, Bloodsucker, Double Talker, AmbulanceChaser, Back Stabber, Spin Doctor, Legal Eagle, and Big Wig. They are lead by the District Attorney.
* The Forger from ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' is a crooked lawyer who forges documents, working for TheMafia. Her role is to [[ForgingTheWill rewrite the]] Last Will of other players, preferably Town Investigatives. Her official backstory has her TrappedByGamblingDebts and forging wills to put money in FakeCharity, until she did it to a family member of [[TheDon The Godfather]] who made her AnOfferYouCantRefuse.

* This trope is a staple of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, given that most of the protagonists and antagonists are lawyers. Most of the asshole lawyers are prosecutors, since you generally play as a defense attorney, but both sides get their own scumbags.
** Your first introduction to slimy prosecutors is Miles Edgeworth, who has a reputation for being a "demon prosecutor" because of his shady tactics. In your very first case, he coaches a witness on the stand to get away with murder and introduces a sudden update to the autopsy report ''in the middle of court'' to negate a contradiction (over 2 decades and 6 games later, and the fandom ''still'' [[NeverLiveItDown won't let him live that down]]). He quickly proves to be not as bad as he appears, as he truly believes every defendant is guilty due to PsychologicalProjection (he believes he is a KarmaHoudini for [[spoiler: accidentally killing his father as a child]] and loosens up considerably once it's proven he was innocent all along) and the influence of his EvilMentor. Once Phoenix smacks sense into him by [[DefeatMeansFriendship winning a few cases]] and successfully defending Edgeworth against murder charges, he shapes up admirably and becomes a CrusadingLawyer for the prosecution.
** The page image is Miles Edgeworth's EvilMentor, Manfred von Karma. Any time Edgeworth says something about all defendents being guilty or a perfect win record being paramount, it's something Manfred taught him and is ''far worse'' about. He's considered a 'God of Prosecution' due to going 40 years undefeated, something he only managed via tampering with evidence whenever it seemed like the defendant might actually be innocent. His appearance in ''Gyakutan Kenji 2'''s flashback case proves he's willing to stoop to coercing confessions by interrogating suspects without a lawyer present- a ''huge'' no-no in law, and which got him his only penalty (which probably would have been an ''arrest'' if the chief prosecutor wasn't even more corrupt than von Karma himself) when the attorney facing him, Gregory Edgeworth, revealed it to the court. [[spoiler: And his perfectionism was such that he ''murdered'' Gregory soon afterward and became Miles' EvilMentor specifically because he knew Gregory would hate what his son had become, culminating in plotting to frame Miles for the murders of Gregory and Robert Hammond.]]

** PlayedWith in regard to Franziska von Karma from ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll Justice for All]]''. She is the daughter of Manfred von Karma and inherited his toxic ideals, with the addition of a [[ItsPersonal personal grudge against Phoenix]] and the absurd gimmick of [[WhipOfDominance carrying a whip and attacking anyone who annoys her with it]]. However, ''unlike'' her papa, she's more of a WellIntentionedExtremist who breaks the law only when she genuinely thinks it's an impediment to the truth of a case- for example, using an illegally taken photograph to prove the existence of spirit channeling to make her case that a channeled spirit committed murder. She happens to be wrong, but it's because the case's villain was ''making it look'' like a spirit channeling had gone wrong, not that spirit channeling wasn't a thing. And when she isn't prosecuting herself, she is perfectly willing to help investigate, no matter where it might lead.
** In the fourth case of ''Justice For All'', this is a major plot point: [[spoiler:Phoenix himself eventually figures out that his client is guilty of hiring an assassin, but his partner is being held hostage by that same assassin to get a not guilty verdict, since the assassin has a reputation to keep up. Phoenix goes through much handwringing about what the right thing to do is, especially since his opponent Edgeworth is fresh off a HeelFaceTurn, and letting the client get off would most likely result in an innocent woman being convicted of the murder. Eventually, the player is forced to make a decision between guilty and not guilty when it looks like the attempt to TakeAThirdOption has been crushed. The choice doesn't actually affect anything, as just before Phoenix speaks up, [[BigDamnHeroes somebody comes to save the day]]. But after the trial, Mia Fey tells you to think about the choice you made then as a sign of what being a defense attorney really means to you]].
** Godot [[spoiler:(AKA Diego Armando)]] from ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations Trials and Tribulations]]'': [[spoiler:Out for revenge against Wright, who he blames for Mia Fey's death, he covers up a murder he committed (though to save someone else's life), instead of confessing, potentially putting several people in trouble.]] While he's not as underhanded as other examples, he seems to care more about winning than about whether the defendants are guilty. He's also a little on the unstable side and prone to throwing cups of hot coffee at Phoenix. [[spoiler: He was a lot more ethical before he was poisoned into a coma and woke up to find his girlfriend was murdered.]]
** The BigBad of ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' is [[spoiler: Kristoph Gavin]], who while not the first evil defense lawyer in the series is definitely the absolute ''worst''. Legally speaking, the guy planned to win an important case with forged evidence and later on tried to win by [[AccuseTheWitness implicating an (innocent) witness to the crime]]. Personally speaking, [[spoiler: Kristoph ruined his rival Phoenix's career by framing him for forgery (the same forgery Kristoph himself was going to use) and tried to kill everyone who could connect him to that case- succeeding with Zak Gramarye (Kristoph's client, who fired him in favor of Phoenix because he thought Kristoph was untrustworthy) and Drew Misham (the guy who got him the forgery), and ''nearly'' succeeding with Vera Misham (the person who actually made the forgery), who was ''twelve years old'' at the time.]]
** In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', Jacques Portsman, a colleague of Edgeworth, has rather questionable morals, since he refuses to prosecute certain cases, [[spoiler:namely, those dealing with the smuggling ring he belongs to]], and [[spoiler:murders the detective working under him and tries to frame Gumshoe and/or Maggey while stealing evidence]].
** Also from ''Investigations'', there's Calisto Yew, who willingly defends a man she knows is guilty of murder in order to investigate the KG-8 incident, which confirms the younger Edgeworth and Franziska's contempt for defense attorneys. [[spoiler:She turns out to be pretending to be a lawyer, and is actually a spy and assassin for the smuggling ring.]]
** In ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'', we have [[spoiler:prosecutor Blaise Debeste. He ran an illegal auction, selling evidence of past cases to anonymous bidders. He also murdered two people and was part of the group that ordered the assassination of Di-jun Huang, the same incident that ruined the House of Lang's reputation as reputable investigators. He was also the Chief Prosecutor who gave von Karma his only penalty, even though Debeste was the one who provided the forged evidence, and von Karma hadn't known for a change that the evidence was forged]].
** While Winston Payne is a VillainyFreeVillain and legally clean (though [[SmugSnake annoyingly smug]]), his brother, Gaspen Payne, introduced in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'', is pretty much TheBully as a prosecutor, and takes pride in it, calling himself the "Rookie/Defendant Humiliator". At one point, he takes the time to badger the defendant into admitting her guilt, causing the Judge to sustain Athena's objection when his badgering drives her to tears. The post-credits scene also reveals that he actually is more than willing to use questionable methods, leading to [[spoiler:him getting looked into by Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth]]. He returns in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'', where he turns out to have fled to a country that has outlawed defense attorneys simply so he can never lose. When Phoenix Wright decides to go up against him, Gaspen allows it but does not tell him about the Defense Culpability Act (which gives defense attorneys the same punishment as their clients if they're convicted) and how he will be executed under it if he fails. He even calls for giving the death penalty to ''a nine-year-old child'' to get Phoenix killed along with him as revenge for his loss in ''Dual Destinies''.
** Simon Blackquill from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' has no problem with threatening witnesses to ensure their cooperation, psychologically manipulating everyone in the courtroom, attacking the defense with a RazorWind, and siccing his pet hawk on everyone. Oh, and he's a ''convicted murderer.'' [[spoiler:He's faking it. The bird attacks are real and so is the sarcasm, but he's actually both entirely honest in his work and completely innocent; he framed himself for Metis Cykes' murder because Metis' daughter Athena had implicated herself pretty badly, and was [[TraumaInducedAmnesia so badly traumatized she forgot the whole incident]].]]

** Phoenix Wright himself stays on the 'protagonist' side of the line, but if he's your lawyer, he will believe in your innocence and defend you to the bitter end ''whether you want him to or not''. He has defended multiple clients who wanted to plead guilty (Lana Skye, Ron [=DeLite=], etc.) This is mostly because of his undying belief that his clients aren't guilty of their accusations, though. Thus, his acquaintances are more likely to call him the "Illogical Attorney", rather than amoral. The only time we catch a slight wind of this is in case 6-5 "Turnabout Revolution", when he [[spoiler:''sues Apollo's client'' and supports his case with [[BlatantLies obviously falsified testimony]], especially since the plaintiff is a JerkAss SleazyPolitician. However, at the end of the trial, we learn that he only accepted the request because Maya was kidnapped for ransom ''[[DesignatedVictim again]]'']].

** In ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'', the population of Khura'in doesn't contain any real amoral defense attorneys... or any defense attorneys at all for that matter. It's completely ingrained into their culture to believe that any defense attorney is inherently evil and will pull any underhanded trick to get their way. As for prosecutors, there are several amoral prosecutors in Khura'in including Gaspen Payne and Nahyuta Sahdmahi. [[spoiler: The latter would ''like'' to be a normal prosecutor, but he has to act like he believes Ga'ran's anti-lawyer propaganda because Ga'ran is holding his little sister hostage.]]
** [[spoiler:[[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Ga'ran]]]], the prosecutor of the final trial of ''Spirit of Justice'', uses their power [[spoiler:as monarch]] to create the Defence Culpability Act, which means that defence attorneys are given the same sentence as their clients, essentially committing genocide upon lawyers. Then when they [[spoiler: prosecute in the final case]], they go all out; they [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem rewrite the law on the spot]] at points, give out penalties instead of the judge whom they outright call a figurehead, and even attempt to hand down a premature guilty verdict, and interrupts the trial by [[spoiler:having her own sister shot on the stand, in order to buy some time. At the very end, when exposed as the true murderer, she even makes a law that lets her execute everyone against her on the spot. She's only stopped when it's proven that she is in fact, TheUsurper, and all her laws are then rendered invalid.]] Considering that the person in question was an undefeated prosecutor in the past, [[spoiler: including Justice Minister of the country]], one has to wonder what sorts of dirty tricks they employed in their prior cases.
** Barok van Zieks of ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' is first set up to be even worse than Manfred von Karma, going as far as to imply he's secretly a SerialKiller who murders any defendants he can't convict--[[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain and flagrantly racist to boot]]. He then proceeds to be one of the least obstructive, most helpful main prosecutors in the franchise. Moreover, the first case against him is one of the few cases in the franchise in which [[spoiler:the player gets a guilty defendant acquitted]]. As for the suspicious deaths of all the defendants he fails to convict? [[spoiler:Lord Chief Justice Stronghart engineered them behind his back as a secret plot to turn Barok and his late brother into an AbstractApotheosis of LaserGuidedKarma, and he actively helps to expose as the duology's final witness, even as the truths he discovers completely devastate him]].
** [[spoiler:Kazuma Asogi]], the final prosecutor of the second ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' game, is a straighter example. First introduced as van Zieks' disciple, he approaches the final trial with a single-minded focus on convicting the defendant, [[spoiler:the aforementioned van Zieks]], out of a personal grudge, for a murder [[spoiler:he himself colluded in]]. It takes several WhatTheHellHero remarks to get him to come to his senses, and at the end of the case, [[spoiler:Kazuma]] is ashamed enough of his actions to [[spoiler:entrust his sword Karuma to Ryunosuke until he's dealt with his inner demons.]]

And dressed them up in three piece suits\\

* ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault'' has Mercedes de la Croix. As the inter-office feud between Fred and Trent escalates into online flame wars, they threaten to sue each other for libel and seek out the services of lawyers. [[GreyAndGrayMorality Neither comes off very well]], but [[ALighterShadeOfGrey Fred, the more sympathetic of the two]], [[GoodLawyersGoodClients hires Nicole]], who eventually convinces him to drop his plans to sue Trent. Unfortunately, Trent manages to find Mercedes, who isn't just the only lawyer who believes his story about Fred being a sapient slime mold, but also is able to trick Nick into letting her into his apartment by pretending to be having car trouble. Mercedes doesn't employ any exceptionally underhanded or illegal tactics, but prosecutes the case in hopes of using it to advance her career. When Trent loses the lawsuit and ends up on trial for his attempt to kill Fred, Mercedes [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness drops him like a hot potato]], angry at him for lying to her and having some more promising opportunities.

-->'''Reporter:''' Is this the future of super empowered law enforcement? Battle royales that destroy businesses and livelihoods?\\

'''Daria''': I asked her that, and I'm sure some day we'll once again be on speaking terms.

* Charles Foster Offdensen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' will do anything to keep the highly popular Dethklok safe and to protect their IP. Even if it means paying people if the band offended them, kidnapping minor offenders and threatening them to make them keep silent. If it did not work, well let's just say that they'll be tortured, given a new identity, and dumped in the middle of nowhere. Hell, he even has an entire military police force to scope out people pirating Dethklok music. He's so good with his job that he could be an efficient dictator if he wanted.
* A great example appears in ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfLuckyLuke'' where a corrupt lawyer strikes a deal with the Daltons and not only lies through his teeth to get them acquitted from the crimes they obviously committed, but he also bribes a judge to declare Luke guilty and imprison him. [[spoiler:His lies were too good to last though... and he has to deal both with Luke's revenge plan and the Dalton's threat over his person once they don't need him anymore]].

** Lionel Hutz [[ActorExistenceLimbo was]] a dishonest and blatant AmbulanceChaser who frequently attempted to use InsaneTrollLogic, forged evidence and shady dealings in order to win his cases. Would've probably been a HateSink if he didn't also happen to be an [[TheDitz incompetent moron.]]
-->'''Judge Snyder''': This verdict is written on a cocktail napkin. And it still says guilty! [[EscalatingPunchline And guilty is spelled wrong!]]

-->'''George Meyers, Jr.:''' That's it... That's it, little girl! You just saved ''Itchy and Scratchy''!
-->'''Lawyer:''' Please sign these papers indicating that you did not save ''Itchy and Scratchy''.

** In the episode "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", [[HalfwayPlotSwitch the plot fully kicks in]] when the Blue-Haired Lawyer arrives to Bart and Lisa's [[LemonadeStandPlot lemonade stand]], demanding that they get a work permit to keep it open (the fact that they are too young to own a driver's license, let alone a work permit, does not bothers him).
** "When will you humans learn that ''feelings'', as you call them, can get in the way of big cash pay offs? Bwahahahaha!" --spoken by a divorce lawyer (not the Blue-Haired Lawyer) to Manjula, in the episode where she found that Apu was cheating on her.
** "Bart the Murderer" features Bart being put on trial for supposedly orchestrating the murder of Principal Skinner with help from Fat Tony and the local mafia. After Skinner himself burst into the courtroom and explains he spent weeks trapped in his garage, thereby clearing Bart's name, the prosecutor for the defense ''demands Skinner's testimony be stricken from the record''. The judge loudly denies the motion like any sane person would do.

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry: TheMovie'' brought us [[MeaningfulName Lickboot]], Aunt Figg's lawyer sidekick. He doesn't even get to do any lawyer-ing-- his profession is just there to tell us that, yes, you can count on him to be as greedy as the rest of the villains. Tony Jay gives him an uncharacteristically snide, petulant voice, at least for the VillainSong. Also:

* ''Series/{{Hunter}}'': Played with, as some lawyers depicted do fit the mold of "amoral person who almost seems to ''want'' their client to commit more crimes", which is not atypical for a CowboyCop show. However, some (usually female) lawyers do genuinely believe in the legal process and are willing to work with Hunter when they feel something obviously suspicious is going on.

** Neophyte Redglare, Terezi's FamousAncestor, really was an Alternian lawyer that played the HeroAntagonist to [[{{Pirate}} Marquise Mindfang]]'s VillainProtagonist, mirroring the rivalry Terezi has with Mindfang's descendant Vriska.

* ''Webcomic/{{Ubersoft}}'': Viktor Schreck is so uncaring about who he sues that not only is the process automated, but he is perfectly willing to sue himself for the company's good (ItMakesSenseInContext).[[http://www.ubersoft.net/comic/hd/storyline/The%20Sacrificial%20Lamb]] [[http://www.ubersoft.net/comic/hd/storyline/Formidable%20Opponent]]

For every do-gooding CrusadingLawyer out there, there is their inverted opposite: the Amoral Attorney, an asshole who is some combination of opportunistic, arrogant, cynical, and slimy. They [[MisaimedFandom worship the ideas of]] Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli's as gospel and decide to make them work in the field of law. If they're defense attorneys, they really do not care how evil the CorruptCorporateExecutive / SleazyPolitician / [[TheDon Mob Boss]] / [[DiabolicalMastermind Criminal Mastermind]] they serve is, as long as the money comes flowing in. Meanwhile, prosecutor-style amoral attorneys pursue glory and a political career from closing cases and convicting defendants, while little details like [[MiscarriageOfJustice whether the person being tried is actually guilty]] are considered irrelevant. Whether they're a slick, two-faced charmer lying through their teeth, or an intimidating bully with a law degree, the amoral attorney is a big threat to our heroes. It doesn't matter that you captured the criminal, exposed the MegaCorp's dangerous scheme, or gotten the decisive evidence to acquit the defendant, if that criminal just walks out of court a free man the next day, or the corporation's misdeeds are crafted to somehow be actually legal, or the evidence ''just so happens'' to "disappear".

For every do-gooding CrusadingLawyer out there, there is their inverted opposite: the Amoral Attorney, an asshole who is some combination of opportunistic, arrogant, cynical, and slimy. They decide to put Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli's ideas to work in the field of law. If they're defense attorneys, they really do not care how evil the CorruptCorporateExecutive / SleazyPolitician / [[TheDon Mob Boss]] / [[DiabolicalMastermind Criminal Mastermind]] they serve is, as long as the money comes flowing in. Meanwhile, prosecutor-style amoral attorneys pursue glory and a political career from closing cases and convicting defendants, while little details like [[MiscarriageOfJustice whether the person being tried is actually guilty]] are considered irrelevant. Whether they're a slick, two-faced charmer lying through their teeth, or an intimidating bully with a law degree, the amoral attorney is a big threat to our heroes. It doesn't matter that you captured the criminal, exposed the MegaCorp's dangerous scheme, or gotten the decisive evidence to acquit the defendant, if that criminal just walks out of court a free man the next day, or the corporation's misdeeds are crafted to somehow be actually legal, or the evidence ''just so happens'' to "disappear".

** ‘'Series/CSIMiami's'':

* ‘'Series/CSIMiami's'':
** A recurring foe of the series was Darren Vogel, a defense attorney played Creator/MalcolmMcDowell who had absolutely no problem with finding ways to tamper with forensic evidence (breaking the chain of custody among other things) to make it inadmissible and have his clients OffOnATechnicality.
** In the episode "Just Got Murdered", a DivorceAssetsConflict of devastating (as in "wreck the house to make sure the other person gets nothing" and "[[AlwaysMurder murder]]") scope is complicated by said divorce's lawyer PlayingBothSides to keep them occupied as he stole their assets right out from under them. The divorcing couple, once they discover this, [[EnemyMine kill him together]].
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
** The Season 5 episode "Page Turner" had a VillainOfTheWeek who was a public defender married to a city librarian. He found a way to off her in a SerialKillingsSpecificTarget plot in order to sue the city for millions so he could retire and not have to defend scumbags any longer.
** Later in that same season, we get the episode "Enough", which has a very odd, somewhat subverted case of this trope. A trio of drug dealers are on trial for murdering another dealer. One of the three defense attorneys outright says that he doesn't usually care when a witness testifying against one of his scumbag clients "goes missing", because said witness is usually another killer or drug dealer. However, when the three defendants attack, threaten, and mutilate a witness who's an innocent, law-abiding young woman, the attorney convinces the other two to help him [[VigilanteExecution murder all three of their clients]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even scmubag lawyers have a heart."]]

* Late in ''Series/CSIMiami's'' final season, the team determined that Creator/MalcolmMcDowell's character made a habit of finding ways to tamper with forensic evidence (breaking the chain of custody among other things) to make it inadmissible.

* Played straight, if comically, on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Often representing Mr. Burns is the Blue-Haired Lawyer, a pastiche of RealLife scumbag Roy Cohn. He is always competent and cold, as in this exchange following Lisa's brilliant suggestion to a TV executive (from "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy Show" - 1997):

** On the other hand, the [[ActorExistenceLimbo sadly now retired]] character Lionel Hutz is an ''incompetent'' example of this trope, often put up against the Blue-Haired Lawyer and rarely winning unless he's lucky.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' gives us Monstroso, a super villain lawyer, which is, as Dr. Mrs. the Monarch describes it, "Like having a shark with a grenade launcher on its head."

* ''Series/TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher2023'': Arthur Pam is the Usher family's primary attorney and also their fixer, who spearheads all efforts to clean up any potential scandals that might get them in legal trouble. [[spoiler: Including being willing to personally kill people who might be threats.]]

** The father of Emma Barnes, Taylor's ex-best friend and one of the GirlPosse who made Taylor's life hell, gets them completely off the hook and even ''rewarded'' for stuffing Taylor in a locker filled with [[{{Squick}} used and rotting feminine hygiene products]], feeding the trio's delusions that Taylor should just lay down and take the abuse and be punished if she doesn't.

%%* Hugh Dorsey in ''Theatre/{{Parade}}''.

* ''Webcomic/EvilDiva'''s [[hhttps://web.archive.org/web/20100127011132/http://www.evildivacomics.com/?p=784 mom]]. Well, she is a devil.

* ''Literature/{{Confessions}}'': St. Augustine's moral decline and study in rhetoric leads him to take a career in law, where (as he says) people excel according to how well they can lie and deceive. His only motive for working in court is to fund his vain sexual escapades. It's no coincidence that after hearing God's voice, Augustine finds it torturous to continue working with law students.

* Wolfram & Hart, the [[OccultLawFirm Evil Demonic Law Firm]] from ''Series/{{Angel}}'', exemplify this trope in spades: Immoral Attorney, actually. Defending human and nonhuman evil-doers and going outside the law to ensure their clients are never held accountable is their purpose in life. To which end they also employ [[HighlyVisibleNinja ninjas]] and special ops teams. Their Senior Partners are a cabal of demons called the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart who reside in a hell dimension, and they have a scheduled apocalypse.
** The attorneys we actually meet tend to range from common morally grey (Lindsey [=McDonald=], who seeks power above all else, though maintaining some semblance of conscience when it comes to things like assassinating children) to villains like Holland Manners and Lilah Morgan (although she arguably becomes more morally gray in Season 4[[note]]Being stabbed in the gut after your entire law firm is slaughtered can do that to people[[/note]]), who not only strive for power but are capable of sacrificing nearly anything for it.
* The series 3 episode ''Brief for Murder'' of ''Series/TheAvengers (1960s)'' has two of these. The Lakin brothers are two solicitors preparing criminals to be for the perfect crime like treason or murder giving their "clients" precise instructions as to what to do and what to say. When executing the crime said "clients" leave enough evidence to implicate them to make sure they are tried. Yet the evidence planted is too inconclusive for a guilty verdict. John Steed and Cathy Gale come up with a plan to give the solicitors a taste of the own medicine.
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'': Baltar's defence lawyer [[Creator/MarkSheppard Romo Lampkin]] manages to gain Lee Adama's respect even though he's an unapologetic ManipulativeBastard.

* The ''Anime/AceAttorney'' anime adaptation not only has the canon examples from the ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' trilogy, but also [[CanonForeigner anime-exclusive character]] Tristan Turnbull. As the prosecutor in Avery Richman's retrial, he doesn't seem too suspicious at first, save for insisting that retrying the case will change nothing, but then it turns out that he [[spoiler:was in charge of he trial in which Richman was convicted. Because he was ordered to convict Richman to dispose of a potential economic threat to the U.S., he ensured that a key witness, who was the true killer, never took the stand. When the witness later blackmails Turnbull, Turnbull murders him.]] When the truth is revealed, Phoenix, Edgeworth and the U.S. chief prosecutor all call Turnbull a disgrace to his profession.

* ''WesternAnimation/GrandmaGotRunOverByAReindeer'': A lawyer by the name of [[MeaningfulName I.M. Slime.]] is more than willing to work with Cousin Mel to [[TheGrinch sue and frame Santa Claus]] for the hit and run of Grandma and rid the world of a holiday icon, just for a lot of money.

* [[Characters/BreakingBadSaulGoodman James Morgan "Saul Goodman" McGill]] from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a [[HonestJohnsDealership hucksterish defense attorney]] with cheesy TV ads who will take ''any'' paying client and resort to the most extreme arguments on their behalf, though he does have some loose limits. Three things keep him from being nothing but a straight-up AmbulanceChaser: 1) he's very, ''very'' good at his job, 2) he's just as interested in going outside the law for his own personal gain as he is in winning cases (if not a lot more interested) and 3) he's deliberately using his carefully built up image to sucker others into underestimating the extent of what he's capable of both inside and outside the courtroom. Interestingly, while more than willing to go to downright immoral (not to mention criminal) lengths ''for'' a client, he ''never'' double-crosses one even when presented with golden opportunities to do so [[WhatYouAreInTheDark with little chance of reprisals]], and more than once puts himself in considerable personal danger to help one.