History Main / OmnidisciplinaryLawyer

* Averted, lampshaded and played with in ''Film/GhostbustersII''. As noted in the page quote, Louis Tully specifically warns the main quartet that he doesn't know criminal law very well. See, he's an accountant, and sometimes he's the Keymaster, but he's not a very good criminal attorney. [[RealityEnsues Sure enough, he botches the defense and the judge rules against them]]. It's only the timely appearance of ghosts (thereby proving to the disbelieving judge that ghosts are real) that get the Ghostbusters off the hook. However, Tully does help with this, and shows that he at least knows enough procedure to play legal hardball over the restraining order on their business and force the judge to rescind it so they can catch the ghost. Interestingly, in the previous movie he was actually an ''accountant'' (hence why his legal focus is on tax law), so he actually ''is'' at least ''multi''-disciplinary (especially since he later on becomes a Ghostbuster...sort of).

* Averted, lampshaded and played with in ''Film/GhostbustersII''. As noted in the page quote, Louis Tully specifically warns the main quartet that he doesn't know criminal law ver well. See, he's an accountant, and sometimes he's the Keymaster, but he's not a very good criminal attorney. [[RealityEnsues Sure enough, he botches the defense and the judge rules against them]]. It's only the timely appearance of ghosts (thereby proving to the disbelieving judge that ghosts are real) that get the Ghostbusters off the hook. However, Tully does help with this, and shows that he at least knows enough procedure to play legal hardball over the restraining order on their business and force the judge to rescind it so they can catch the ghost. Interestingly, in the previous movie he was actually an ''accountant'' (hence why his legal focus is on tax law), so he actually ''is'' at least ''multi''-disciplinary (especially since he later on becomes a Ghostbuster...sort of).

* Discussed and ultimately averted in the Australian movie ''The Castle'' - the main character wants his small-town local lawyer to work on a constitutional law case despite his pleas that he doesn't know anything about it. And indeed that's held up - the guy is useless in every trial we see him in (the best argument he can come up with is 'It's in the Constitution, it's just... it's the ''vibe''.'), and the protagonist only wins in the end because they manage to get an actual ''Queen's Counsel'' who specialises in constitutional law onto their side.

* Subverted in ''Film/MyCousinVinny'' as the titular cousin is a Personal Injury lawyer who gets called on for a murder trial. He goes through with it anyway (not without complaints) and he still had to [[CourtroomAntic fool the judge into thinking he was experienced enough for the trial despite being a completely new attorney.]]

* Averted and lampshaded in ''Film/GhostbustersII''. As noted in the page quote, Louis Tully specifically warns the main quartet that he doesn't know criminal law. See, he's an accountant, and sometimes he's the Keymaster, but he's not a very good criminal attorney. [[RealityEnsues Sure enough, he botches the defense and the judge rules against them]]. It's only the timely appearance of ghosts (thereby proving to the disbelieving judge that ghosts are real) that get the Ghostbusters off the hook. To his credit, Tully does help play legal hardball at that moment to force the judge to rescind the restraining order. Interestingly, in the previous movie he was actually an ''accountant'' (hence why his legal focus is on tax law), so he actually ''is'' at least ''multi''-disciplinary (especially since he later on becomes a Ghostbuster...sort of).

* Averted and lampshaded in ''Film/GhostbustersII''. As noted in the page quote, Louis Tully specifically warns the main quartet that he doesn't know criminal law. [[RealityEnsues Sure enough, he botches the defense and the judge rules against them]]. It's only the timely appearance of ghosts (thereby proving to the disbelieving judge that ghosts are real) that get the Ghostbusters off the hook. To his credit, Tully does help play legal hardball at that moment to force the judge to rescind the restraining order. Interestingly, in the previous movie he was actually an ''accountant'' (hence why his legal focus is on tax law), so he actually ''is'' at least ''multi''-disciplinary (especially since he later on becomes a Ghostbuster...sort of).
* ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'': The film version of Nelson & Murdock is all over the place, with Matt at one point being a prosecutor and a civil lawyer. Somewhat justified--their practice represents people who can't afford legal representation (which means they are also perpetually broke) so possibly they handle anything and everything they can get away with both because [[WeHelpTheHelpless they help the helpless]] and because [[MoneyDearBoy they are just that strapped for cash]]. The most egregious example is where he is questioning rapist [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Jose Quesada]] and acting like a prosecutor, even though he is technically a defense attorney and is speaking for his client (there are certain ways this could happen--if she was suing him in tort for instance--but the scene itself is just vague on details).

* On ''Series/{{Suits}}'', part of the reason why Harvey Specter rose so quickly through the law firm's ranks is because he is proficient in multiple areas of the law. His main specialty is mergers and tax law but he also spent a few years working as a criminal prosecutor specifically to get a solid background in criminal law. This is averted with most of the firm's other partners who specialize exclusively in certain areas of the law and can be very territorial when Harvey gets involved in a case that falls into their area of expertise. On the other hand, as part of their TrainingFromHell, the junior associates are supposed to work any case that is assigned to them no matter what areas of the law it touches on or how proficient they are in the subject matter.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy [=McGill=] seems to be a general practitioner. He primarily is a ''[[AmoralAttorney criminal]]'' [[AmoralAttorney lawyer]], but before becoming Saul Goodman, he's a public defender. Then he takes a stab at elder law, then brushes up on contract law prior to getting fired from Davis & Main, and even when dabbling in those other attempts to go legit, Jimmy still helps out criminals like Mike Ehrmantraut and Nacho Varga. By season 5, he's Saul and dealing primarily with criminal practice.

* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': Jeri Hogarth primarily deals in criminal law when it comes to Jessica's cases, but a scene in season 1 also shows her being involved in patent law, among others. In an aversion, Hogarth Chao & Benowitz in general does seem to handle all sorts of things, with different lawyers for different fields. During his time at the firm in between ''Daredevil'' seasons 2 and 3, Foggy has primarily been seen dealing with Luke Cage's matters,[[note]]Getting him out of jail at the start of ''Series/TheDefenders2017'', and repping him in ''Series/LukeCage2016'' season 2 when he gets sued by Cockroach[[/note]] which are criminal and civil in nature. Desmond Tobey is a divorce lawyer, who helps Jeri deal with her DivorceAssetsConflict with Wendy in season 1. It's unclear what field Marci Stahl primarily dealt with in her time at the firm between Wilson Fisk's arrest and just before the start of ''Daredevil'' season 3, but some dialogue in season 3 implies she's involved in criminal work.

* Many attorneys are General Practice or Door Lawyers ("whoever comes through the door") and are not specialized. This is more common in smaller firms, where there isn't the manpower to have attorneys be limited to particular areas of practice.
* Princess Diana of England was so impressed with how Anthony Julius handled a libel case for her that she later hired him to handle her divorce as well. The story goes that when Julius tried to tell her he was a libel attorney and this would be his first divorce case, Diana replied, "That's all right, this will be my first divorce."

** Another variation of this occurs in any episode involving capital punishment, since there is no death penalty in Illinois, the state the show is set in[[note]]Technically Illinois didn't abolish capital punishment until 2011, but due to the actions of a previous Governor granting clemency to the state's entire death row and a series of legal precedents, the state had no executions in well over a decade prior to that, and effectively no death penalty.[[/note]], the death penalty case episodes are set in Indiana. But a legal license only permits an attorney to practice in the state it's issued in. It doesn't necessarily go without saying that all the main cast have current Indiana law licenses. That said, it is common for Illinois lawyers to have Indiana licenses, especially in the Chicago area, since the six counties in northwestern Indiana are part of the Chicago suburbs, and it is fairly easy for an attorney who has been admitted in Illinois and practicing there for several years to get an Indiana license (all it takes is some money and attending a seminar). It's also possible for an out of state lawyer to be admitted on a one-time basis (called ''pro hac vice'') in a case.

* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': Jeri Hogarth primarily deals in criminal law when it comes to Jessica's cases, but a scene in season 1 also shows her being involved in patent law, among others. In an aversion, Hogarth Chao & Benowitz in general does seem to handle all sorts of things, with different lawyers for different fields. During his time at the firm in between ''Daredevil'' seasons 2 and 3, Foggy has primarily been seen dealing with Luke Cage's matters,[[note]]Getting him out of jail at the start of ''Series/TheDefenders2017'', and repping him in ''Series/LukeCage2016'' season 2 when he gets sued by Cockroach[[/note]] which are criminal and civil in nature. Desmond Tobey is a divorce lawyer, who helps Jeri deal with her DivorceAssetsConflict with Wendy in season 1. It's unclear what field Marci Stahl primarily dealt with in her time at the firm between Wilson Fisk's arrest and just before the start of ''Daredevil'' season 3, but she was probably involved in criminal law as well as some civil disputes and cases like those that she did at Landman & Zack.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy [=McGill=] / Saul Goodman seems to be a general practitioner. He primarily is a ''[[AmoralAttorney criminal]]'' [[AmoralAttorney lawyer]], but before becoming Saul, he takes a stab at elder law, then brushes up on contract law prior to getting fired from Davis & Main, and even when dabbling in those other attempts to go legit, Jimmy still helps out criminals like Mike Ehrmantraut and Nacho Varga.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Lionel Hutz usually practices civil law, but he has taken cases as a prosecutor and a defense attorney as well (one time as a court-appointed attorney, in fact) and even represented them in a child custody case once. His record in ''any'' branch of law isn't all-too good.
** Some episodes heavily imply that he hasn't even passed the bar exam.

* Justified in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird.'' Atticus spends the story defending Tom Robinson for rape despite the fact that he's ''not'' a criminal defense attorney, and he's mentioned having difficulty with the case because of his lack of experience. But Atticus is one of a very small number of lawyers in the rural community and naturally has to generalize his practice of law to meet the needs of his clients. He's also one of the least-prejudiced and most-respected people in town, and thus one of the few people the local sheriff thinks can give Tom Robinson a fair trial.

* [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The Lawyer]] in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' plays this fairly straight, encountering the Gang in pretty much every case that'd involve law (inheritance law, real estate law, trial law), though it's averted by Uncle Jack, stated to be a state and civil lawyer who's out of his depth in a trial. Charlie claims to be (and probably isn't) a specialist in "bird law" but still tries to go head-to-head in any given law case, regardless of how related it is to birds.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, specializes in superhero law, but that includes criminal cases, civil rights law, civil suits and anything else that might come up.

* Justified in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird.'' Atticus spends the story defending Tom Robinson for rape despite the fact that he's ''not'' a criminal defense attorney, and he's mentioned having difficulty with the case because of his lack of experience. But Atticus is one of a very small number of lawyers in the rural community and naturally has to generalize his practice of law to meet the needs of his clients. He's also one of the least-prejudiced and most-respected people in town, and thus one of the few people the local sheriff thinks can give Tom Robinson a fair trial.

** The main cast at Lockhart/Gardner and eventually Florrick/Agos have done everything from capital criminal defense to immigration law to copyright law. Recurring characters tend to be specialists, however: Lockhart/Gardner's David Lee specializes in family law (e.g. divorces and paternity suits), while recurring antagonist Louis Canning mainly defends corporations from class-actions. Also, when they need to be interrogated or stand trial, once in a blue moon, they get someone else to represent them.

* ''Series/CenturyCity'' generally did a pretty good job of averting this; the law firm took on a large variety of mostly civil cases, but the cast all specialised in different areas and would therefore get ADayInTheLimelight by turns. One episode even sort-of lampshaded it when Creator/IoanGrufford's character explained to a potential client who works in real estate that he specialises in criminal defence rather than property law and he might need to speak to someone from another department, but it turns out that said client needed defence counsel after getting arrested for breaking into his ex's apartment.

* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': Jeri Hogarth primarily deals in criminal law when it comes to Jessica's cases, but a scene in season 1 also shows her being involved in patent law, among others. In an aversion, Hogarth Chao & Benowitz in general does seem to handle all sorts of things, with different lawyers for different fields. During his time at the firm in between ''Daredevil'' seasons 2 and 3, Foggy has primarily been seen dealing with Luke Cage's matters,[[note]]Getting him out of jail at the start of ''Series/TheDefenders2017'', and repping him in ''Series/LukeCage2016'' season 2 when he gets sued by Cockroach[[/note]] both of which are criminal in nature. Desmond Tobey is a divorce lawyer, who helps Jeri deal with her DivorceAssetsConflict with Wendy in season 1. It's unclear what field Marci Stahl primarily dealt with in her time at the firm between Wilson Fisk's arrest and just before the start of ''Daredevil'' season 3, but she was probably involved in criminal law as well as some civil disputes and cases like those that she did at Landman & Zack.

* Justified in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird.'' Atticus spends the story defending Tom Robinson for rape despite the fact that he's ''not'' a criminal defense attorney, and he's mentioned having difficulty with the case because of his lack of experience. But Atticus is one of a very small number of lawyers in the rural community and naturally has to generalize his practice of law to meet the needs of his clients. He's also one of the least-prejudiced and most-respected people in town, and thus one of the few people the local sheriff thinks can give Tom Robinson a fair trial.

** The main cast at Lockhart/Gardner and eventually Florrick/Agos have done everything from capital criminal defense to immigration law to copyright law. Recurring characters tend to be specialists, however: Lockhart/Gardner's David Lee specializes in family law (e.g. divorces and paternity suits), while recurring antagonist Louis Canning mainly defends corporations from class-actions. Also, when they need to be interrogated or stand trial, once in a blue moon, they get someone else to represent them.

* Justified in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird.'' Atticus spends the story defending Tom Robinson for rape despite the fact that he's ''not'' a criminal defense attorney, and he's mentioned having difficulty with the case because of his lack of experience. But Atticus is one of a very small number of lawyers in the rural community and naturally has to generalize his practice of law to meet the needs of his clients. He's also one of the least-prejudiced and most-respected people in town, and thus one of the few people the local sheriff thinks can give Tom Robinson a fair trial.

** The main cast at Lockhart/Gardner and eventually Florrick/Agos have done everything from capital criminal defense to immigration law to copyright law. Recurring characters tend to be specialists, however: Lockhart/Gardner's David Lee specializes in family law (e.g. divorces and paternity suits), while recurring antagonist Louis Canning mainly defends corporations from class-actions. Also, when they need to be interrogated or stand trial, once in a blue moon, they get someone else to represent them.

* Justified in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird.'' Atticus spends the story defending Tom Robinson for murder despite the fact that he's ''not'' a criminal defense attorney, and he's mentioned having difficulty with the case because of his lack of experience. But Atticus is one of a very small number of lawyers in the rural community and naturally has to generalize his practice of law to meet the needs of his clients. He's also one of the least-prejudiced and most-respected people in town, and thus one of the few people the local sheriff thinks can give Tom Robinson a fair trial.

** The main cast at Lockhart/Gardner and eventually Florrick/Agos have done everything from capital crime defense to immigration law to copyright law. Recurring characters tend to be specialists, however: Lockhart/Gardner's David Lee specializes in family law (e.g. divorces and paternity suits), while recurring antagonist Louis Canning mainly defends corporations from class-actions. Also, when they need to be interrogated or stand trial, once in a blue moon, they get someone else to represent them.
** Another variation of this occurs in any episode involving capital punishment, since there is no death penalty in Illinois, the state the show is set in[[note]]Technically Illinois didn't abolish capital punishment until 2011, but due to the actions of a previous Governor granting clemency to the state's entire death row and series of legal precedents the state had no executions in well over a decade prior to that, and effectively no death penalty.[[/note]], the death penalty case episodes are set in Indiana. But a legal license only permits an attorney to practice in the state it's issued in. It doesn't necessarily go without saying that all the main cast have current Indiana law licenses. That said, it is common for Illinois lawyers to have Indiana licenses, especially in the Chicago area, since the six counties in northwestern Indiana are part of the Chicago suburbs, and it is fairly easy for an attorney who has been admitted in Illinois and practicing there for several years to get an Indiana license (all it takes is some money and attending a seminar). It's also possible for an out of state lawyer to be admitted on a one-time basis (called ''pro hac vice'') in a case.

Now, in an emergency situation it's not unreasonable to turn to the first lawyer available to you for basic advice while you search for an actual specialist. That tax lawyer isn't a criminal law specialist, but in a pinch (e.g. you just got arrested and he's literally the only lawyer you know), he certainly understands more about the mechanisms of the legal process than an elementary school teacher or taxidermist, which is why he has a law license.

Still, when it comes to dealing with the important, nitty-gritty details of your case, you want an attorney with specialized experience.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy [=McGill=] / Saul Goodman seems to be a general practitioner. He primarily is a ''[[AmoralAttorney criminal]]'' [[AmoralAttorney lawyer]], but before becoming Saul, he dabbles a bit in elder law, then brushes up on contract law prior to getting fired from Davis & Main, and even when dabbling in those other attempts to go legit, Jimmy still helps out criminals like Mike Ehrmantraut and Nacho Varga.

* On ''Series/{{Suits}}'', part of the reason why Harvey Specter rose so quickly through the law firms ranks is because he is proficient in multiple areas of the law. His main specialty is mergers and tax law but he also spent a few years working as a criminal prosecutor specifically to get a solid background in criminal law. This is averted with most of the firm's other partners who specialize exclusively in certain areas of the law and can be very territorial when Harvey gets involved in a case that falls into their area of expertise. On the other hand, as part of their TrainingFromHell, the junior associates are supposed to work any case that is assigned to them no matter what areas of the law it touches on or how proficient they are in the subject matter.

** Another variation of this occurs in any episode involving capital punishment, since there is no death penalty in Illinois, the state the show is set in[[note]]Technically Illinois didn't abolish capital punishment until 2011, but due to the actions of a previous Governor granting clemency to the state's entire death row and series of legal precedents the state had no executions in well over a decade prior to that, and effectively no death penalty.[[/note]], the death penalty case episodes are set in Indiana. But a legal license only permits an attorney to practice in the state it's issued in. It doesn't necessarily go without saying that all the main cast have current Indiana law licenses. That said, it is common for Illinois lawyers to have Indiana licenses, especially in the Chicago area, since the six counties in northwestern Indiana are part of the Chicago suburbs, and it is fairly easy for an attorney who has been admitted in Illinois and practicing there for several years to get an Indiana license (all it takes is some money and attending a seminar).