The title character in Michael Clayton is a “fixer” for a prominent New York City law firm. Michael Clayton (George Clooney) helps the firm’s managing partner Marty Bach (Sidney Pollack) and his colleagues navigate tricky situations for the firm’s wealthy clients, while seeking to manage challenges in his own personal and family life. The firm’s top litigator, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) discovers that one of the firm’s major clients, U-North, knew that its weed killer was carcinogenic and caused hundreds of deaths. When Arthur threatens to blow the whistle, U-North's General Counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) tries to silence him, with deadly consequences. Michael is forced to make a tough moral choice and decide who he really is. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton provides a gripping account of the shadowy intersection of law and power in America. Our guest to talk about this acclaimed film is Professor Margaret (“Peggy”) McGuinness of Saint John’s University School of Law.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
4:24 Capturing the vibe of “big law” in New York
7:15 The role of a “fixer”
15:19 Class and power in New York City law firms
19:08 Michael Clayton’s many talents
21:51 Tony Gilroy’s understanding of the milieu
22:53 Straddling different worlds
29:04 Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) discovers corporate wrongdoing
31:33 Should the “smoking gun” document have been disclosed?
35:40 Marty Bach (Sidney Pollack): a master of the game
40:40 Did Marty know about the corporate espionage?
43:39 How Michael ensnares U-North's Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton)
48:18 What has changed for women in big law, and what hasn’t
52:52 Michael Clayton resolves his moral dilemma
56:08 Film noir and the lawyer as outsider
58:03 Lawyers crossing ethical lines
1:01:22 A lesson about power and power structures
1:03:19 A great legal film without any courtroom scenes
1:07:26 “An extremist version of a vibe that is real”
Further reading:
Denby, David, “Lost Men,” New Yorker (2007)
Herman, Donald H.J., “Character or Code: What Makes a Good and Ethical Lawyer,” 63 S.C. L. Rev. 339 (2011)
Kamir, Orit, “Michael Clayton, Hollywood’s Contemporary Hero-Lawyer: Beyond Outsider Within and Insider Without,” 42 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 829 (2009)
McMillan, Lance, “Tortured Souls: Unhappy Lawyers Viewed through the Medium of Film,” 19 Seton Hall J. Sports & Ent. L. 31 (2009)
Monson, Leigh, “Even Ten Years Later, ‘Michael Clayton’ Remains Utterly Enigmatic” (Oct. 2017), https://substreammagazine.com/2017/10/ten-years-later-michael-clayton/
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember.
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