Top 10 Crooked TV Lawyers Ranked: From Saul Goodman to Maurice Levy

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Despite the common jokes about lawyers on TV, many fictional legal professionals are actually shown as positive figures. Characters like Jack McCoy from Law & Order and Diane Lockhart from The Good Fight are prime examples – they’re usually depicted as working to make a difference and do what’s right.

Just because a character plays a lawyer on TV doesn’t mean they’re honest. In fact, many of the most memorable TV lawyers bend or break the rules to get results. They’re not just ineffective – some are actually dishonest and corrupt.

Many popular legal dramas showcase aggressive lawyers who prioritize personal gain over ethics. They often bend or break the rules – using dishonest tactics – to achieve their goals, and sometimes are even directly involved in the worst crimes depicted in the show.

Whether they’re truly bad or just flawed, lawyers who bend the rules always make for compelling TV characters. Shows about the legal world often center on these figures, and audiences tend to be most captivated by their actions – even when those actions are shocking, funny, or surprisingly understandable.

10. Barry Zuckerkorn

Arrested Development

Barry Zuckerkorn is often shown as a foolish and incompetent lawyer who constantly creates problems for the Bluth family. However, he’s also deeply dishonest and lacks any moral principles. In the early episodes of Arrested Development, he admits to his clients that he was recently a defendant in a trial himself, but was found not guilty due to a legal loophole.

Let’s be clear: while Barry is often played for laughs – I mean, Arrested Development literally had him jump a shark, a nod to Henry Winkler’s Happy Days – the guy is a criminal. We’re not talking minor offenses here; he actively messes with evidence and, disturbingly, illegally photographs minors in a school locker room. It’s easy to get caught up in the comedic portrayal, but this is a character who absolutely should be facing serious consequences, and frankly, should be in jail.

9. David Rosen

Scandal

David Rosen’s storyline in Scandal is considered one of the strongest character arcs in Shonda Rhimes’ shows, especially leading up to his shocking death in the final episode. Initially presented as an honest figure, his transformation into someone involved in corruption and risky behavior powerfully illustrates that, ultimately, everyone gets compromised in Washington D.C.

David Rosen starts as a hopeful and principled lawyer, but over time, he compromises his values. He resorts to blackmail, manipulates the justice system by freeing potentially dangerous people for political gain, and even conceals a murder. While he may not initially set out to do wrong, his journey perfectly illustrates how corrupt the system itself has become.

8. Daniel Hardman

Suits

Daniel Hardman is widely considered the most compelling villain in Suits, and it’s easy to see why – his treatment of his terminally ill wife is deeply unlikeable. As an original partner at Pearson Hardman (the firm where Mike Ross and Harvey Specter work), he stole money from the company to finance an affair with a woman who worked for his wife.

To make things even more difficult, his wife is diagnosed with cancer around the time he commits these terrible acts. He ultimately faces consequences when Harvey uses information to force him out of the firm. However, Hardman isn’t finished – after his wife recovers, he tries to remove both Harvey and Jessica Pearson, resorting to equally dishonest tactics.

7. Maggie Lizer

Arrested Development

Another fantastic comedic actress from the world of sitcoms plays the second lawyer on our list. Julia Louis-Dreyfus shines as Maggie Lizer, a character known for being hilariously manipulative and dishonest, both in and out of the courtroom.

Maggie is a master manipulator. She’s been known to feign blindness to get sympathy from judges, even going so far as to bring a service dog to court. She also led Michael Bluth to believe she was pregnant with his child, and dramatically pretended to go into labor during a trial as a distraction.

As a huge Arrested Development fan, I always thought Lizer was the perfect match for Barry Zuckerkorn – they were both terrible lawyers! But honestly, Lizer took it to another level. She was way more confident about being dishonest, and somehow, she actually succeeded more often. It’s like she was a supervillain version of Barry!

6. Lionel Hutz

The Simpsons

Lionel Hutz is arguably the most hilarious lawyer ever featured on TV, and he’s not exactly known for his skills or ethics. He’s constantly bending the rules – whether it’s using a fake doctor’s opinion to sue someone, or misleading people in his commercials – dishonesty is just his standard practice.

Thanks to Phil Hartman’s incredible voice acting, Troy McClure became one of the most memorable characters on The Simpsons. He’s a smooth-talking con artist who always looks for a way to profit, usually through shady and illogical schemes. While his methods are rarely legal, they almost never actually work.

5. Annalise Keating

How To Get Away With Murder

Annalise Keating, the central figure in How to Get Away with Murder, is connected to nearly every death on the show. Her efforts to shield her five interns – the “Keating 5” – lead to a complicated series of lies and secret plans that would be impossible for any other television lawyer to manage.

While Keating doesn’t seem as obviously evil as some other lawyers on this list, she’s undeniably manipulative and responsible for the harm that comes to many of the show’s characters. Without her scheming, most of the victims would likely have been safe.

4. Patty Hewes

Damages

Patty Hewes stands out as a truly ruthless character. Right from the start of the series Damages, she’s directly involved in causing deaths. She’s a manipulative and calculating strategist who orchestrates conflict, and throughout the show, she’s responsible for multiple deaths, including an attempt on the life of her own assistant.

Patty Hewes wins her court cases through intimidation and deceit, and she doesn’t seem to have any moral concerns about her dishonest tactics. She’d easily be the most ruthless lawyer on TV, if it weren’t for a few others who are even more corrupt.

3. Louis Canning

The Good Wife

Louis Canning, a character from a Michael J. Fox TV show, is a master manipulator. Unlike Maggie Lizer, who pretends to be ill, Canning genuinely uses his health condition to unfairly influence legal cases. He’s completely self-serving and frequently works against the best interests of his own clients.

Canning views the law solely as a way to make money and engages in widespread corruption. Although he doesn’t commit violent crimes like some other lawyers, his consistent dishonesty and lack of concern for anyone – friend or foe – truly distinguish him.

2. Saul Goodman

Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul

Saul Goodman, the delightfully flawed and criminal lawyer, is captivating precisely because of his dishonesty. Despite being deeply involved in illegal activities and even hurting those close to him, like his brother, he’s surprisingly endearing and hard not to root for.

Saul’s final act of goodness in his Better Call Saul series provides a fitting conclusion to his journey, though it doesn’t erase his past mistakes. According to co-creator Vince Gilligan, the show implies Saul received a pardon, which is entirely in line with the character’s resourceful and somewhat lucky nature – a true Jimmy McGill move.

No matter how much trouble he’s in, he always finds a way to escape. It’s easy to see why Saul Goodman is a popular choice for the most viewers’ favorite morally questionable lawyer. But, he’s not necessarily the greatest.

1. Maurice Levy

The Wire

Maurice Levy, a TV lawyer often seen as pure evil, is likely the most compelling villain in what many consider one of the best TV shows ever made. Unlike other shady lawyers on the show, his crimes are far more extensive, ranging from arranging individual murders to orchestrating the disappearance of witnesses and supporting large-scale organized crime.

One of the best scenes in The Wire features Omar Little brilliantly exposing Levy’s true nature to everyone in the courtroom. Little cuts to the chase, telling Levy, “I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase,” which perfectly sums up Levy’s role: he profits from working with criminals.

Maurice Levy stands out as a particularly dishonest and unpleasant lawyer on television. He consistently uses deceitful tactics and is thoroughly unlikeable.

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2025-12-28 21:32