VIGILANTE LAWYERS
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L.A. LAW MEETS LETHAL WEAPON
A BOLD & HILARIOUS TAKE ON LAWYERS
ENTER THE NEW ACTION HEROES
WRITTEN BY JAMES M. DENTON & REXFORD COOLEY
Log line
Two lawyers take matters into their own hands, after falsely being accused of murder. Their mission, take down the criminal enterprise that framed them and stop its illegal shipment of weapons to a foreign adversary.
Synopsis
Richard Carter (African-American) and Johnny Loomis (Italian-American) find themselves in trouble with the law. The only way to clear their names is to take the law in to their own hands. Richard is a straight-laced, African-American trial lawyer. Johnny is a wise-cracking, Italian American personal injury lawyer.
Richard is assigned to defend Chow Ling, a member of the criminal enterprise that is shipping weapons to a U.S. adversary from the port of Los Angeles. Chow is the only survivor after a shoot out between them and the Los Angeles Police Department, which was the result of an anonymous tip received by the LAPD and the press.
Chow’s trial is put on the fast track by Woo Phan, an Arms Dealer, and Edgar Thorp, CEO of Armor Tech, a major weapons manufacturer, and a corrupt District Attorney with political aspirations.
District Attorney D. Lane Sulgrave is told to make sure that Chow goes free on bail which puts him at odds with Richard, his friend, going back to their J.A.G. days. Richard makes the case for Chow Ling’s release. D. Lane simply accepts the state’s ruling on the matter. The verdict is to release Chow on his own recognizance.
Chow disappears, and ultimately ends up dead , his disappearance is blamed on Richard and D. Lane uses this as an intentional diversion to stir up a frenzy of media attention, leading up to a show trial, sure to captivate Los Angeles. The purpose, to distract everyone from future weapons shipments. Chow ends up dead, murdered by one of Woo's henchmen, as is Ben Graebold, a mentor and father figure to Richard and a business associate of Johnny's. Richard asked Ben to do some digging into his client's disappearance.
Richard and Johnny are spotted over Ben's corpse, forcing them to run to clear their names, discover the nefarious plot and take up arms to bring it down. They are aided by Amos McVeety, a bail bondsman/Pawn Shop owner who provides them with the weapons. Police Detective Webb Morgan, he comes to their defense when he suspects things don’t add up. Pimp Percy Spivack, he provides Richard and Johnny access to the Armor Tech building, and eventually D. Lane, he always knew he was in way over his head, which is why he provided the police and the press with the anonymous tip.
With D. Lane’s help, Richard and Johnny come face to face with Edgar and Woo, all hell breaks loose. Richard and Johnny literally bring the house down on Armor Tech and the weapons shipping business.
This high-octane action comedy hilariously turns the age-old concept of lawyers on its head by thrusting them out of the courtroom and in to the streets to battle injustice.
Characters
Richard Carter (Black, 30's, former JAG, trial lawyer)
Johnny Loomis (White, 30's, Personal injury lawyer)
Amos McVeety (Open, 60's, bail bondsman, gun store owner)
Percy Spivack (Open, 20's or 30's, informant, gay, gun friendly)
Merry Cherry (Open, 30's, TV news reporter)
Webb Morgan (Open, 50's, police detective)
D. Lane Sulgrave (Open, 30's, District attorney, former JAG, friend of Richard)
Edgar Thorp (Open, 60's, Weapons manufacturer)
Woo Phan (Asian, 60's, Represents foreign adversary)
Chow Ling (Asian, 20's, Richard's client)
