Plot: In Chicago, the successful and unethical defense attorney Hank Palmer defends scumbags since his only interest is getting money. Hank is divorcing and when his mother dies, his brother Glen calls him for the funeral and he leaves his daughter with his wife. He travels to his hometown, Carlinville, Indiana, and meets Glen, his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer and his slowed brother Dale that is obsessed for making films. He also meets his former sweetheart Samantha Powell. On the next morning, Hank and his brothers note that their father's car is damaged and Hank goes to the airport to fly back to Chicago. When Hank is in the plane ready to fly, he receives a phone call from Glen telling that their father has been accused of hit and run and the victim is Mark Blackwell, a despicable man that was sentenced by Joseph Palmer after killing a teenager. Hank returns but his father does not have any recollection from the accident. Soon their unresolved issues interfere in Hank's line of defense and the Prosecutor Dwight Dickham wants to see Judge Palmer behind bars to revenge Hank's victory in a trial in the past. Along the judgment, secrets are disclosed.
Alternative Plot: Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a brilliant but shady attorney, returns to his Indiana hometown after learning that his mother has passed away. His arrival triggers renewed tension between himself and his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who makes no secret of his disapproval of Hank's morally ambiguous career. As the lawyer prepares to depart, his father is arrested for a hit-and-run death. Hank takes on his father's defense, despite the objections of the resentful old man.
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