The Firm

Character mistake: At the end, when Mitch tells Agent Tarrance that the government can convict the law firm on mail fraud and racketeering, he says he got the idea while he was studying for the bar exam. He actually got the idea from a client earlier in the film when the client was complaining about being over-billed and tells Mitch that every time a bill is mailed through USPS, the firm is committing mail fraud which is a federal offense, punishable by fines and prison.

raywest

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Suggested correction: This is not wholly correct. Mulholland (the client) planted the seed in Mitch's head, but Mitch realised instantly that it was a federal offense, presumably because he had studied it.

Mulholland did more than just plant the seed. He was explaining what the violation was and the consequences, which caused Mitch to remember what he’d studied.

raywest

Character mistake: After learning of the firm's conspiracy, Mitch is worried about violating attorney/client privilege in order to expose it. Since Mitch knows that a crime is being committed (e.g. mailing the overcharged bills through the Post Office), attorney/client privilege doesn't apply.

Cubs Fan

Continuity mistake: When Tom Cruise first encounters Gene Hackman, Gene is nonchalantly leaning in a doorway with both hands in his pockets. In the next shot, Gene is holding a briefcase that wasn't there before. It's a good thing the briefcase arrived, since Gene makes mention of it immediately after. (00:17:00)

More mistakes in The Firm

Mitch McDeere: Let me get this straight: you want me to steal files from the firm, turn them over to the FBI, send my colleagues to jail.
Wayne Tarrance: They roped you into this.
Mitch McDeere: Breach attorney-client privilege, thus getting myself disbarred for life, then testify in open court against the Mafia.
Wayne Tarrance: Well, unfortunately, Mitch.
Mitch McDeere: Let me ask you something: are you out of your fucking mind?

More quotes from The Firm

Trivia: Director Sydney Pollack provides the voice of the prison warden on the phone informing Terrance that a prison guard sent an unauthorised fax regarding Mitch's brother Ray.

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Question: Every time I watch this movie I wonder what happened to the beer that Tom spilled while discovering the boxes of files in the Grand Caymen condo?

Answer: I've wondered about that, too. Avery appears to have somehow overlooked it, though it was in a highly visible and in a sensitive place (the locked closet). He probably returned late that night, and by the next day, the maid could have cleaned most of it up before he noticed anything. Also, on that particular trip, Avery may have had no reason to look inside the locked closet, so he would not have seen the broken glass. The spilled liquid outside the door would have dried quickly.

raywest

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