Counsel for the Defense is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Jay Hunt, Betty Compson, and House Peters. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Leroy Scott.
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Plot
As described in a film magazine review, two men who wish to give the town's waterworks into the hands of a private company are opposed by Doc West, an old doctor. To clear the path for their scheme, they have the doctor arrested and charged with bribery. No local lawyer wishes to oppose the powerful schemers, so the doctor's daughter Katherine defends him. He loses his case, but the young woman unearths evidence against his enemies, clears his name, and has the others brought to justice.
Preservation
Counsel for the Defense is currently presumed lost. In February of 2021, the film was cited by the National Film Preservation Board on their Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films list.