Based on Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel, it is about a gifted young Florida lawyer invited to work for a major New York City law firm.

United States Department of Justice agent Mitch Weaver warns Kevin that Milton is corrupt, and also reveals that Gettys, acquitted in Florida, has been arrested for killing a little girl.

The Devil character's name is a direct homage to John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost,[6] quoted by Lomax with the line, "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n".

[10] In U.S. literary education, Milton's temptation of Lomax in the climax, in which he rationalizes rebellion against God for a "look-but-don't-touch" model, has been compared to Satan urging Eve to eat forbidden fruit in Paradise Lost, Book IX, lines 720–730:[11] If they all things, who enclos'd Knowledge of good and evil in this tree, That whoso eats thereof forthwith attains Wisdom without their leave?

and wherein lies Th' offence, that Man should thus attain to know?In his DVD commentary, Taylor Hackford did not name Paradise Lost as an inspiration, instead citing the legend of Faust.

[16] Dantean scholar Amilcare A. Iannucci argues that the plot follows the model of the Divine Comedy in beginning with selva oscura, with Lomax losing his conscience defending a guilty man, and entering and exploring deeper circles of Hell.

[18] Free will is also a major theme in the Divine Comedy, with the film's musings on the concept being similar to Dante's Purgatorio, 16.82–83 ("if the present world has gone astray, in you is the cause, in you it's to be sought").

[6] Aside from Milton, other character names have been commented on: Author Kelly J. Wyman matches Mary Ann, the virginal figure who falls victim to Milton, to the Virgin Mary, and adds the literal translation of Christabella is "Beautiful Christ",[21] and that the title refers to the Catholic Church's Devil's advocates and lawyers as advocates;[22] Eric C. Brown finds Barzoon's name and character to be reminiscent of the demon prince Beelzebub.

De La Torre and Albert Hernández observe the vision of Satan as CEO, wearing expensive clothing and engaging in business, had appeared in popular culture before, including the 1942 novel The Screwtape Letters.

[24] Believing that his story could be adapted into a film, Neiderman approached Warner Bros. and claimed to have led his successful sale with the synopsis, "It's about a law firm in New York that represents only guilty people, and never loses".

[25] Various screenplay adaptations of The Devil's Advocate had been pitched to U.S. cinema studios, with Joel Schumacher planned to direct it, with Brad Pitt as the young lawyer.

[26] Schumacher planned a sequence in which Pitt would descend into the New York subway system that would be modeled on the circles of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy.

Hackford wanted suggestions that Milton does not kill Barzoon as he defied his muggers, or United States Attorney Weaver, who arrogantly did not watch for vehicles before stepping onto the road.

[8] Al Pacino had previously been offered the role of the Devil in an attempt to adapt Neiderman's novel, but before final rewrites, he rejected it on three occasions[29] because of the clichéd nature of the character.

[34] On The Devil's Advocate, Reeves agreed to a pay cut worth millions of dollars so that the producers could meet Pacino's salary demands.

[35] To prepare for the role, Pacino watched the 1941 film The Devil and Daniel Webster and observed tips from Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch.

Delays were caused by the dismissals of the original cinematographer and assistant directors, while an anonymous source claimed that Pacino found Hackford to be conceited and loud.

[36] Production designer Bruno Rubeo was tasked to create Milton's apartment, aiming for a "very loose and very sexy" appearance, "so you can't really tell where it goes".

[37] In constructing the firm sets, Hackford and Rubeo consulted architects from Japan and Italy to craft an "ultra-modern" look, to display Milton's taste.

[45] Additionally, Baker created images for demonic faces seen on real actresses and actors, with hands also appearing to move underneath Tamara Tunie's skin, a digital creation with the contributions of Richard Greenberg and Stephanie Powell.

[50] Approximately 475,000 copies of the VHS and DVD were produced by February 1998, but their release into the home-video market was delayed pending the Hart v. Warner Bros., Inc.

[52] In 2012, a Blu-ray edition was released in Region A as an "Unrated Director's Cut", in which the climax's art that was previously subject to the lawsuit is digitally redone.

The site's critics consensus states: "Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration.

"[50] In The New York Times, Janet Maslin complimented the "gratifyingly light touch" of using John Milton's name, and special effects with "gimmicks well tethered to reality".

[3] Dave Kehr of New York Daily News also preferred Pacino over Reeves, assessing that The Devil's Advocate as Faust moved to Manhattan, although disappointed that a "witty undercurrent becomes an exaggerated moralism".

[65] In The New York Times Magazine, Michiko Kakutani objected to trivializing Satan, reducing Paradise Lost's vision of the War in Heaven to "an extended lawyer joke".

[66] The Christian Science Monitor's David Sterritt wrote that it is an unsurprising cinematic re-imagining of Faust with Satan a lawyer, but he recognized its message of "the need for personal responsibility", albeit with "more lascivious sex and shocking violence than a traditional 'Faust' rendition".

"[49] In 2016, The Huffington Post reported on an online debate over the possible symbolism in the costume design, as Lomax appears in suits that are light in the beginning, becoming increasingly darker as his morality slips away.

[73] Hart and the National Cathedral jointly initiated the action, with an argument similar to architect Lebbeus Woods's successful lawsuit over imagery in the film 12 Monkeys.

[51] In 2014, Andrew Neiderman wrote a prequel novel, Judgment Day, about John Milton arriving in New York City and obtaining control of a major law firm.