We’re going through a legal drama phase in our household.
When a new show featuring lawyers is available for streaming, we are definitely checking it out.
I love lawyers. I married a man who I knew should be a lawyer and waited patiently for him to figure it out. Then waited far less patiently (and far more mouthy about it) while he finished law school.
This means that I spend a lot of time arguing. He can’t always turn it off when he gets home. And my young ones have picked up on their father’s trait.
Even a statement like Eat your veggies! ends up in a three round fight of:
“How are you defining veggies mom?! Because ketchup is a vegetable.”
The other brother, “Technically, it’s a fruit. Either way we are getting our fruits and veggies.”
Which leaves me shaking my head.
With two sons, I spend my days circled by testosterone and constant debate.
As such, I can both hold my own and have developed a fondness for stories about lawyers.
Here is my list of stories (books, movies, and TV) featuring lawyers that I absolutely love:
— To Kill a Mockingbird: The classic, Atticus Finch. There was no way I was going to have a list of fictional lawyers and not include Atticus Finch.
— Michael Clayton: Why can’t I get this movie on streaming or as a Criterion special edition BlueRay. It’s fast paced and intricately structured. I watch it whenever it is available for streaming. It’s also a film we quote often in our house. Such as, “It’s not the cops. They don’t call.” and. “Do I look like I’m negotiating?”
— My Cousin Vinny : This is Hub’s pre-trial pre-game movie. The most quoted line, “I’m done with THIS f*%ing guy!” Also, Hubs can do quote the entire cross examination scene about how long it takes to cook grits.
— Ally McBeal: the short skirts,” bygones”, and Vonda Shepard’s iconic theme song. When it premiered, it launched the Dramedy as a legitimate genre. It was appointment television in the 90s. I did a rewatch a few months back and developed a new fondness for a show featuring a successful neurodivergent litigator, The Biscuit. Although my favorite character has always been Renee.
— The Lincoln Lawyer: the movie didn’t impress me much. However, the books were much more fun. Now the Netflix series surpasses both. Mickey Haller is a damn fine defense attorney and everyone tries to make him feel really bad about it. It’s bad enough all his shenanigans always end up getting him beat up, run over, or in the middle of a gun fight.
— A Few Good Men: This is one of those movies – like most Aaron Sorkin scripted films – that when it is on, I must watch it. It’s easy to jump in at any point and ride it out to the end. I also love Kevin Pollock and think he should work more. The most quoted lines in our house is, “I strenuously object!”
— Suits: This show is smart men looking smart and doing dumb things. My youngest got angry with me for watching the show without him and when I got to the Katherine Heigl season, was instructed to start it over so he and I could watch it together. I tried to get him to admit that Mike was his favorite character, but he is his father’s son and told me, “No. Harvey. Always Harvey.”
— How To Get Away With Murder: It’s all dark and twisty drama, and whether you like her techniques or not, Annalise Keating gets the job done. It’s all mom-energy. She’s surrounded by young adults who want to be in on all the adult decisions but want to be protected from the adult consequences of those decisions. When it all falls apart, they always run to mom for help. It’s both triggering if you are raising teenagers, while also vindicating your rage when they just won’t listen.
— Scandal: Can't discuss lawyers and fixers without giving a nod to Olivia Pope! Great lawyer, questionable taste in men. The show created several movements, such as referring to themselves as Gladiators, eating popcorn for dinner, and making contemplating a problem while sipping red wine from a glass the size of a small child's cranium look as cool as all the men before her with their scotch glasses and windows overlooking the city. Olivia Pope solved problems and everyone wanted her in their corner.
— Law and Order: Here’s the skinny. L&O is a long series and many of the cast and character changes could make or break the show. Everyone has their favorite DA and ADA combo and everyone has their favorite cop duo. For the original, anything before McCoy becomes DA is not my thing. I like McCoy/Kincaid, McCoy/Carmichael, Brisco/ Logan, Brisco/Curtis, Brisco/Green, Schiff. I love the other branches of the franchise, particularly SVU and Criminal Intent.
— The West Wing: The largest gem in the Aaron Sorkin crown. While it is a show about those who work in the West Wing of The White House, as Sam Seaborn points out, “We’re all lawyers.”
— Night Court: between this and Moonlighting, there was no way I wouldn’t end up writing crime fiction. The 80s were a hell of a time and Night Court was a show about people who needed compassion for living their lives in such a weird time. There were many storylines about sex workers, unhoused individuals, pickpockets, and kids who needed homes. There was more laughing with than laughing at people who were getting by. The show was a great workplace comedy and John Larroquette is one of the best sitcom actors of all time. The reboot isn’t bad. Mostly because it still has John Larroquette.
— Miracle on 34th Street: Santa on trial? Santa going under a psyche evaluation and making his reviewer crazy? Santa could be institutionalized?! While many would disagree with me, the original with Natalie Wood and Maureen O’Hara is the better version – sorry Millennials. The lawyer who defends Santa, does so with a little help from the United States Postal Service, who appear with bags and bags of letters to Santa. No one is going up against the USPS!
— Perry Mason: possibly the most iconic. All courtroom dramas try to create and emulate a perfect Perry Mason confession on the stand – see A Few Good Men, for example. It was one of those shows that was always on randomly on Saturday or Sunday afternoons between sports. HBO did an excellent reboot of Perry Mason, starting before he became a lawyer and was working as a private investigator. It’s all that jazz-filled noir goodness that I adore.
And while this list is thorough, it is certainly not definitive. I am sure I have missed a few or left off a few notable examples because they are more color to another program as opposed to the center of the drama.
Lately my youngest has actually started discussing whether he wants to grow up to be a lawyer. And while I assure him that he would be excellent at it, I tell him he doesn’t have to have his whole life figured out when he’s in middle school.
I often feature lawyers in the things I write because they have the skills to get people out of sticky predicaments. Lawyers know the rules, know how to bend them, know where to find the loopholes, and generally fight for people using their brains. What’s not to love?
Read Books. Wear Boots.
XOXO,
B.
The final edits are underway for Pretty Girls Get Away with Murder, so if you are looking for a taste of my new detective and the Western Kentucky drama, be sure to check out the prequel piece, "Local Monsters" available for digital download in the brandibradley.com shop!
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