If you are fascinated by the law, there are plenty of films and TV series that can give you a taste of courtroom life — even if, of course, real legal practice is usually far less dramatic!
These legal dramas are not law-school textbooks, and some take considerable liberties with the profession. But they can introduce aspiring lawyers — and teenagers who are still wondering what they might like to study at university — to ideas about evidence, justice, criminal law, argument, ethics and the way lawyers build a case.
I have selected two classic films and five television dramas, from some of the great courtroom films of the past to more recent series. They are entertaining, thought-provoking and, in some cases, surprisingly educational.
The Films
I have selected just two classics because they are brilliant, entertaining and have earned their place among the great films of all time.
12 Angry Men (1957)
This is a cinematic classic directed by the great Sidney Lumet.
The entire film takes place largely inside a jury deliberation room. Twelve jurors must decide whether a young man is guilty of murdering his father. At the beginning, most of them seem ready to find him guilty and send him to the electric chair.
But Juror 8, played by Henry Fonda, isn’t convinced that the evidence is as clear-cut as everyone else believes. He refuses to simply go along with the majority and begins questioning the testimony and evidence presented during the trial.
What makes the film so fascinating is that there are no spectacular car chases or courtroom theatrics. The drama comes from people talking, questioning assumptions and gradually looking at the evidence differently.
It is also a great reminder that doubt isn’t necessarily an admission of weakness. In a criminal case, reasonable doubt matters.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The film takes place in a fictional Alabama town during the 1930s, against a backdrop of racial tension and segregation.
A lawyer named Atticus Finch, played by Gregory Peck, defends Tom Robinson, a Black man who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman.
Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film is based on Harper Lee’s award-winning novel of the same name.
Although the story is told partly through the eyes of Atticus’s young daughter Scout, the trial at the centre of the film raises important questions about prejudice, justice, morality and the responsibilities of a lawyer defending someone who has been judged by society before the evidence has even been considered.
To Kill a Mockingbird was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance.
It is a must-watch not only for anyone interested in law, but for anyone interested in how prejudice can influence the justice system.
The TV Series
The following series are very different from one another. Some are closer to reality than others, but all offer plenty of courtroom drama and compelling characters.
Suits (2011–2019)
The much-loved legal drama will certainly open the appetite of anyone dreaming about working in a glamorous corporate law firm.
The series is set in New York at the fictional law firm Pearson Hardman, later known by several other names. The firm is known for hiring lawyers from Harvard Law School.
The problem is that Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, isn’t a qualified lawyer at all. After dropping out of college, he has somehow managed to acquire an extraordinary memory and knowledge of the law. He ends up working as a lawyer despite never attending law school.
Harvey Specter, played by Gabriel Macht, is the confident and ambitious corporate attorney who takes Mike under his wing. When Harvey discovers Mike’s secret, the two attempt to keep it hidden while dealing with increasingly complicated cases.
Suits is obviously not a realistic guide to becoming a lawyer — please don’t take career advice from Mike Ross! — but it is hugely entertaining and explores ambition, loyalty, competition, ethics and the pressure of working in a high-powered law firm.
And, for anyone who enjoys fashion, the clothes aren’t bad either.
How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020)
Viola Davis plays Annalise Keating, an outstanding criminal defence attorney and law professor.
Annalise selects a group of students to work with her at her law firm. What begins as a series of lessons in criminal law soon becomes much more complicated when the students and their professor become entangled in a murder plot.
The series moves between the classroom, the courtroom and the students’ increasingly complicated personal lives.
Annalise is a fascinating character because she is not presented as a perfect lawyer. She is brilliant, powerful, complicated and deeply flawed.
The series is particularly interesting for anyone fascinated by criminal defence, courtroom strategy and the ethical dilemmas that lawyers can face.
It is also seriously addictive.
The Good Wife (2009–2016)
The Good Wife is a legal and political drama centred on Alicia Florrick, played by Julianna Margulies.
Alicia returns to her career in law after her husband, Illinois State’s Attorney Peter Florrick, becomes embroiled in a corruption scandal and a very public sex scandal.
An old law-school friend, Will Gardner, offers Alicia a position at a prestigious Chicago law firm. She begins again as a junior litigator while trying to support her family and rebuild her own identity.
The series gradually becomes much more than a story about a woman returning to work after her husband’s downfall. Alicia develops professionally and personally, while the cases explore politics, ethics, discrimination, relationships and the complicated decisions lawyers have to make.
It is also one of those series where the courtroom cases are only part of the story. The relationships and politics inside the law firm are just as entertaining.
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)
This American crime drama is based on the infamous 1994–95 murder trial of former American football star O. J. Simpson.
The series is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson and takes viewers behind the scenes of both the prosecution and defence teams.
Cuba Gooding Jr. plays O. J. Simpson, while Sarah Paulson plays prosecutor Marcia Clark and Courtney B. Vance plays defence attorney Johnnie Cochran.
The case became a huge media event in the United States. The series explores not only the evidence and courtroom arguments but also the personalities involved, the role of the media, race, celebrity and the extraordinary public attention surrounding the trial.
It is particularly interesting for anyone who wants to understand how a criminal trial can become much bigger than the courtroom itself.
The real trial ended with Simpson being acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The verdict remains one of the most discussed moments in modern American legal and media history.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2022–)
For a more recent legal drama, The Lincoln Lawyer is a natural addition to the list.
The Netflix series is based on the novels by Michael Connelly and follows Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles defence attorney who runs his practice from the back seat of his Lincoln rather than from a conventional office.
Played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mickey takes on criminal cases while trying to balance his complicated personal life and relationships with his colleagues, clients and family.
Unlike the corporate world of Suits, this series focuses much more on criminal defence and the relationship between a lawyer and their clients.
Mickey is constantly looking for weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, questioning evidence and trying to protect his clients while dealing with the moral complications that come with defending people accused of serious crimes.
It is another example of a legal drama that should be enjoyed as entertainment rather than treated as a completely accurate picture of the profession. But if you like courtroom strategy, twists and lawyers trying to find another way of looking at the evidence, it is great fun.
A Final Word
Legal dramas can make being a lawyer look glamorous, exciting and occasionally terrifying. The reality, of course, involves a lot more reading, research, paperwork and preparation than these shows would have us believe!
But that doesn’t make them useless.
For a teenager who is thinking about studying law, watching a good legal drama can be a starting point for asking questions: What does a criminal lawyer actually do? What is reasonable doubt? How important is evidence? What are a lawyer’s ethical responsibilities? And what does justice really mean?
You might not discover your future career by watching television, but you might discover an interest that wasn’t there before.
And that, perhaps, is a good enough reason to press play.
