As a lawyer, staying on top of rules and regulations is key to maintaining a reputation and building your practice. But did you know that enjoying pop culture can also help you level up your legal practice? Here are a few of our recommendations for when you’re looking to stay sharp while winding down.
Movie: A Few Good Men
This 90s classic features a young Tom Cruise as a precocious (if slightly arrogant) lawyer tasked with defending two Marines believed to have committed a murder.
With Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, and Kiefer Sutherland as supporting characters, it’s a star-studded cast, but the film has substance, too.
There’s lots of discourse surrounding this one, from the four different lawyers who claim it’s based on them to legal experts agreeing to disagree as to the accuracy of the courtroom scenes. To decide whether you think Cruise offers up a viable defense, you’ll have to watch for yourself.
Book: Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
You’re likely familiar with the Equal Justice Initiative. But do you know its founding story? Just Mercy is EJI founder Bryan Stevenson’s story of how it all came about; and it’s powerfully interspersed with a specific case, that of Water McMillan, a black man wrongfully sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. It’ll likely leave you grateful that you’re in the position to help people like McMillan and galvanized to do even more to fight for justice.
Book: I Have Some Question for You, Rebecca Makkai
This novel follows the life of Bodie Kane, a film professor and successful podcaster who returns to her high school–an elite boarding school in New Hampshire–ostensibly to teach a month-long seminar. As the book progresses, an ulterior motive for her presence on campus becomes apparent: she’s still reckoning with the murder of her former roommate, Thalia–and convinced the state of New Hampshire put the wrong person behind bars. It’s packed with legal intrigue, topical references, and philosophical questions–but also a page-turning thriller that’ll keep you up all night.
TV show: Love & Death
Love & Death is ostensibly about an affair, but it’s based on an actual criminal case. In 1980 in Texas, Candy Montgomery murdered Betty Gore, the wife of the man with whom she was having an affair. When evidence quickly points to Candy as the killer, she hires a friend of hers–a personal injury lawyer that’s never tried a criminal case–to defend her. As expected, courtroom chaos ensues, but you’ll have to watch until the end for the verdict.
TV show: How to Get Away with Murder
An HBO classic, How to Get Away with Murder delves deep into the world of criminal defense (or Shonda Rhimes’ glamourized version of it–which, let’s be honest, is a lot more fun). Criminal defense lawyer Annalise Keating brings five law students into a cohort dedicated to helping her defend a woman accused of killing her boyfriend. But as the show progresses, the students themselves become suspects–and the line between what’s lawful and what isn’t becomes increasingly blurred.
Podcast: Slow Burn
Like Love & Death, podcast Slow Burn isn’t exclusively legal, but it still offers up its fair share of insights. Season 7 focuses on Roe V. Wade, the landmark abortion case that has found itself in jeopardy in recent years due to the 2022 vote to overturn the ruling. Slow Burn explores the history of the case and the far-reaching impacts of the Supreme Court ruling. The podcast is meticulously researched and intersperses archival recordings with recent interviews with politicians, activists, and lawyers. It’s a fascinating–if unsettling–listen.
That’s all for now! Stay tuned for our next edition of Marble Recommends, where we’ll share our favorite Networking Events, CLEs, and much more.
