Lawyers and Popular Culture

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POPULAR CULTURE
AND
PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF LAWYERS



















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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 4
I. POPULAR CULTURE CHANGES OVER TIME ................................................................ 5
THE SILVER SCREEN ............................................................................................................... 5
THE GOOD .......................................................................................................................... 6
THE BAD ............................................................................................................................. 6
THE UGLY ........................................................................................................................... 7
THE IDIOT BOX ....................................................................................................................... 7
II. IMPACT ON THE AVERAGE VIEWER............................................................................ 9
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 11
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 12












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INTRODUCTION
“Image is everything!” says professional tennis champion Andre Agassi in a popular
television commercial that exudes confidence or arrogance, depending on your perspective.
1

Irrespective, a good public image is always a desirable goal for every profession and lawyers
are no exception. Lawyers have always struggled with the way they are perceived. Though
the legal profession has never really been loved, at least they were respected and sometimes
admired in the past.
2
However, that is not the case now. This is evident right from the
countless lawyer jokes doing the rounds, movies portraying the lawyer in bad light and
surveys reporting the declining popularity of the legal profession.
Lawyer bashing is, of course, not new. Saint Luke said in the New Testament: “Woe unto you
also, ye lawyers! for ye laid men with burdens grievous to be borne..”
3
Shakespeare‟s “let’s
kill all the lawyers”
4
and Sir Thomas More‟s exclusion of lawyers from his utopia because
they are “a sort of people, whose profession it is to disguise matters”
5
have only added to the
list of authors who despise the profession.

If we are to determine why the public perception of lawyers is so pessimistic and why lawyer
bashing has become so popular, we must draw our attention to the media and more
specifically motion pictures and television shows. But the question that arises is „does
popular culture shape the public perception of lawyers?‟ Or does it simply mirror and
reinforce the notions of the audience? Can the public distinguish fictional characters from
real life situations? In other worlds can they separate “reel life” from real life?
6

Through the course of this paper the researcher wishes to analyze the impact of popular
culture on the public perception of lawyers. The first section of the paper deals with the
changing popular culture. The cult movies and popular shows that played an integral part in
influencing viewers are also examined in this section in order to illustrate this. The second
section considers the influence of popular culture on the minds of the average viewer.

1
Gary A. Hengstler, VOX POPULI: The Public Perception of Lawyers: ABA Poll, 79 ABA JOURNAL 60, 60
(1993).
2
Michael Asimow, Bad lawyers in Movies, 24 NOVA LAW REVIEW 533,537 (1999-2000).
3
Luke 11:46.
4
W. Shakespeare, Henry VI, pt. 2, act 4, sc. 2, line 68.
5
T. More, UTOPIA, 128 ( More, 1821).
6
David M. Spitz, Heroes Or Villains? Moral Struggles Vs Ethical Dilemmas: An Examination Of Dramatic
Portrayals of Lawyers and Legal Profession In Popular Culture, 24 NOVA LAW REVIEW 725, 728 (1999-2000).
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AIM
The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between popular culture and the public
perception of lawyers.
SCOPE
The scope of this paper is confined to the analysis of the effect of popular culture on the
public perception of lawyers in the United States as the movies and television shows talked
about are produced there. In addition to this, the popular culture spoken of is limited to the
media of television shows and motion pictures.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How and why does popular culture change over time?
2. How does popular culture influence the average viewer?
SOURCES OF DATA
The researcher has placed reliance on primary as well as secondary sources of data.
STYLE OF WRITING
This paper has followed a descriptive and analytical style of writing.
MODE OF CITATION
A uniform NLS mode of citation has been followed.





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I. POPULAR CULTURE CHANGES OVER TIME

Firstly what is popular culture? The term „popular culture‟ refers to the values and opinions
held by the ordinary people of the society. “Popular culture also embraces ‘culture’ in the
sense of books, songs, movies, plays, television shows and similar mediums and more
specifically to those works of imagination whose intended audience is the public as a
whole.”
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THE SILVER SCREEN

The law and cinema have had a lengthy love affair. While movies making reference to
lawyers or intertwining the law into the main plot are plenty in number, there has been a
declining trend in the way lawyers are characterized.
In the period before the 1970s, lawyers were portrayed as honest, moral beings with immense
regard for the law. However after the 1970s, there was a distinct ideological shift in the way
lawyers were illustrated. Many associate this decline in public esteem with the Watergate
scandal
8
, where most of the protagonists were lawyers.
9
Hence, the Watergate scandal proved
to be a turning point, as movie portrayals of lawyers post 1970s took a turn for the worse.
This trend was exacerbated by the O.J. Simpson trial
10
in 1995, which was perceived as a
miscarriage of justice and further dropped the image of lawyers in the eyes of the public. In
such a situation, cinematic depiction of lawyers went from bad to worse.

7
Id. At 729.
8
The Watergate scandal was a United States political scandal in the 1970s wherein the break-in at
the Democratic National Committee office and the subsequent cover up by the Nixon administration regarding
their involvement led the U.S President Richard Nixon to resign. The scandal also resulted in the conviction of
Nixon's top administration officials.
9
William G. Hyland, Jr., Creative Malpractice: The Cinematic Lawyer, 9 TEXAS REVIEW OF ENTERTAINMENT &
SPORTS LAW 231, 236 (2007-2008).
10
People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson, 1995 WL 2176 (California Superior Court)
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THE GOOD
The pre-Watergate lawyer was skilful, ethical and devoted to his clients. To Kill a
Mockingbird,
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a cult movie of its era, depicted Atticus Finch as a righteous and selfless
lawyer defending the rights of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman in the
racism infused society of the 1930s. There isn‟t a more lauded portrayal of a heroic lawyer.
An epitome of strength and fairness, lawyer portrayals like Atticus Finch inspired public
confidence towards the profession. Anatomy of a Murder
12
is another such movie that
portrays pre-Watergate lawyers favourably. It is considered to be one of the most compelling
courtroom dramas enticing the audience with articulate attorneys and an authentic law based
plot.
13
Apart from this, movies like Inherit the Wind,
14
A Man for All Seasons
15
and 12 Angry
Men
16
showed the audiences that the legal profession is a noble one and that lawyers are
willing to fight for justice, no matter what the price.
THE BAD
The themes of movies post the1970s shifted from justice, equality and morality to corruption,
dishonesty and institutional bribery.
17
The role of the Watergate scandal in this scenario
cannot be overstated. All public officials, including lawyers, were looked down upon by the
masses. This image was further aggravated by movies like The Verdict
18
, And Justice for
All
19
, Absence of Malice
20
and Body Heat.
21
The Verdict was one such movie that features its
protagonist, Frank Galvin, as an alcoholic ambulance casing attorney. Such portrayals
reinforce the public‟s perception that “lawyers are predatory, selfish and incessantly in
search of the almighty buck.”
22
And Justice for All portrays a lawyer coerced into defending
an arrogant judge charged with rape due to his own misconduct. This movie brings out ethical
violations on part of both, the judge and the attorney. Retrospectively, movies of this era put

11
Universal International Pictures (1972).
12
Columbia Pictures Corp. (1959).
13
Hyland, supra note11 at 242.
14
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayor (1960).
15
Columbia Pictures (1966).
16
United Artists (1957).
17
Hyland, supra note at 247.
18
20
th
Century Fox (1982).
19
Columbia Pictures (1979).
20
Columbia Pictures (1981).
21
Warner Bros. (1981).
22
Spitz, supra note 6 at 745.
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forward a dark, complex and often disturbing image of lawyers and this negatively impacted
the way lawyers were perceived.
THE UGLY
In the 1990s, with the highly publicized O.J. Simpson trial
23
cinematic portrayals of lawyers
went from bad to worse. Movies of this category include, but are not limited to The Firm
24
,
The Rainmaker
25
, The Devil’s Advocate
26
, Guilty as Sin
27
, Philadelphia.
28
The Firm portrayed
a corrupt law firm to be a cover for organized crime and murder forcing young associates to
either join their cult or lose everything. In Philadelphia, another movie with the law firm
playing a villainous role, gay lawyer Andrew Bucket is fired because he has AIDS. In the law
suit that follows, Andrew is outnumbered by an array of cold, arrogant and hard-nosed
defence attorneys. Movies of this time stamped lawyers and law firms as evil and this image
is imprinted in the mind of the audience even today.
THE IDIOT BOX
Television shows dealing with lawyers, more often than not, portray them in much better
light than the movies. Following the trend in movies, television shows early on in the 1950s
and 1960s like Perry Mason
29
, The Defenders
30
and Owen Marshal
31
presented a positive
image of lawyers by depicting them as heroic criminal defenders in their profession lives and
happy family men in their private lives.
In recent times, shows like L.A Law
32
portrays its lawyers to be young, powerful and
physically attractive creating an exaggerated image of lawyers, not by portraying them
negatively but by creating unjustified expectations. Then comes Suits
33
, easily the most
popular fictional legal show on television today. Set in an upscale law firm in New York
City, the lawyers here are suave, witty and always ready with a solution. They sugar coat the
legal world, making it look like a glamorous profession. The portrayal of a well heeled

23
People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson, 1995 WL 2176 (California Superior Court).
24
Paramount Pictures (1993).
25
Paramount Pictures (1997).
26
Warner Bros. (1997).
27
Buena Vista Pictures (1993).
28
TriStar Pictures (1993).
29
Perry Mason originally aired on CBS.
30
The Defenders originally aired on CBS.
31
Owen Marshal originally aired on ABC.
32
LA. Law originally aired on NBC.
33
Suits originally aired on USA network.
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attorney combined with the high salaries of young associates at law firms creates the image
that lawyers are greedy and motivated solely by monetary gains.
34
This is not to say that there
aren‟t any negative portrayals of lawyers on television, it just so happens that the suave and
silver tongued lawyer portrayal is more prevalent in the television industry.
Though the television illustrates lawyers in a better light, more often than not they glorify
them to an exaggerated extent. This is prevalent right from the time of Percy Mason and the
current favourite Suits. One of the possible reasons why lawyers are portrayed more
favourably on TV could be the fact that the characters must be relatable for the general
public; otherwise they will not follow the show. The audience should be able to empathize
with the characters. They require the audience to connect with the protagonist. It is not the
same in the case of movies, as they are more plot driven and less character-centric. While
movies and television portray lawyers in a different manner, the effect remains the same.
Movies blatantly portray lawyers negatively whereas television does so by creating
unrealistic images of lawyers, disappointing the masses when they find such an image to be
false.












34
Leonard E. Gross, The Public Hates Lawyers: Why Should We Care?, 29 SECTION HALL LAW REVIEW 1405,
1424 (1998-1999).
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II. IMPACT ON THE AVERAGE VIEWER

The media of popular culture are the most powerful and persuasive teachers apart from actual
personal experience. If this was not the case, advertisers would not be wasting large sums of
money on inserting ideas in the minds of the masses through television commercials.
35
The
message put across by such media has a dramatic effect on the audience, irrespective of its
authenticity. At the same time, just as repetitive promotion has an effect on the minds of the
consumers, if viewers are constantly exposed to media portraying negative stereotypes of
lawyers; it is bound to have some impact, even if it is on a subconscious level.
We are constantly forming our opinions based on the popular culture that surrounds us.
More often than not people base their opinions not on facts but the popular culture that they
are exposed to. A lay person‟s knowledge about the law and lawyers is limited and most of
them have never consulted a lawyer and never had a first-hand experience of how the legal
system works. Their information is second hand.
36
For a lay man who has never had a brush
with the legal system, he forms his opinion about the law as well as lawyers based on the
television shows and movies that he watches, which more often than not portray lawyers
negatively.
This theory is supported by the „cultivation effect‟ which contends that heavy viewers of
television and movies believe the world to be a „meaner‟ place compared to light viewers.
37

They also think that “there are far more police officers, lawyers or prostitutes, and far more
alcoholism or drug abuse.”
38
Psychologists believe there is a strong correlation between
belief formation and heavy television watching. This is related to what they call a „heuristic
process model‟ which involves snap judgement by a consumer which does not discriminate
between real events and fictional portrayals.
39
The more vivid the description more is the
likelihood of it being remembered. As well edited movies and shows tend to be vivid, such
images tend to be imprinted in the minds of the viewers. In such a situation, popular culture
moulds the way lawyers are thought of at a conceptual level and heavy exposure to popular
culture has the potential to change one‟s opinion.

35
Asimow, supra note 2 at 550.
36
Lawrence M. Friedman, Law, Lawyers and Popular Culture, 98 YALE LAW JOURNAL 1579, 1593 (1989).
37
Asimow, supra note 2 at 554.
38
Asimow, supra note at 554.
39
Asimow, supra note at 554.
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Lawyers are considered to be unethical, immoral and greedy creatures, looking out only for
themselves, not giving their client much priority. Popular culture reinforces this image.
These images remain long after the plot is forgotten. Since millions more are exposed to
popular culture than those who will ever witness the legal system in its actuality, the public
believes the portrayals to be true and fails to make a distinction between fiction and reality.
Even personal experiences with lawyers do not do much to change this image. If the
experience is favourable, it is considered to be an exception and if it is unfavourable it adds to
the negative belief.
40

The fact that lawyer based movies and television shows turn out to be commercially
successful is witness to the fact that people are curious about lawyers. The tension of a court
room scene, the glamorous lives of hot-shot corporate lawyers and intricate plots bringing
forward moral questions that lawyers face in their daily lives arouse the interests of the
viewers. As lawyers are often already disliked by people, film makers cash in on this notion
by producing movies with lawyers in bad light so as to draw the attention of the public and
make it a box office success. This formula has worked on more occasions than one and in all
probability shall continue to work in the future.












40
Asimow, supra note 2 at 552.
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CONCLUSION

Writing in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville stated: “as the lawyers form the only enlightened
class whom the people do not mistrust, they are naturally called upon to occupy most of the
public stations.”
41
Nobody would even think of saying that today. While the sharp ideological
drop in the way lawyers are perceived could be attributed to a variety of reasons, the role of
popular culture is undeniable.
Lawyer portrayals have shifted from the ethical, heroic lawyer fighting for the rights of the
suppressed to unscrupulous „liars‟ hungry for money. With the passage of time, this image
has gotten from bad to worse. Such portrayals have major implications on the public
perception of lawyers as movies and television shows form an integral source of the legal
system for the average viewer. This has caused the audience to not hold lawyers in high
esteem and regard them to be as negative as their portrayals.
Popular culture seeks inspiration from deep rooted beliefs of our society. So while the story
lines and plots of movies and television shows are works of fiction, the movie makers, part of
the public themselves, attempt to portray the reality, albeit in a distorted and exaggerated
manner. So, while the popular culture influences the public perception, the public perception
also makes its impact on how popular culture is portrayed. In such a vicious circle of
interdependence, the two mirror and reinforce ideas put forth by either sides.
Entertainment does more than just provide entertainment. It is a source of information that
assists in moulding the image of the subject matter that it seeks to portray. This creates a
responsibility on behalf of the creator of such entertainment. So while these creators reflect
the negative perception of lawyers, there must be a limit to their creative licence, on their
liberty to exaggerate for the sake of collections, otherwise lawyers are doomed for life. As
discussed in the paper, the masses depend heavily on popular culture to form their opinions,
so as long as there is negative portrayal of lawyers there will be negative perception of
lawyers.


41
Alexis De Tocqueville, DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, 279 ( Bradley ed. 1945) as cited in Michael Asimow, Bad
lawyers in Movies, 24 NOVA LAW REVIEW 533,543 (1999-2000).
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
ARTICLES:
1. Gary A. Hengstler, “VOX POPULI: The Public Perception of Lawyers: ABA Poll,
79, ABA Journal, 60 (1993)
2. David M. Spitz, “Heroes Or Villains? Moral Struggles Vs Ethical Dilemmas: An
Examination Of Dramatic Portrayals Of Lawyers And Legal Profession In Popular
Culture, 24, Nova Law Review, 725, 728 (1999-2000)
3. William G. Hyland, Jr., “Creative Malpractice: The Cinematic Lawyer”, 9, Texas
Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, 231, 236 (2007-2008)
4. Leonard E. Gross, “The Public Hates Lawyers: Why Should We Care?”, 29, Section
Hall Law Review, 1405,1424 (1998-1999)
5. Michael Asimow, “Bad lawyers in Movies”, 24, Nova Law Review, 533,550 (1999-
2000)
6. Lawrence M. Friedman, “Law, Lawyers and Popular Culture”, 98, Yale Law Journal,
1579, 1593 (1989)
7. Ronald D. Rotanda, “The Legal Profession and the Public Image of lawyers”, 23 J.
Legal Prof. 51 (1999)
8. Robert C. Post, “On the Popular Image of the Lawyer: Reflections in a Dark Glass”,
75, California Law Review (1987)
9. Naomi Mezey, Mark C. Niles, “Screening the Law: Ideology and Law in American
Popular Culture” 28 Columbia Journal of Law and Arts (2004-2005)

BOOKS:
1. Thomas More, Utopia ( Louvain: More, 1821)
2. Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London: Saunders and Otley 1835)



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