Legal dramas have long been popular subjects for popular culture media. In the early days, television and film lawyers were typically portrayed as upstanding citizens but the recent trend has been to show lawyers in a less flattering light. UCLA Professor of Law Michael Asimow believes this is problematic. In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies, Asimow discusses that while the depiction of lawyers in film is a reflection of popular opinion, it is also a force for the formation of new opinions, with perhaps unintended consequences. Columbia Law Professor William Simon also examines how lawyers are depicted in popular culture but presents a different viewpoint. In Moral Pluck:Legal Ethics in Popular Culture, Simon discusses a public morality that is accepting of ethical rule breaking when in the interest of correcting injustice, and seems to suggest that the study of popular culture might lend itself to revisions in ethics standards. Both authors seem to agree that the public perception of what is ethical and moral behavior for lawyers may be different than the state perceives it is or should be, but while Asimow suggests popular culture tends to put down lawyers, Simon suggests popular culture tends to make heroes of them. Although these seem to be opposing views, they both emphasize the important role that popular culture can play in measuring and determining ethical standards.
In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies Asimow examines the portrayal of lawyers in films from 1929 through 1999, as well as those on television from Perry Mason in the late 1950’s and 1960’s to (then) present day shows such as The Practice and Law and Order. Asimow outlines theories for causes of the dec...
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... and therefore have potential consequences perhaps film-makers should be mindful of these effects. Simon also recognizes that popular culture can have influence but suggests that rather than changing popular culture to drive public opinion, it is important to study it to gauge public opinion of ethics and morals and could be used to influence the standards on which rules of ethics are based. Both articles offer compelling arguments about the importance of popular culture to both the study and the formation of legal ethical standards.
Works Cited
Asimow, Michael. " Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers In The Movies." Nova Law Review (n.d.): 24 Nova L. Rev.533. LexisNexisAcademic. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Simon, William H. "Moral Pluck: Legal Ethics In Popular Culture." Columbia Law Review 101.2 (2001): 421. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Grisham, John. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. First ed. Vol. 1. New York, New York: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2010. Print. The Boone Ser.
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