The University of Texas at Austin

Law in Popular Culture collection

Legal Studies Forum
Volume 22, Number 1/2/3 (1998)
reprinted by permission Legal Studies Forum

PORTIA AND HER PARTNERS IN POPULAR CULTURE: 
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH

CHRISTINE  ALICE CORCOS*

     The popular image of women lawyers is suddenly much in the news and the subject of scholarly writing. Apart from the fascination with Portia, who though she was a successful advocate was not a member of any bar, thoughtful portrayals of women lawyers are not much in evidence. As Ric Sheffield points out in his article On Film: A Social History of Women Lawyers in Popular Culture 1930 to 1970, women lawyers are basically formulaic creatures. "The presence of women attorneys in American cinematic fare, while generally inauspicious, began and remained noteworthy, primarily for marketing purposes."1 
     In an attempt to encourage further investigation, this essay presents materials and resources for exploring the image of female attorneys in popular culture. The interest in the portrayal of women attorneys in film follows upon the entrance of women in the legal profession in signficant numbers (and in many countries).2
     Some cinematic women lawyers have received significant comment, among them Amanda Bonner of Adam's Rib, Teddi Barnes of Jagged Edge, Reggie Love of The Client and Carolyn Pohlhemus of Presumed Innocent. Bonner's independence has been praised, Barnes' and Love's lack of ethics criticized, and Pohlhemus' ambition denounced.
     The negative image of women lawyers in popular culture is fairly widespread and is the subject of frequent commentary. Mona Harrington's Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules, cited below, contains an excellent chapter on the image of women lawyers in the media.
     In addition to the materials on women attorneys portrayed in film and television dramas, many books and articles discuss the image of women in popular culture generally. Molly Haskell's From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies (2d ed. 1987), is a classic examination of the image of women in film, and Kathleen Rowe, The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter (1995) is also helpful. 
 


[269]

Reference works that might help the researcher on women lawyers in film and television include the titles listed below. 
 


GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS

Galerstein, Carolyn L., WORKING WOMEN ON THE HOLLYWOOD SCREEN: A FILMOGRAPHY (1989).

Mastrangelo, Paul J., Lawyers and the Law: A Television Filmography, 8 Legal Ref. Serv. Q. 135 (1988).

Mastrangelo, Paul J., Lawyers and the Law: A Filmography II, 5 Legal Ref. Serv. Q. 5 (1985).

McNeil, Alex, TOTAL TELEVISION: THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO PROGRAMMING FROM 1948 TO THE PRESENT (3d ed., 1996).
 


WOMEN LAWYERS ONSCREEN

Babicoff, Richard, How far have you come, baby? Women lawyers on TV, in movies show that it hasn't been far enough, 100 L. A. Daily J. 4 (December 21, 1987).

Corcos, Christine A., Civil Wars, in Robert Jarvis and Paul Joseph (eds.), PRIME TIME LAW (1998)

Diggs, Terry Kay, No way to treat a lawyer; when screen lawyers are women, Hollywood changes the rules, Cal. Law., December 1992, at 48. 

Goff, David H., Lynda Dysart Goff, and Sara Kay Lehrer, Sex-role Portrayals of Selected Female Television Characters, 24 J. Broadcasting 467 (1980).

Goldberg, Stephanie Benson, Bar Girls? Images of Women Lawyers on TV Slowly Improving, Panel Says, 76 A.B.A. J. 41 (April 1990). 

Graham, Louise Everett and Geraldine Maschio, A False Public Sentiment: Narrative and Visual Images of Women Lawyers in Film, 84 Ky. L.J. 1027 (1996) (Discussion of Adam's Rib, The Accused, Music Box, The Client, and Class Action.) 

[270]

Harrington, Mona, Media, in WOMEN LAWYERS: REWRITING THE RULES (NY: Plume Books, 1995), at 151-170.

Lucia, Cynthia, Women on Trial: The Female Lawyer in the Hollywood Courtroom, 19 Cinéaste 32 (1991).

Ray, Laura Krugman, Judicial Fictions: Images of Supreme Court Justices in the Novel, Drama and Film, 39 Ariz. L. Rev. 151 (1997).

Seibel, Deborah Starr, Outrageous Lawyers: A Crop of Television Lawyers Takes On the Real World, Chi. Tribune, April 28, 1991, Womanews Section, at 11.

Shapiro, Carole, A Woman Lawyer's Perspective on Film, N.Y.L.J., February 7, 1994, at 2.

Shapiro, Carole, Women lawyers in celluloid: Why Hollywood skirts the truth, 25 U. Tol. L. Rev. 955 (1994).

Sheffield, Ric S., On film: a social history of women lawyers in popular culture 1930 to 1990, 14 Loy. L.A. Ent. L.J. 73 (Fall 1993).

Tillotson, Kristin, Pop Stand: Women make strides in law; but not in la-la land, Minn. Star-Tribune, October 26, 1997, at 1F.

Weiss, Elaine, Who's Missing in this Picture? Why Movies and Television Have Ignored Women Lawyers, 16 Barrister 4 (January 1989).
 


PARTICULAR CHARACTERS, FILMS AND SHOWS

The Accused3

Carr, Jay, Creating Fiction That's Based on Fact, Boston Globe, February 5, 1989, Arts & Film Section, at 73. 

[271]

Fleck, Patrice, The Silencing of Women in the Hollywood "Feminist" Film: The Accused, 9 Post Script 49 (Summer 1990).

Johnson, Brian D., The Reality of Rape, Maclean's, October 24, 1988, at 60.

Toby, Jackson, Should Film Makers Never Choose Myth Over Fact? L. A. Times, December 18, 1988, Part 5, at 5.

Trott, William C., Rape Movie Backlash, (UPI, September 10, 1988, PM Cycle).

Adam's Rib

Cavell, Stanley, PURSUITS OF HAPPINESS (1981), particularly pp. 193-199.

The Client

Grant, Judith, Lawyers and Super Heroes: The Firm, The Client, and Pelican Brief 30 U.S.F. L. Rev. 1111 (1996).

Johnson, Marcia A., "Ethics" at the Movies, 10 Bench & Bar of Minn. 13 (November 1994).

Degree of Guilt

Hodges, Ann, Legal Thrillers Lose Zing in Miniseries, Houston Chron., October 27, 1995, at 3.

Disclosure

Diggs, Terry Kay, Disclosure and the Packwood Affair, Legal Times, September 18, 1995, at 67.

Hill Street Blues

Jenkins, Steve, Hill Street Blues, in MTM: "Quality Television" 183 (J. Feuer, P. Kerr & T. Vahimagi eds., 1984).

[272]

In the Name of the Father

Blum, Caroline Patty, Images of Lawyering and Political Activism in In the Name of the Father, 30 U.S.F. L. Rev. 1065 (1996).

L. A. Law (television drama)4

Aarsvold, Patrica, L.A. Law producing wardrobe role models for female attorneys, L. A. Daily J., February 21, 1990, at S12.

Glass, Diane M., Portia in Primetime: Women Lawyers, Television, and L. A. Law, 2 Yale J. L. & Feminism 371 (1990).

Kort, Michelle, Terry Louise Fisher: How She Dreamed Up the Women of L. A. Law, Ms., June 1987, at 38.

Laurence, Robert P., L. A. Law's Legal Ground Gets Shakier, San Diego Union-Trib., August 23, 1993, at E7.

LeSourd, Nancy Oliver, Faith in an unlikely place, 15 Christian Legal Soc'y Q. 14 (Spring 1994).

Mayne, Judith, L. A. Law and Prime-Time Feminism, 10 Discourse 30 (Spring/Summer 1988).

Miller, Mary Jane, Inflecting the Formula: The First Seasons of Street Legal and L.A. Law, in David H. Flaherty and Frank E. Manning (eds.), THE BEAVER BITES BACK?: AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE IN CANADA 104 (1993).

Minkowitz, Donna, A Lesbian on L. A. Law? L. A. Daily J., March 27, 1991, at 6.

Rosen, Robert E., Ethical Soap: L. A. Law and the Privileging of Character, 43 U. Miami L. Rev. 1229 (1989).

[273]

Presumed Innocent

Corcos, Christine A., Presuming Innocence: Alan Pakula and Scott Turow Take On the Great American Legal Fiction, 22 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 129 (1997).

 Jones, Amelia, "She Was Bad News": Male Paranoia and the Contemporary New Woman, 25/26 Camera Obscura 297 (1991).

Miller, Carolyn Lisa, Note: "What a Waste. Beautiful, Sexy Gal. Hell of a Lawyer": Film and the Female Attorney, 4 Colum. J. Gender & L. 203 (1994). 

The Prosecutors (television drama)

Werts, Diane, A Case for Prosecutors: Hey, NBC, This Has the Makings of a Series, Newsday, December 2, 1996, at B21.

Sara (television drama)

Eisler, Kim Isaac, "Sara" Team Faces Challenge of Mixing Lawyers With Comedy; Creators Find Legal Community Wants a Positive Image, L. A. Daily J., February 1, 1985, at B1.

Wise, Stuart M., Trials and Tribulations of a TV Attorney, Nat'l L.J., January 28, 1985, at 43.

Street Legal (television drama)

Peacock, Karen, A Canadian L. A. Law, Eh? Legal Times, December 19, 1988, at 42.

Turbide, Diane, Sex and Intrigue, Maclean's, March 5, 1990, at 62.
 


PORTIA AND THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

     Portia is arguably the most recognizable female "attorney" in fiction. While the literature on The Merchant of Venice is too vast to outline here, some recent useful articles and books examining Portia's advocacy and her legal argument are listed below.

[274]

Benston, Alice N., Portia, the Law and the Tripartite Structure of The Merchant of Venice, 30 Shakespeare Quart. 367 (1979).

Bernthal, Craig Allen, "In Danger For the Breach of Law": Trial Scenes in Shakespeare's Henry VI, The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure (Dissertation, Michigan State University, 1988).

Bloom, Harold (ed.), WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (1986). 

Boose, Lynda E., The Comic Contract and Portia's Golden Ring, 20 Shakespeare Stud. 241 (1988).

Cowen, Ezek, Shylock v. Antonio, 5 Alb. L. J. 193 (1872).

Dennis, W. A., Portia as an Exemplar, 21 Case & Comment 580 (1914).

Foard, James T., On the Law Case: Shylock v. Antonio, 1899 Manchester Quart. 268.

Geary, Keith, The Nature of Portia's Victory: Turning to Men in The Merchant of Venice, 37 Shakespeare Survey 55 (1984).

Halio, Jay L., Portia: Shakespeare's Matlock? 5 Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 57 (1993).

Hamill, Monica J., Poetry, Law, and the Pursuit of Perfection: Portia's Role in The Merchant of Venice, 18 Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 229 (1978).

Hegedus, Geza, The Merchant of Venice and Problems of Civil Law in the Renaissance, 5 New Hungarian Quart. 33 (1964).

Hirschfield, Julius, Portia's Judgment and German Jurisprudence, 30 Law Quart. Rev. 167 (1914).

Howard, Leon, Portia's Reasoning in the Trial Scene of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in 73 Studies Presented to Tauno F. Mustanoja on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday 103 (1972).

Hutchcraft, R. B., Shylock v. Antonio, 4 Ky. L. J. 10 (1916).

[275]

Huvelin, Paul, Le Procès de Shylock dans Le Marchand de Venise de Shakespeare, 1901/1902 Bulletin de la Société des Amis de l'Université de Lyon 173.

Inoue, S., Hotei no Portia: Shakespeare no Saiban Hichyo, 129 Eigo Seinin 478 (1984).

Klingspon, Ron, Play and Interplay in the Trial Scene of The Merchant of Venice, 9 Thalia: Studies in Literary Humor 36 (Spring/Summer 1986).

 Koelb, Clayton, The Bonds of Flesh and Blood: Having It Both Ways in The Merchant of Venice, 5 Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 107 (1993).

Law in the Trial Scene, in William Shakespeare, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 403 (New Variorum Edition 1964).

Love, J. M., A Lawyer's Commentary on Shylock v. Antonio, 25 Am. L. Rev. 899 (1891).

Lucking, David, Standing For Sacrifice: The Casket and Trial Scene in The Merchant of Venice, 58 U. Toronto Quart. 355 (1989).

MacKay, Maxine, The Merchant of Venice: A Reflection of the Early Conflict Between Courts of Law and Courts of Equity, 15 Shakespeare Quart. 371 (1964).

Mackenzie, J. B., The Law and Procedure in The Merchant of Venice, 16 Green Bag 604 (1904).

Maslow, Feminism and Adaptive Heroinism: The Paradigm of Portia as a Means of Introduction, 25 Tulsa L. J. 657 (1990).

Morris, Harry, The Judgment Theme in The Merchant of Venice, 39 Renascence 292 (Fall 1986).

Newman, Karen, Portia's Ring: Unruly Women and Structures of Exchange in The Merchant of Venice, 38 Shakespeare Quart. 19 (Spring 1987).

Normand, Lord, Portia's Judgment, 10 U. Edinburgh J. 43 (1939).

[276]

Oldrieve, Susan, Marginalized Voices in The Merchant of Venice, 5 Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 87 (1993).

Phelps, Charles Henry, Shylock v. Antonio: Brief For Plaintiff in Appeal, 57 Atlantic Monthly 463 (1886).

Pollock, Frederick, A Note on Shylock v. Antonio, 30 Law Quarterly Review 175 (1914). Reprinted in part in Frederick Pollock, ESSAYS IN THE LAW (1922) at 196-198.

Portia' Status, 87 Justice of the Peace 108 (1923).

 "S., E. F.", Portia as a Judge, Weekly Westminster Gazette, February 3, 1923, at 12.

Saxe, David B., Shylock, Portia, and a Case of Literary Oppression, 5 Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 115 (1993).

Schotz, Amiel, The Law That Never Was: A Note on The Merchant of Venice, 16 Theatre Research International 249 (1991).

Tucker, E. F. J., The Letter of the Law in The Merchant of Venice, 9 Shakespeare Survey 93 (1976).

Venet, Gisèle, Valeurs et Subversion: The Merchant of Venice, 38 Etudes Anglaises 1 (January/March 1985).

Winternitz, B. A., Shylock v. Antonio Reversed on Appeal, 13 A. B. A. J. 339 (1927).
 


COMMENTARY ON SUSAN GLASPELL'S WORK

     Apart from the character of Portia in The Merchant of Venice, women lawyers are fairly rare in in literature and fiction until the mid-twentieth century. Women as counselors, advocates and factfinders, serving the role of the lawyer, are rather more common. Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers is commonly viewed and cited as a story in which women act as prosecutors, defenders, judges and juries in investigating the probable murder of a husband by his wife. A substantial body of literature has developed comment on Glaspell's tale. 

[277]

Alkalay-Gut, Karen, A Jury of Her Peers: The Importance of Trifles, 21 Studies in Short Fiction 1 (Winter 1984).

Ben-Zvi, Linda, "Murder, She Wrote": The Genesis of Susan Glaspell's Trifles, 44 Theatre J. 141 (May 1992). 

Carroll, Kathleen Linda, CENTERING WOMEN ONSTAGE: SUSAN GLASPELL'S DIALOGIC STRATEGY OF RESISTANCE (Dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, 1991).

Corey, Anne Selman, SUSAN GLASPELL, PLAYWRIGHT OF SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS (Dissertation, New York University, 1991).

Hedges, Elaine, Small Things Reconsidered: Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers, 12 Women's Stud. 89 (1986).

Mael, Phyllis, Trifles: The Path To Sisterhood, 17 Literature/Film Quart. 281 (1989).

Mustazza, Leonard, Generic Translation and Thematic Shift in Susan Glaspell's Trifles and A Jury of Her Peers, 26 Stud. Short Fiction 489 (Fall 1989).

Oziebolo, Barbara, Rebellion and Rejection: The Plays of Susan Glaspell, in June Schlueter (ed.), MODERN AMERICAN DRAMA: THE FEMALE CANON 66 (1990).

Smith, Beverly A., Women's Work--Trifles? The Skill and Insights of Playwright Susan Glaspell, 5 Int. J. Women's Stud. 172 (March/April 1982).
 


TWENTIETH CENTURY WOMEN ATTORNEYS IN FICTION

     Valerie Frances Diamond’s annotated bibliography of women lawyers in fiction (focusing on mysteries and thrillers), Women in Law: A Novel Approach: 1980-19965 is a basic resource. Other useful bibliographic tools for locating novels about women lawyers include: Bernard A. Drew's Heroines: A Bibliography of Women Series Characters in Mystery, Espionage, Action, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Western, 

[278]

Romance and Juvenile Novels6; and Marion Dixon, In Portia's Footsteps: Women Lawyers in Literature.7 More general reference works include Albert J. Menendez's two volumes The Subject Is Murder: A Selective Subject Guide to Mystery Fiction and The Subject Is Murder: A Selective Subject Guide to Mystery Fiction, II.8 
     Diamond's bibliography highlights the fact that many women, including women attorneys, are writing mystery novels. Literary critics have, too date, spent little time analyzing this work. While we have Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan’s The Lady Investigates: Women Detectives and Spies in Fiction9 (a survey of women detectives in nineteenth and twentieth century mystery literature), nothing of this sort has yet been written for women lawyer characters who are disproportionately prominent in mystery and romance fiction.
     Searching the popular and scholarly press for commentary about authors whose work features women attorneys will provide starting points for research. The writers who feature women advocates include: Mary Higgins Clark, Frances Fyfield, Nadine Gordimer, Sarah Gregory, Gini Hartmark, Michael A. Kahn, Lia Matera, John Mortimer, Francis C. J. Roe, Lisa Scottoline, Michael Underwood (the Rosa Epton novels), and Kate Wilhelm (Death Qualified). General collections with essays about various mystery writers including some of those listed below include Women Times Three: Writers, Detectives, Readers (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Press, 1995) and Great Women Mystery Writers: Classic to Contemporary (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994), both edited by Kathleen Gregory Klein. In addition, below is a selection of articles about writers and their female lawyer characters. 

Edwards, Martin, Legal Mysteries, 140 New L.J. 1734 (December 7, 1990)(On the writing of Sarah Caudwell, whose sleuth is the androgynous Hilary Tamar).

Isaac, Frederic, Investigator of Mean Rooms: A Profile of Julie Smith, 15 Clues 1 (Spring/Summer 1991)(Julie Smith's female lawyer detective is San Francisco based Rebecca Schwartz).

McRae, Susan, The Law "Powers" Her Writing Style, L. A. Daly J., December 8, 1994, at 1 (On the writing of Mimi Lavenda Latt).

[279]

Morton, James, Queen of Crime, 140 New Law Journal 1537 (1990)(On Frances Fyfield and her female lawyer sleuth, Helen West).

Taylor, Art, Blood Kin and Bloody Kin: Villainy and Family in the Works of Margaret Maron, 27 Armchair Detective 20 (Winter 1994)(A study of the author of the Judge Deborah Knott novels). 

Taylor, Art, Sister-in-Crime: An Interview with Margaret Maron, 2 North Carolina Literary Review 61 (Spring 1994).

Wise, Daniel, How a Lawyer for the State Made "Yuppie" a Common Word, 194 New York Law Journal 1 (September 20, 1985)(On lawyer Marisa Piesman and her novels).
 


INTERNET RESOURCES

     Useful Internet resources include:

     (1) Marlyn Robinson's University of Texas Law Library Law and Popular Culture Collection web-site10 which includes a comprehensive bibliography of writings on lawyers in popular culture11; 

     (2) Picturing Justice (John Denvir, Paul Joseph, and Rob Waring--web-editors)12 which includes essays on current lawyer films and scholarly commentary on the genre and a forum for discussion of law and lawyes in film; 

     (3) The “Legal Fiction” web-pages of the National Jurist web-site has material on films, television drama, and current movies13; 

     (4) The Centre for the Study of Law Society and Popular Culture has a web-site that posts conference papers and a discussion forum;14

     (5) The listserv for the AALS Section on Law and the Humanities, HUMLAW-L,15 welcomes discussion of law and film.

[280]

FILMS FEATURING WOMEN ATTORNEYS

The Accused (Paramount Home Video, 1989). Female prosecutor (Kelly McGillis) finds another way to get justice for a rape victim (Jodie Foster). Well-acted; based on a real case.

Adam's Rib (1949)(MGM/UA Home Video, 1987). Female attorney (Katharine Hepburn) defends a woman accused of attempted murder in this famous comedy; her courtroom opposition is her husband (Spencer Tracy). Should be required viewing for law students.

And Justice for All (Malton Films, 1979). Righteous lawyer (Al Pacino) involved with female attorney. Ethical problems abound.

Ann Carver's Profession (Columbia Pictures, 1933).

The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (Republic Pictures, 1947)(Republic Pictures Home Video, 1988). Judge Myrna Loy sentences Cary Grant to escort her younger sister Shirley Temple around town. Stars are charming but the story is thin and unbelievable.

The Big Chill (Columbia Pictures, 1983)(Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1996). Group of friends, including a female attorney (Mary Kay Place), come together for a funeral.

The Big Easy (King's Road, 1986)(HBO Video, 1987). Female U. S. attorney investigates crime in New Orleans; falls in love with a charming local cop on the take (Dennis Quaid). Action takes over from the legal angle, especially toward the end of the film; ethical violations also clutter up the plot.

The Burden of Proof (ABC TV Movie)(Starmaker Video, 1995). Defense attorney Sandy Stern (Presumed Innocent) gets involved with an attractive female lawyer. Slow moving but well acted; based on a Scott Turow novel of the same name.

Career Woman (Twentieth Century Fox, 1936).

Class Action (Twentieth Century Fox, 1991)(Fox Home Video, 1991). Female corporate attorney (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) thinks better of her decision to defend a crooked automobile manufacturer and hooks up with her dad, an incorruptable lawyer (Gene Hackman). Some real ethical conflicts in this one.
 


[281]

The Client (Warner, 1994)(Warner Home Video, 1994). Female attorney (Susan Sarandon) takes the case of a young boy in danger from the mob. Like other female film attorneys, Sarandon's character seems none too bright. See the Shapiro article, Women lawyers in celluloid, for more analysis. Later became a television series. 

Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star (Universal Studios, TV Movie, 1991). Columbo investigates the murder of a singer, killed by her attorney lover who enlists the aid of his female partner to cover up the crime. 

Courtin' Trouble (Mono 1949).

Criminal Justice (HBO Video, 1990). A female D.A. tries to convict a rapist. Thoughtful treatment of a difficult ethical situation.

Dangerous Lady (PRC 1941).

The Defense Rests (Columbia Pictures, 1934).

Defenseless (New Visions Pictures)(LIVE Home Video, 1991). A female criminal defense attorney (Barbara Hershey) represents her lover, a sleazy businessman, then finds herself a suspect when he is killed. As usual, she's saved by a good man.

Degree of Guilt (NBC TV Movie, 1995). Based on two novels by lawyer turned author Richard North Patterson, this telefilm features a female lawyer (Daphne Zuñiga) on trial for murdering her husband, and Patricia Kalember as the female judge.

Design for Scandal (MGM, 1942).

Devil's Doorway (MGM, 1950).

A Different Kind of Christmas (Lifetime TV Movie). A female attorney (Shelley Long) rediscovers the meaning of life and love with the assistance of a handsome journalist (Barry Bostwick).

Disbarred (Paramount, 1939).
 


[282]

Disclosure (Warner, 1994)(Warner Home Video, 1995). Man (Michael Douglas) is accused of sexual harassment; his lawyer wife and female attorney stand by him.

Eyes of Texas (Republic Pictures, 1948).

Fair Game (Warner, 1995)(Warner Home Video, 1995). Female attorney (Cindy Crawford) runs from killers, protected by a good looking fellow (William Baldwin). Dispensable.

A Few Good Men (Columbia Pictures, 1992)(Columbia Tristar Home Video, 1993). Female military prosecutor takes a back seat to flamboyant associate, played by Tom Cruise. She's smart but overshadowed by the ambitious Cruise character.

First Monday in October (Paramount, 1981)(Paramount Home Video, 1994). First woman appointed to the Supreme Court (Jill Clayburgh) runs into trouble when her husband's business affairs become public. Walter Matthau is a wonderfully crochety Associate Justice. Fun to see these veterans run through their paces.

Ghostbusters II (1989). In a short scene, female district attorney prosecutes the Ghostbusters (Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd) for impersonating city employees. She's a very unappetizing character.

God Is My Partner (Twentieth Century Fox, 1957).

Good Morning Judge (Universal, 1943).

The Groom Wore Spurs (Universal International, 1951).

Guilty as Sin (Hollywood Pictures Home Video, 1993). Successful female criminal attorney (Rebecca de Mornay) outsmarts herself by taking the case of a manipulative client (Don Johnson) accused of murdering his wife. Ethical problems, relationship problems, legal problems overwhelm the heroine in this one.

I, Jane Doe (Republic Pictures, 1948).

In the Glitter Palace (released as A Woman Accused on videocassette)(Columbia Pictures, 1990)(Raja Films, 1990). Attorney (Chad Everett) defends socialite (Diana Scarwid) accused of murder at the request of lawyer and former girlfriend (Barbara Hershey). Sensitive treatment of the main characters.
 


[283]

In the Name of the Father (Universal, 1993)(MCA/Universal Home Video, 1994). Female barrister (Emma Thompson) takes the case of IRA activists. Some procedural gaffes but a good movie.

Jagged Edge (RCA/Columbia Home Video, 1985). Female corporate attorney (Glenn Glose) defends accused wife-murderer, falls in lust with him, gets him acquitted. She didn't see the problems coming, has to be rescued by old friend who is private investigator (the wonderful Robert Loggia).

The Judge (1949).

The Judge and Jake Wyler (TV Movie, 1972). Female judge (Bette Davis) links up with parolee (Doug McClure) to investigate crimes. Passable.

Just This Once (MGM, 1951).

The Law (NBC TV Movie, 1974-1975). Female judge makes appearance in this grandiose miniseries about a public defender (Judd Hirsch).

The Law in Her Hands (1936).

Legal Eagles (Universal, 1986)(MCA Home Video, 1987). Female attorney and her glamorous new lover (Robert Redford) defend ditzy performance artist. She's a good lawyer, but the Redford character is the rainmaker. 

The Man Who Talked Too Much (Warner, 1941).

Music Box (Carolco, 1989)(Avid Home Entertainment, 1994). Female attorney (Jessica Lange) defends her father who is accused of war crime. She doesn't see the ethical conflicts coming.

Naked Lie (Hearst Entertainment, 1989)(First Choice Video, 1992). Female D.A. (Victoria Principal) prosecutes innocent man for murder of prostitute. Her lover (James Farentino) is the presiding judge. She finally does the right thing after she figures out what's going on; like many female attorney characters she's a little slow and more than a little dominated by her boyfriend, with whom she is having seriously ex parte communications.
 


[284]

The Oldest Living Bridesmaid (Lifetime TV Movie, 1990). Successful woman attorney (Donna Mills) has trouble finding "suitable" boyfriend; finds true love with a younger man.

Other People's Money (Warner, 1991)(Warner Home Video, 1992). Female attorney (Penelope Ann Miller) outsmarts Wall Street takeover wizard (Danny DeVito).

The Pelican Brief (Warner, 1993)(Warner Home Video, 1994). Female law student (Julia Roberts) figures out the conspiracy behind the deaths of two Supreme Court Justices. Denzel Washington saves her from peril.

Perry Mason Returns (CBS TV Movie). Female prosecutor takes on The Great One (Raymond Burr) as he resigns his judicial position and defends Della Street on a charge of murder. (Of course she didn't do it.).

Physical Evidence (1988)(Avid Home Entertainment, 1993). Female public defender (Theresa Russell) does her best for a down and out cop framed for murder. (As played by Burt Reynolds, of course he didn't do it.)

Portia on Trial (Republic Pictures, 1937).

Presumed Innocent (Warner, 1990)(Paramount Home Video, 1991). Prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is framed for the murder of his ex-lover, district attorney Carolyn Pohlhemous (Greta Scacchi). Scacchi is smart, gorgeous and dangerous; Ford is somewhat dim, gorgeous and has a bad haircut.

Primal Fear (Paramount, 1996)(Paramount Home Video, 1996). Criminal defense attorney (Richard Gere) takes on a murder case for the publicity, which brings him into conflict with a former girlfriend, the prosecutor on the case. She's timid but a good lawyer; he's really smarmy.
 


[285]

The Prosecutors (NBC TV Movie, 1996)(Roadshow Entertainment Video, 1997). Two female district attorneys and their lives and loves. Pilot for a series; never picked up by the network although it was written by the reliable Lynda LaPlante (Prime Suspect) and starred Stockard Channing and Michelle Forbes.

Rage of Angels (NBC Television movie, 1983). Trials and tribulations of a lady lawyer (Jaclyn Smith); based on the Sidney Sheldon bestseller. Followed by Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986).

Ransom for a Dead Man (the second Columbo pilot)(Universal Studios, TV Movie, 1971). Lee Grant is the ambitious attorney who kills her husband when he threatens divorce. Male/female attitudes seem, but are not, dated.

Reversal of Fortune (Warner, 1990)(Warner Home Video, 1990). Alan Dershowitz takes the appellate case of Claus von Bulow assisted by various female lawyer former girlfriends and students. Terrific acting, especially by Jeremy Irons as von Bulow.

The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A. (NBC, TV Movie, 1997). Rockford returns to help his ex-wife, a criminal defense attorney, sort out the truth behind a society matron's death. She's a little dim and conflicted; he's the hero.

Scarlet Pages (1930). Sheffield (supra) notes that "[l]ittle is known about this film. It is doubtful that it was widely seen or known, as none of the trade journal carried reviews." Sheffield, at 75, fn. 7.

Seems Like Old Times (Rastar, 1980)(Columbia Home Video, 1981). Public defender Goldie Hawn meets up with her wacky ex-husband (Chevy Chase). She's a do-gooding ditz, but she does it so well!

She Couldn't Say No (Warner, 1941).

Sierra (Universal International, 1951).

Smart Woman (Mono, 1948).

Sparks: The Price of Passion (CBS TV Movie, 1990). Female lawyer (Victoria Principal) turned city mayor is caught in a compromising situation with an attractive fellow (Ted Wass); blackmail threats ensue. 
 


[286]

Suddenly It's Spring (Paramount, 1947).

Suspect (Columbia Tristar, 1987). Public defender (Cher) is assigned case of disabled man accused of murder. The ethical problems are legion in this one as she maintains contact with a juror (Dennis Quaid), with whom she eventually pairs up.

Tell It to the Judge (1949). Lightweight comedy about lawyers in love.

Three Men and a Baby (Touchstone, 1987)(Touchstone Home Video, 1987). Three bachelors care for baby left on their doorstep; female lawyer girlfriend (Margaret Colin) of one of them refuses to babysit. Funny, based on a French film (Trois Hommes et un Couffin) which was funnier.

The Truth About Murder (RKO Pictures, 1946).

The Verdict (Twentieth Century Fox, 1982)(Fox Home Video, 1990). Down and out alcoholic attorney (Paul Newman) gets one last chance to show his stuff; female lawyer (Charlotte Rampling) working for the other side betrays him. She's slimy but so is he; it's arguable who is more unethical.

The Walls of Jericho (Twentieth Century Fox, 1948).

Wild Orchid (Columbia, 1990)(RCA/Columbia Home Video, 1992). Steamy thriller about a female attorney lured into depravity. 

With Hostile Intent (CBS TV Movie). Women take their sexual harrassment complaints to court; Holland Taylor plays the attorney.

A Woman is the Judge (Columbia Pictures, 1939).
 


TELEVISION DRAMAS FEATURING WOMEN ATTORNEYS

 


The name of the female lawyer, if I was able to find it, follows the name of the show. Note the number of district attorneys and public defenders. Information in this section was verified in Alex McNeil's Total Television.

[287]

Adam's Rib (Amanda Bonner)
Against the Law (Yvette. I was unable to obtain the character's last name).
Ally McBeal (Ally McBeal)
The Antagonists (Joanie Rutledge, district attorney, Kate Ward, district  attorney)
The Associates (Leslie Dunn, Sara James)
Beauty and the Beast (Catherine Chandler, district attorney (originally  corporate lawyer)
Mr. Belvedere (Marsha Owens, law student)
The Big Easy (Anne Osborne, district attorney)
The Bold and the Beautiful (Teresa Emerson, district attorney)
Charlie Grace (Leslie Loeb)
Christine Cromwell (Christine Cromwell)
Civil Wars (Sydney Guilford)
The Client (Regina "Reggie" Love)
Common Law (Lisa Hunter, district attorney)
The Cosby Show (Clair Huxtable)
The Cosby Show (Erika Hilton; this character began as a flight attendant  but now seems to be a lawyer).
Courthouse (Judge Parkes, Lenore Laderman, district attorney, Judge  Reide, Veronica Gilbert, public defender)
The D.A. (Katy Benson, district attorney)
The Edge of Night (Di Di Bannister, Olivia Brandeis "Brandy" Henderson,  district attorney)
Eisenhower & Lutz (Kay Dunne)
Equal Justice (Linda Bauer, Jo Ann Harris, Julie Janovich, all district  attorneys)
Evening Shade (Ada Newton, district attorney)
Family (Nancy Maitland, law student)
The Feather and Father Gang (Toni "Feather" Danton)
Feds (Erica Stanton, Sandra Broome, federal prosecutors)
Flesh 'n Blood (Rachel Brennan, district attorney)
Foley Square (Molly Dobbs, Alex Harrigan, district attorneys)
Gabriel's Fire (Victoria Heller)
Generations (Chantal Marshall)
The Greatest American Hero (Pam Davidson)
Hill Street Blues (Joyce Davenport, public defender)
The Home Court (Judge Solomon)
I Had Three Wives (Mary Parker)
I'll Fly Away (Christina LeKatzis)
In the House (Heather Comstock)

[288]

It Takes Two (Molly Quinn, district attorney)
J.A.G. (Meg Austin, Kate Pike, military lawyers)
The Jean Arthur Show (Patricia Marshall)
Kate McShane (Kate McShane)
Kavanagh, Q.C. (Emma Taylor)
L.A. Law (Susan Bloom, Zoey Clemmons, Jane Halliday, Ann  Kelsey, C. J. Lamb, Abby Perkins, Rosalind Shays, Gwen Taylor, Grace van Owen, district attorney)
The Law and Harry McGraw (Ellie Maginnis)
Law and Order (Claire Kincaid)
Leg Work (Claire McCarron, former district attorney turned private   investigator)
Life's Work (Lisa Hunter)
Living Single (Maxine Shaw)
MacGyver (Nikki Carpenter)
McNaughton's Daughter (Laurel McNaughton)
Magnum P.I. (Carol Baldwin, district attorney)
Mancuso, FBI (Kristen Carter, federal prosecutor)
Married People (Elizabeth Myers)
Matlock (Julie March, district attorney, Charlene Matlock, Leanne Matlock,  Michelle Thomas; also recurring female judge characters)
Matt Helm (Claire Kronski)
Matt Houston (C. J. Parsons)
McNaughton's Daughter (Laurel McNaughton, district attorney)
The Mississippi (Stella McMullen, law student)
The Monroes (Greer Monroe)
Murder One (Justine Appleton, Lisa Gillispie, Miriam Grasso, district  attorney)
My Two Dads (Judge Wilbur)
A New Kind of Family (Abby Stone, law student)
Night Court (Christine Sullivan, Liz Williams, Billie Young, public   defenders)
Night Heat (Dorothy Fredericks, Elaine Jeffers, district attorneys)
N.Y.P.D. Blue (Sylvia Costas, district attorney, Laura Hughes Kelly)
Ohara (Teresa Storm, district attorney)
One Life to Live (Kate Noonan, Debra Van Druten, district attorneys)
The Paper Chase (Connie Lehman, Rita Harriman, Elizabeth  Logan, Rose  Samuels, law students)
The Parent'hood (Jerri Peterson, law student)
Park Place (Jo Keene, public defender)
Perry Mason (Bette Davis as a "lawyer friend" of Mason's)
The Practice (Ellenor Frutt, Lindsay Dole)

[289]

Reasonable Doubts (Tess Kaufmann, district attorney)
The Rockford Files (Beth Davenport)
Rosetti and Ryan (Jessica Hornesby, district attorney)
The Round Table (Jennifer Clemente, federal prosecutor)
Rumpole of the Bailey (Fiona Allways, Trisha Benbow, Phyllida Trant  Erskine-Brown, Liz Probert)
Sara (Sara McKenna, Roz Dupree, legal aid? (They are employed by "Bay  Area Law Offices".)
Second Chances (Dianne Benedict)
Simon and Simon (Janet Fowler, district attorney)
Sirota's Court (Gail Goodman, public defender)
Sonny Spoon (Carolyn Gilder, district attorney)
Spenser: For Hire (Rita Fiore, district attorney)
Star Trek (Areel Shaw (guest star), federal prosecutor)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Judge --played by Jean Simmons)
Storefront Lawyers (Deborah Sullivan)
Street Legal (Carrie Barr, Alana, Olivia (unable to find last names)
Sunday Dinner (Thelma Todd Fagori)
Sweet Justice (Kate Delacroy, Carrie Grace Battle)
The Tony Randall Show (Judge Hooper)
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (Fiona "Rosie" O'Neill)
2000 Malibu Road (Perry Quinn, possibly a public defender)
Willy (Willa "Willy" Dodger)
The Young Lawyers (Pat Walters, law student)
 


AUTHORS WHO FEATURE WOMEN ATTORNEYS

Allan, Jeanne, DO YOU TAKE THIS COWBOY? (1997).
Arnold, Judith, MARRIED TO THE MAN (1996).
Barnett, Jill, IMAGINE (1995).
Brandon, Jay, DEFIANCE COUNTY (1996).
Brown, Sandra, THE WITNESS (1995); FAT TUESDAY (1997).
Cameron, Stella, SHEER PLEASURES (1995).
Cameron, Sue, LOVE, SEX, AND MURDER (1996).
Cannon, Taffy, A POCKETFUL OF KARMA (1993); TANGLED ROOTS (1995).
Caudwell, Sarah, THUS WAS ADONIS MURDERED (1981); THE SHORTEST WAY  TO HADES (1985); THE SIRENS SANG OF MURDER (1989).
Chastain, Thomas, THE PROSECUTOR: A NOVEL (1992).
Cross, Amanda, AN IMPERFECT SPY (1995).
David, Trisha, MCALLISTER'S BABY (1997).
Davies, Jonathan, GIVEN IN EVIDENCE (1995).
Downing, Sybil, FIRE IN THE HOLE (1996).

[290]

Fairstein, Linda A., FINAL JEOPARDY (1996); LIKELY TO DIE (1997).
Fielding, Joy, TELL ME NO SECRETS (1994).
Ferguson, Maggie, CRIME OF PASSION (1995).
 Finch, Carol, APACHE WIND (1993).
Forster, R. A., CHARACTER WITNESS (1997); KEEPING COUNSEL (1996).
Fyfield, Frances, SHADOW PLAY (1993).
Gelinas, Robert E., DEAD OF NIGHT (1993).
Godwin, Gail, GLASS PEOPLE (1972).
Green, Billie, WILDFIRE (1993).
Gregory, Sarah, PUBLIC TRUST (1996).
Haran, Maeve, IT TAKES TWO (1994).
Hartzmark, Gini, BITTER BUSINESS (1995).
Hasler, Eveline, FLYING WITH WINGS OF WAX: THE STORY OF EMILY  KEMPIN-SPYRI (1993).
Hoag, Tami, CRY WOLF (1993).
Isaacs, Susan, LILY WHITE (1997).
Kahn, Michael A., FIRM AMBITIONS (1994); SHEER GALL (1996). 
Knight, Nancy, DEFENSELESS (1993).
Lambert, Mercedes, SOULTOWN (1996).
Levin, Michael, THE SOCRATIC METHOD (1987).
Martini, Steve, THE LIST (1997).
Matera, Lia, FACE VALUE (1995); A HARD BARGAIN (1992); LAST CHANTS  (1997).
McCarthy, Susanne, TRIAL BY LOVE (1989).
McKemmish, Jan, ONLY LAWYERS DANCING (1992).
McReynolds, Glenna, AVENGING ANGEL (1993).
Michaels, Leigh, THE LAKE EFFECT (1993).
Mittermeyer, Helen, DIVINITY BROWN (1996).
Moran, James P., PUBLIC GARDEN (1994).
Mortimer, John, RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY (1978); RUMPOLE À LA CARTE  (1990).
Mosiman, Billie Sue, STILETTO (1996).
Parker, Barbara, SUSPICION OF GUILT (1995).
Patterson, Richard North, THE FINAL JUDGMENT (1995).
Piesman, Marissa, HEADING UPTOWN (1993). 
Roe, Francis J. C., DANGEROUS PRACTICES (1993).
Rosenberg, Nancy Taylor, TRIAL BY FIRE (1996).
Sanders, Glenda, MIDNIGHT TRAIN FROM GEORGIA (1997).
Scottoline, Lisa, EVERYWHERE THAT MARY WENT (1993); LEGAL TENDER  (1996).
Sheldon, Sidney, RAGE OF ANGELS (1980).
Shute, Jenefer, SEX CRIMES (1996).

[291]

Sims, Janice, ALL THE RIGHT REASONS (1997).
Smith, Janet L., A VINTAGE MURDER (1994). 
Smith, Julie, THE SOURDOUGH WARS (1993); OTHER PEOPLE'S SKELETONS  (1984). 
Sorrells, Walter, WILL TO MURDER (1996).
 Sprague, Gretchen, DEATH IN GOOD COMPANY (1997).
Steel, Danielle, LIGHTNING (1995).
Stone, Katherine, HAPPY ENDINGS (1994).
Turow, Scott, PRESUMED INNOCENT (1988); THE BURDEN OF PROOF (1990).
Underwood, Michael, A DANGEROUS BUSINESS (1990); GUILTY CONSCIENCE (1993).
Van Gieson, Judith, THE LIES THAT BIND (1993); NORTH OF THE BORDER: A NEIL HAMEL MYSTERY (1988); THE WOLF PATH (1992). 
Wheat, Carolyn, DEAD MAN'S THOUGHTS (1983); FRESH KILLS (1995); MEAN  STREAK (1996); SWORN TO DEFEND (1998); TROUBLED WATERS (1997);  WHERE NOBODY DIES (1986).
Wheeler, Amanda, BEYOND THE FIRE (1996).
Wilhelm, Kate, MALICE PREPENSE (1996)
Woods, Sherryl, KATE'S VOW (1993).
Zimring, Franklin E., DOING IT ALL (1981)(Screenplay). 
 


[292]

ENDNOTES

* Associate Professor of Law, Louisiana State University Law Center.

1. Ric Sheffield, On Film: A Social History of Women Lawyers in Popular Culture 1930 to 1970, 14 Loy. L.A. Ent. L.J. 73, at 73 (1993).

2. The literature on the entry of women into the legal profession is growing slowly. On American women attorneys see for example Barbara Allen Babcock, Clara Shortridge Foltz: "First Woman", 28 Val. U. L. Rev. 1231 (1994), Virginia G. Drachman, Women Lawyers and the Quest for Professional Identity in Late Nineteenth-Century America, 88 Mich. L. Rev. 2414 (1990) and D. Kelly Weisberg, Barred From the Bar: Women and Legal Education in the United States 1870-1890, 28 J. Legal Educ. 485 (1977). 

3. This film was arguably partly based on the "Big Dan" rape case of 1983. See Brian D. Johnson, The Reality of Rape, Maclean's, October 24, 1988, at 60 (detailing the sources of the film and the effect of the film on its stars). Note that Kelly McGillis, the actress who plays the prosecutor, is herself a rape survivor, was originally offered the role of Sarah, the victim.

4. David Kelley, who produced L. A. Law, and Terry Louise Fisher, are both attorneys. During Kelley's tenure, Rosalind Shays (played by Diana Muldaur) resigned from McKenzie, Brackman by falling down an elevator shaft. Tom Shales, When Old Meets Bold: Tonight, "L.A. Law" Runs Into "Picket Fences," Wash. Post, April 1, 1993, at D1.

5. 16 Leg. Ref. Serv. Q. 9 (1997). 

6. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1989)

7.  24 U. West. Aus. L. Rev. 68 (1994). 

8.  (New York: Garland Publishing, 1986, 1990) (2 vols.)

9.  (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981)

10. <http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/>(March 4, 1998).

11. <http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/lpopbib2.htm>(March 4, 1998).

12. <http://www.usfca.edu/pj>(Visited March 4, 1998).

13.  <http://www.natjurist.com/voice/fiction.html>(Visited March 4, 1998).

14. <http://www.wmin.ac.uk/LLC/law/cpoppage.html> (Visited March 4, 1998). 

15. Subscription address: listserv@lawlib.wuacc.edu. Archives available at <http://ftplaw.wuacc.edu/listproc>.

Last Updated: April 09, 2007. | Copyright © 2009 The University of Texas at Austin | Privacy Policy | Usage Statement | For technical problems with this site, please contact .