Thane Rosenbaum, John Whelan Distinguished Lecturer in Law and director of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society, discussed the law and television with actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker on Nov. 15.
Photo by Nancy Adler
The Fordham Law School’s Forum on Law, Culture & Society took a look back on L.A. Law, the highly rated legal drama of the 1980s, on Nov. 15 with two of the show’s most memorable actors: Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker.
The pair, who played litigator Ann Kelsey and tax attorney Stuart Markowitz, respectively, joined Thane Rosenbaum, John Whelan Distinguished Lecturer in Law and director of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society, in discussing how the show would go on to forever change how lawyers were depicted in popular culture.
“I think the show must have inspired thousands of water cooler conversations,” Eikenberry said at the event, held at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan. “[L.A. Law] tackled moral issues that people could discuss the next day with their co-workers.”
L.A. Law, critically acclaimed with multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards, ran from 1986 to 1994. The show centered around a glamorous law firm in Los Angeles and often touched upon important social and cultural issues. The show is considered to have paved the way for many of today’s legal dramas, such as Law & Order and Boston Legal.
“We also caught a lot of flack from lawyers all over the country who said that’s not how real lawyers are,” said Tucker. “Meanwhile, we had real lawyers consulting on the show. They approved every script and gave us a lot of direction.”
The Forum on Law, Culture & Society is a public humanities program that invites the general public to satisfy its intellectual curiosity on matters of law, justice, and civil society in a town hall setting.
