The Charisma Question
The likes of Harvey Specter, Elle Woods, Mike Ross, Ally McBeal.
Tenacious, fierce, charming. All full of character.
For aspiring barristers, the likes of the aforementioned can be quite daunting. Am I witty enough? Interesting enough? Persuasive enough? Do I have enough personality?
I’ve asked myself those questions. I’ve imagined myself strutting along in my power suit to the soundtrack of my life. Turning heads, full of pep.
Back to reality - TV Lawyers have often made me want to become something that rarely exists in the real world. Sure, you will meet some lawyers that are spritely, intriguing and hilarious. But you’ll also meet lawyers that are the human equivalent of a wet blanket (a QC has literally been called one by a Judge before). You merely need to conduct a quick Google search to uncover just how much television gets wrong when it comes to being a lawyer. Here are some of my favourites (courtesy of Mic.com):
“Funnily enough, real human lawyers can’t specialise in everything.”
Court is just one giant intellectually stimulating conversation.
If you’ve ever been inside of a courtroom to view a case, you’ll know this to be absolutely false. Sure, there’s some quite banterous debate at times but interesting enough, legal TV shows make no mention of the dreary readings of submission.
Law is fast-paced.
Why do legal TV shows always leave out the gruelling hours of legal research spent on a case? Or the wait times for a court to hear a case?
Lawyers are experts in everything.
This is something I didn’t pick up on until I started law school. Weekto-week TV Lawyers jump from representing clients on criminal matters, to intellectual property, to civil bankruptcy. Funnily enough, real human lawyers can’t specialise in everything.
So don’t despair if you find yourself unmatched to the likes of our favourite TV Lawyers. The chances are, you will never be able to match them, because they aren’t real.
Article written by Hannah (Burstow) Dowden
This article appeared in the Torts Illustrated I Object (2019) Publication