What's the key to writing a knockout legal drama? According to Ted Humphrey, the pen behind the gripping series The Lincoln Lawyer and The Good Wife, it's all about moral ambiguity. Lawyers must spar with difficult choices and compromises where the "right" answer isn't so cut and dry.
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It's also important to create a truly authentic character, Humphrey says. This includes showing the trivial day-to-day mundanities of life. If all we saw were those well-crafted and flowery courtroom monologues, the person beneath the suit would never be revealed. We may be treated to a pacier story, but the nuance and believability of a character would be lost. Striking the right balance between a regular person and legal hero is a tall order, but it's crucial to making a quality and believable legal drama.
Humphrey shared his insights in a recent interview with The New York Times. Check out the full quote below:
"One, there has to be a gray area where this lawyer is wrestling with moral choices," he says. "Robert King, who created The Good Wife with Michelle King, used to say that the show was about the education of Alicia Florrick [played by Julianna Margulies]. She got back to work later in life, so you were watching her grow up and realize all the different moral compromises she would have to make.
"Two is authenticity: You have to take some liberties because your first job is to tell a dramatic, interesting story," he continues. "But trials take a year to happen, and things are really fought out as much in motions, witness prep and depositions as they are in the court case.
"The third thing is that lawyers are people who have jobs, and their day is consumed with the minor nonsense of day-to-day life. For Mickey, the life of the criminal defense lawyer is one long search for income."
The Lincoln Lawyer Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on Netflix.
