5 Documentaries All Potential Lawyers Should Watch

By Danielle Wirsansky on August 9, 2016

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

If you are thinking about law school but are not really sure yet or if you have your heart set on law school and absolutely know that you are destined to be a lawyer, there are many documentaries showcasing different sides of the law that all potential lawyers should watch.

Rather than watching fictionalized movies, you can watch and learn about how the law works (or worked in the past) and learn from the true events in order to educate or inspire yourself once you finally reach law school.

Read on to see the list of documentaries that all potential lawyers should watch!

The E-Team (2014)


Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter are four members of the Emergencies Team — or E-Team — the most intrepid division of a respected, international human rights group (Human Rights Watch). Trained to deal with unfolding crises, the E-Team flies to hotspots all over the world as soon as allegations of human rights abuse surface.

“Then they get to work — gathering crucial evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted and, if so, to investigate, document, and capture the world’s attention. They also immediately challenge the responsible decision makers, holding them accountable. Human rights abuses thrive on secrecy and silence, and the work of the E-Team, backed by their international human rights organization, has shone light in dark places and given voice to thousands whose stories would never otherwise have been told.

“Using a cinema verite approach, our camera follows the E-Team investigators in the field as they piece together the actual events that take place in troubled spots around the globe. Together we smuggle across the border into Syria to conduct undercover investigations as the civil war rages; amidst bullets and bombs we watch as Fred and Peter work to halt human rights abuses in the aftermath of the Gaddafi regime. We also spend time with each E-Team member at home — from a quiet farm outside of Geneva to bustling urban lives in Berlin and Paris — as they balance the intricacies of family and personal relationships within the challenges of their exceptional work life.

“Though they are different personalities, Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter share a fearless spirit and a deep commitment to exposing and halting human rights abuses all over the world.”

Hot Coffee (2011)

Hot Coffee begins with the notorious Liebeck v. McDonald’s, in which 78-year-old Stella Liebeck won a $2.7 million verdict from the fast food mega chain after it sold her scorching hot coffee which caused second and third degree burns over much of her body. The lawsuit became the instant poster child for frivolous lawsuits and a centerpiece in the case for tort reform here in America.”

Reviews:

“Eye-opening indictment of the way big business spins the media.” —Variety

“Stunning debut … Sends audiences out of the theater thinking in a brand new way.” —Washington Post

“Entertaining, informative … vividly illuminating.” —Hollywood Reporter

Making a Murderer (2015)

Exonerated after spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit, Steven Avery filed suit against Manitowoc County, Wis., and several individuals involved with his arrest. Shortly after, however, Avery found himself behind bars again, this time accused of the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach. She was last seen on Avery’s property, where she was to photograph a vehicle.

“Avery and nephew Brendan Dassey were tried and (spoiler alert) convicted of the crime. But that’s not the end of the story. When Columbia graduate students Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos read about Avery, they felt his story would make an interesting documentary. Neither PBS nor HBO were interested, but Netflix took on their concept to produce the 10-episode docuseries, which generated plenty of publicity and prompted petitions to have Avery’s case reviewed, though officials in Wisconsin insist all the evidence is not presented in the program.”

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000)

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy — Trailer from API FILMS on Vimeo.

Using trial transcripts, courtroom photographs and other archival material, this documentary tells the story of nine African-American teenagers who, in 1931, were accused of rape by two white women. Despite a complete lack of evidence, the boys were convicted and sent to prison. Although ultimately exonerated, the boys’ lives were devastated by the incident, and the filmmakers connect the public outrage regarding this case to the beginnings of the civil rights movement of the 1950s.”

The Case Against 8 (2014)

A behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. The high-profile trial first makes headlines with the unlikely pairing of Ted Olson and David Boies, political foes who last faced off as opposing attorneys in Bush v. Gore. The film also follows the plaintiffs, two gay couples who find their families at the center of the same-sex marriage controversy. Five years in the making, this is the story of how they took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Reviews:

“A stirring civil rights film that is both cogent and emotionally charged … grips from start to finish …”
The Hollywood Reporter

“Engrossing and emotional …”
Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times

“Lucid, balanced and relentlessly informative. Spellbinding stuff.”
Evening Standard (UK)

“An emotional tour of history in the making …”
Indiewire

“A well-made, moving, informative history.”
RogerEbert.com

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