4 Legal Books Inspired By Legal Procedural Shows Streaming

Follow a lawyer and her case!

Sharise, a Black transgender woman being held in the male prison, says that while hired for sex work she killed the John in self-defense. The John in question is the son of a prominent New Jersey man, so Erin McCabe has her work cut out for her not only in protecting her client, but McCabe and her ex-FBI partner have to stay alive after witnesses start dropping dead…

A narrative nonfiction account of a real case.

There are a lot of books I love (Just Mercy, A Knock at Midnight, Furious Hours) that I could have used, but I thought I’d go with something I’ve never mentioned before, while also going deep backlist since L.A. Law is an ’80s show.

This is actually going to sound like I’m telling you the plot for Erin Brockovich—which is based on a real woman and case—but this predates that case. During the mid-’70s in Woburn, Massachusetts, a dozen children were diagnosed with leukemia. A Civil Action follows the lawsuit the families filed through personal-injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann—who sued two giant corporations for poisoning the water—with a focus on Schlichtmann and how the case almost destroyed him. The book also has a 1998 adaptation with a lot of recognizable actors: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, James Gandolfini, Dan Hedaya, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, and Tony Shalhoub.

A legal firm, courtroom scenes, and a twisty case!

Vernetta Henderson has just been given her first criminal case, but it comes with a couple drawbacks: she doesn’t believe the client is innocent of murdering her husband (!), and she’s partnered up with a lawyer she hates. Then there’s her personal life: her husband is now ready for children and expects Henderson to be on board, but she’s focused on her career—starting with this case!