Blessed be the neurotic, for they shall surely miss out on summer while they’re indoors studying, and come October will be all the better prepared for it. 



However, if you aren’t one of these nerds gifted with innate assiduity, then you may be spending a decent portion of your summer months blah-ing in front of the TV. Might as well feel like you’re learning something, right? For your peace of mind, we here at Blueprint have compiled a list of law-related summer movies and shows, just for you.

Look to your left… now look to your right… because one of you is going to have to get up and order a pizza. That’s right, no law-oriented binge-watching list could begin with anything other than that quintessential 1L film, The Paper Chase. I’ve heard that, if you attend Harvard Law (the setting for this film and almost every other law movie or show), you really should watch this movie because your Professors will make repeated references. And, since you don’t attend Harvard Law, you should see it for John Houseman’s Academy Award-winning performance as the Professor from Hell.

Next up is another soul-crusher. A career in law promises a lot of things: adulation from your peers, parental approval, and at least three more years of school before you have to face the real world. But many people sludge through Paper Chase-esque experiences for one reason only: that prestigious, high-paying firm job. In The Firm we follow Tom Cruise as his perseverance and studiousness is rewarded by a dream job at a firm that seems, and is, too good to be true. Like Cruise, you’ll soon realize that over-bearing bosses, ridiculous billable requirements, and insidious murder plots are — along with crushing law school debt — an unavoidable accompaniment to your newfound life of luxury.

Lastly, a real shout out to the slackers on the couch watching this list instead of studying. Suits follows a genius stoner as he gets swept up under the dragon wing of hot-shot attorney Harvey Spector. An onanistic bromance ensues, pitting the pair against nebbish coworkers, scheming opposing counsels turned love-interests, and cut-throat colleagues; all while Mike, our charming, toking protagonist, struggles to hide the fact that he never did actually attend Harvard Law School.

This show will completely and utterly mislead you about everything involved in the day-to-day practice of law, but you should watch it if you need a pick-me-up after the depressing presentations of law school and firm life depicted in the last two movies. Also, if you’re into redheads.

We hope that these make for an enjoyable and informative summer. Have we missed anything good? Let us know in the comments below!