Legal dramas have long been popular topics in popular culture media. Initially, television and film lawyers were generally portrayed as upstanding citizens, but the recent trend has been to portray them in a less flattering light. UCLA law professor Michael Asimow says this is problematic. In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies, Asimow explains that while the portrayal of lawyers in films is a reflection of popular opinion, it also constitutes a force for the formation of new opinions, perhaps with consequences involuntary. William Simon, a law professor at Columbia, also examines how lawyers are represented in popular culture, but presents a different perspective. In Moral Pluck: Legal Ethics in Popular Culture, Simon discusses a public morality that is willing to break ethical rules in the interest of correcting injustice, and seems to suggest that the study of popular culture might lend itself to revisions to ethical standards. Both authors seem to agree that the public's perception of what ethical and moral behavior is for lawyers may be different from what the state perceives or should be, but while Asimow suggests that the popular culture tends to demean lawyers, Simon suggests that popular culture tends to make popular culture tends to demean lawyers. their heroes. Although these views seem opposing, they both emphasize the important role that popular culture can play in measuring and determining ethical standards. In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies, Asimow examines the portrayal of lawyers in films from 1929 to 1999, as well as those on television, from Perry Mason in the late 1950s and 1960s to TV shows. today such as The Practice and Law and Order. Asimow presents theories on what causes the paper to fall......and therefore have potential consequences, perhaps filmmakers should be aware of these effects. Simon also acknowledges that popular culture can be influential, but suggests that rather than changing popular culture to influence public opinion, it is important to study it to gauge public opinion on ethics and morals and could be used to influence the standards upon which ethical rules are established. base. Both articles make compelling arguments about the importance of popular culture for both the study and formation of legal ethical standards. Works Cited Asimow, Michael. “Law and popular culture: bad lawyers in the movies.” Nova Law Review (nd): 24 Nova L. Rev.533. LexisNexisAcademic. Internet. March 1, 2014. Simon, William H. “Moral Pluck: Legal Ethics in Popular Culture.” Columbia Law Review 101.2 (2001): 421. Academic Research Premier. Internet. February 28. 2014.