Is a law degree the best route towards a successful career in the arts and showbiz?

When former lawyer John Grisham became an overnight celebrity in 1991 with legal thriller “The Firm”, the notion of a law practitioner turning into a bestselling novelist would still hit the news. At the time, there were just a few notable analogies. Erle Stanley Gardner, who sold over 200 million copies of his Perry Mason books. And Scott Turow, who deftly balanced his legal practice with a phenomenally successful string of legal dramas. It was not until Grisham, however, that so many lawyers started realizing that the real fun and money were probably not in the courtroom. But rather in novels, moviemaking or other forms of art.

Fifteen years and eighteen Grisham novels later, the number of legal practitioners who have turned their talent to fiction has increased exponentially. Former securities lawyer Richard North Patterson has authored twelve legal novels and has sold almost thirty million books. California practitioner Steve Martini’s first book “Compelling Evidence” was published in 1992 to be the first of ten national bestsellers. With less astonishing but still impressive sales volumes, James Huston, Pamela O’Shaughnessy and Sheldon Siegel have quickly joined the writer-novelist A-list.

But even without necessarily aspiring to six-zeros writing advances, several others have pursued lateral careers as novelists, producers or filmmakers while holding on to their rewarding private practices.

A leading trial attorney who was recently named one of “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America”, Pierce O’Donnell went from film industry chronicles such as his 1992 bestseller “Fatal Subtraction” to co-writing screenplays and publishing a collection of poems. Greenberg Glusker partner Bert Fields, who represented Jeffrey Katzenberg in his lawsuit against Disney, has authored two novels as well as an historical work on Richard III. Both remain among the finest and most active entertainment lawyers in Hollywood.

In other instances, however, the temptation to defect the legal ranks has been irresistible. Especially when occurring at an early stage of a lawyer’s career. It’s what happened to Kevin Reynolds: the director of “Waterworld” practiced law in Texas for a few years but realized early in his career that what he wanted to do was making movies. A Yale Law School graduate, Frederick Wiseman practiced law in Massachusetts before changing plans and going on to becoming one of the most celebrated documentary directors. David E. Kelley was himself a Boston practitioner prior to landing a successful career as a writer-producer on hit shows like “Ally McBeal” and “The Practice”.

While less famous than his predecessors, Kansas City criminal defense attorney Timothy Hamilton also put his practice on hold and turned into film director Timothy Del in 2000. “As a lawyer, you’re paid to be a warrior and live in the constant tension of problems people have in their lives” – Del told Screen Magazine – “It’s a lot more fun to create worlds and create art”. Fordham law graduate and New York City litigator Rosanne Pennella, who transitioned from her former job into a professional travel photographer three years ago, saw her whole life changing as a result. “I certainly don’t make the money I made as a lawyer” – she reports – “but I am so much happier”.

With so many lawyers changing professional identity or successfully establishing lateral careers in the arts, should one look at graduate law schools, rather than film or literary courses, to pursue their creative aspirations? UCLA Law School alumnus Barbara Boyle, the producer behind movies like “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “My Left Foot”, seems to have no doubts. "I was a woman in this business, yes, but that was superseded by the fact that I was a lawyer. I really think that made a difference. Without my law degree . . . I don't think I would have stood a chance." Citadel Entertainment president David Ginsburg, who produced 1996 Golden Globe winner “Rasputin”, echoes Boyle’s words. “Every day of my business life, in planning, in decision-making, in negotiation, in contract work, in deal-making, and when I am called upon to take an adversarial position . . . every day I draw upon both my university and especially my law school training."

And as much as U.S. lawyers turn their focus on creativity, European practitioners also follow trend. Cambridge graduate and British lawyer Stephen Frears abandoned legal practice to land a career in filmmaking that brought us classics like “My Beautiful Laundrette” and “Dangerous Liaisons”. Director Ken Loach’s favorite screenwriter, Paul Laverty, was a legal practitioner in Glasgow before penning “Carla’s Song” and “Sweet Sixteen”. Cameron McCracken was one of Olswang’s prominent legal counselors before becoming the executive producer of “The Young Poisoner’s Handbook” and “Millions”. CBS Paramount Pictures head of European operations Giovanni Pedde, himself a former entertainment lawyer, has a passion for thriller movies: his latest short “Xchange”, which he wrote, directed and edited, won international awards and went on to become a little phenomenon in its kind.

Whether by strategically redirecting skills developed through years of practice or by simply releasing an innate creative talent, many lawyers seem to have achieved a faster career in the arts with a law degree than aspiring artists through years of film or literary studies. Not to mention the invaluable option of resurrecting their dormant professional background at any time. Former William Morris vice chairman Jerry Katzman, now director of industry relations at UCLA School of Film Theater and Television, views a law degree as a formidable means to move up the ladder.

And since nothing happens in Hollywood without lawyers, at least insofar as the movie industry is concerned those few tough years of law school may be worth a lot more than your proverbial day in court.