Fictional Lawyers With Other Careers

Some fictional lawyers leave the practice of law to pursue other careers, or combine law practice with other professions. Ira Woodbine (played by Alan Roseberg), the second ex-husband of actress Cybill Sheridan in the 1990s series Cybill, leaves law practice to become a novelist.

Mr. Rosenberg has played other attorneys on television, including Stuart Brickman (Chicago Hope), Adam Novak (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Bruce Steinerman (House M.D.), Eli Levinson (L. A. Law and Civil Wars), and Judge Franklin Trelane (Numb3rs).

Lawyer Kate Fox (Alicia Silverstone) handles domestic relations law, but also provides a matchmaking service, in Miss Match (2003). The series is based on lawyer Samantha Daniels’ career running Samantha’s Table. 

The Hallmark Flower Shop Mystery Movie series stars Brooke Shields as Abby Knight, who leaves law practice to open up a flower shop. Kate Collins’ popular cosy mystery novels featuring a one-time law student who decides to try her hand at running a flower shop inspired the series. Another Hallmark Mystery Movie series, the Hailey Dean Mysteries, centers on a former prosecutor, who leaves the District Attorney’s office to become a psychologist, but is constantly drawn back to work with her former colleagues to solve mysteries. Kellie Sue Martin stars.

Ben Doucette (played by Gregory Hines), one of the name partners at Doucette and Stein, in the popular television show Will & Grace, was a chef before going to law school, and still seemed to keep up his skills, as we see in the episode “There But For the Grace of Grace,” first broadcast May 9, 2000. After Jack says he knows he can do something Ben cannot, which is tap dance, the late Mr. Hines, a gifted dancer, also tap dances after Jack leaves the room.

Another lawyer-chef is Erica Lucas (T’Keyah “Crystal” Keymah), the daughter in the short-lived tv series “Cosby,” (1996).

Jamie, one of the agents in the Progressive Insurance commercials, reveals that he is an attorney, but “only licensed in Stockholm.” See a video clip here. 

On the other hand, the character James (LaMonica Garrett) in the episode “Mike Likes Cake,” of Mike & Molly was a pro football player who then becomes an attorney. He successfully woos his ex-wife Christina (Holly Robinson Peete), to the dismay of series regular officer Carl McMillan (Reno Wilson).