Famous Black Lawyers (fictional & non-fictional)
This fictional Washington, D.C. crisis manager is famous for fixing political problems and leading her team of ‘gladiators'.
Olivia Pope
Founded in 1889, this Toronto law school later became affiliated with York University and counts several Canadian legal trailblazers among its alumni.
Osgoode Hall Law School
This one-word courtroom interruption is used by a lawyer who believes the opposing side has asked an improper question or introduced improper evidence.
This fictional African nation is home to Black Panther and is known for vibranium, advanced technology, and having absolutely zero interest in being colonized
Wakanda
This criminal defence lawyer and law professor, played by Viola Davis, is at the centre of How to Get Away with Murder.
Annalise Keating
This West Coast law school opened in 1945, initially teaching students in former army huts after the Second World War.
Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC
This Latin phrase describes legal work a lawyer provides for free, usually to help someone who cannot afford representation.
Pro Bono
If a Toronto man says, ‘Say less, fam,’ he usually does not mean he wants someone to talk less. He actually means what?
This powerful managing partner from Suits is known for leading her New York law firm with confidence, strategy, and authority.
Jessica Pearson
This law school shares its city with the Supreme Court of Ontario’s Court of Appeal and is attached to one of Canada’s most internationally recognized universities.
Jackman Law - University of Toronto
In American movies, someone who says ‘I plead the Fifth’ is relying on this constitutional protection against being forced to incriminate themselves.
The Fifth Amendment
Before he was saving the world from aliens and getting into Oscar-night controversy, this actor was sent by his mom to live with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.
Will Smith
Before becoming First Lady of the United States, this Harvard Law School graduate worked as a lawyer in Chicago.
Michelle Obama
Opened in Washington, D.C. in 1869 with just six students, this HBCU law school became an important centre for training lawyers involved in the American civil rights movement.
Howard University School of Law
This Latin phrase means ‘friend of the court’ and describes a person or organization that is not a party to a case but provides information or arguments to assist the court.
This Toronto-born rapper helped make phrases like ‘the 6ix’ internationally recognizable and has spent much of his career reminding everyone where he’s from.
Drake
This Canadian lawyer made history in 1968 as Canada’s first Black Member of Parliament and later became Ontario’s first Black Lieutenant Governor.
Lincoln Alexander
At this centuries-old English university, the main undergraduate law degree is still formally known as the ‘Honour School of Jurisprudence'.
University of Oxford Faculty of Law
This legal principle generally prevents a person from being prosecuted twice for the same offence after they have already been acquitted or convicted.
Double Jeopardy
This woman became a major figure in Canadian civil rights history after refusing to leave the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre in 1946.
Viola Desmond