The Law Firms of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe: Lessons for Law Students
By Tom Cocchi, Executive Editor
Despite a busy law school schedule, many of us will occasionally find the time to watch one show or another on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or some other streaming service. But before you go ahead and re-watch every episode of Friends before finals, take a walk on the nerdier side and watch some of the Netflix series where they team up with Marvel Studios to deliver some truly interesting and enjoyable shows. Not only are Daredevil and Jessica Jones a good watch in general, but they can provide an interesting look at the legal profession for future lawyers to think about. Oh, and by the way, Spoiler Alert!
Before I start talking about some of the law firms that show up in Marvel’s street-level stories, the characters at least bear some explaining. Daredevil is about Matthew Murdock, a lawyer who was blinded in an accident when he was nine, but came away from being blinded with his other senses being heightened to an extreme. In Jessica Jones, you follow the titular super-strong character as she confronts the demons of her past, and an enemy with extreme powers of suggestion. While Murdock from Daredevil actually is a lawyer, Jones is still involved in the legal world as a private investigator on the payroll of a New York City firm.
Landman & Zack (L&Z)
L&Z is a large firm in New York, and one that many young lawyers vie to get the chance to start their careers with. In the first season of Daredevil, it is discovered that Matthew Murdock, and his longtime friend from law school, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, were summer associates at the firm, and were offered full time jobs after law school. Murdock convinced Foggy to leave L&Z with him and start their own firm in Hell’s Kitchen to help the people of that neighborhood who have very little recourse against a legal system that seems to be rigged against them.
Landman & Zack is also shown to be enabling the illegal endeavors of Daredevil’s nemesis, the Kingpin. Foggy reaches out to his ex-girlfriend, Marci Stahl, and warns her about the corruption that Murdock and he uncovered and suggests that she either blow the whistle on her employer or leave before she becomes embroiled in the scandal. In the final part of Season 1, we see Parish Landman, a named partner of the firm, being arrested by federal authorities for helping to facilitate the illicit activities of the Kingpin.
Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz (HC&B)
Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz is a mid-sized firm, but still maintains a significant presence in New York. Jeryn Hogarth, a named partner in the firm, hires Jessica Jones to perform several investigations for her, and is one of the few people in New York who is aware of Jones’s abilities. Hogarth is portrayed as being a cut-throat lawyer who ends up losing her marriage because of her devotion to the job, among other things. In the second season of Daredevil, Hogarth invites Foggy Nelson to join HC&B, and even offers to make him a named partner. Also in Daredevil’s second season, we find out that Marci Stahl was hired by HC&B after the incident at Landman & Zack.
Nelson & Murdock (N&M)
Nelson & Murdock is the name of the firm that Matthew Murdock and Foggy Nelson make together after they reject the offer from Landman & Zack. They set up shop in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City and try to make a difference by helping the poor people of Hell’s Kitchen. While they are portrayed to handle mostly criminal matters in Daredevil, there are several references throughout the series where they handle civil and family cases, and a storyline within the show where they work on a landlord-tenant problem. Of course, many of N&M’s cases tend to coincide with issues that Murdock attempts to unravel as a masked vigilante at night, and sometimes that causes personal problems between the two friends and partners. As a new firm, with a small client base and very little experience, there are constant references throughout the show to the firm’s poor financial bearing, despite the relative success of the two lawyers who started it.
While the law firms shown in the Marvel Universe are obviously fictional, they portray some realistic pitfalls for lawyers in practice. In Parish Landman, we see the effects of a lack of professional responsibility when L&Z assists in the illegal activities of their clients. In Jeryn Hogarth, we see the potential for a lawyer’s personal life to clash with his or her professional life. Finally, in Nelson & Murdock we see how difficult it can be to hang your own shingle and try to make it as a newly minted attorney.
