Clair Huxtable – “The Cosby Show” (1984)

Phylicia Rashad played the stylish, poised and witty Clair Huxtable on the hit NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. While we never saw her magic in the courtroom, she always laid down the law when it came to protecting her five children – and sometimes her husband, Dr. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) – arguing around the house. No wonder she eventually became a partner at her New York firm, Bradly, Greentree & Dexter, where she worked as a legal aid attorney. In a 2014 interview, author of the Cosby biography “Cosby: His Life and Times,” Mark Whitaker, said that Cosby had originally suggested that Clair’s character be a Latino plumber or carpenter.

Maxine Felice Shaw – “Living Single” (1993)

Any lawyer has a way with words, but there’s no one who beats the sharp-witted Maxine Felice Shaw (Erika Alexander). Although she lost her job at the big firm Evans & Bell, she ended up becoming the top public defender in Brooklyn when she changed her practice. Fun fact: Alexander said she helped create Maxine’s look. During an interview with “The Breakfast Club,” the actress said that she got her fake curls shortly before her audition for the role and it ended up working for the character.

Sad fact: When asked if executives “fought” with her over the natural, cultural hairstyle, Alexander replied no, as series creator and showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser had already “fought” for the character’s existence.

@breakfastclubam Did you know there would have been a world without #MaxineShaw on #LivingSingle?! Listen to @erikaalexanderthegreat ♬ Original sound – The Breakfast Club

“They asked her to get rid of it. They didn’t want Max and she said, ‘No, if you get rid of Max, you get rid of me because I identify with her the most.’ I wanted to be a lawyer.’ She went to Stanford. So she said, ‘Okay, I’ll put her across the street,'” Alexander explained, saying that some executives thought the character was “too black, too strong.” “They said the character was too strong… And that was the compromise. That’s why you always saw them coming across the street. She should live in the apartment with the girls.”

Bowser spoke about the incident during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2023.

“I said taking Maxine Shaw out of the show means taking me out of the show and I would rather not do the show at all,” the showrunner said. “So I stood my ground and the show wouldn’t be the same without all four of those women and those two men.”

Rebecca Washington – “The Practice” (1997)

LisaGay Hamilton played Rebecca Washington, the receptionist and lawyer who was known for keeping everyone under control, in David E. Kelley’s legal drama The Practice. While initially doing administrative work for the law firm in Boston, she secretly began studying for the bar exam and eventually became a lawyer.

Joan Carol Clayton – “Girlfriends” (2000)

Tracee Ellis Ross was the hilarious, sometimes judgmental, but always ambitious lawyer Joan Carol Clayton in Mara Brock Akil’s Girlfriends. After years of pursuing a position as a junior partner at her firm Goldberg, Swedelson, McDonald and Lee, she was never promoted and instead pursued a career as a restaurateur with her colleague William Dent (Reggie Hayes).

Jessica Lourdes Pearson – “Suits” (2011)

Gina Torres plays the tough, no-nonsense co-founder and managing partner of the prestigious New York City law firm Pearson, Specter, Litt. The character later nabbed her own spin-off series, but it was short-lived as it was canceled after just one season. Still, the character will remain in our hearts as one of the toughest lawyers in the game. And Torres kept a little piece of Jessica with her in the form of a pair of high-fashion shoes.

“I took something from the ‘Suits’ set,” Torres told Entertainment Weekly. “They were a pair of Louboutin heels that still had my character’s name on the inside.”

Olivia Pope – “Scandal” (2012)

Olivia Pope is probably the most well-known TV lawyer/lawyer of this era, and Kerry Washington did a great job on ABC’s Scandal. However, the character was formerly a lawyer and worked as a crisis manager at her management firm Olivia Pope & Associates in Washington, D.C. She also assisted the White House communications director. Olivia Pope was considered ambitious and professional, but also had a manipulative side.

Washington, beloved by many, doesn’t mind giving fans a dose of “scandal” every now and then. She recently appeared at the Democratic National Convention alongside her co-star Tony Goldwyn. Fun fact: Olivia is the only character to appear in every episode of the series, and Gabrielle Union also auditioned for the role. Additionally, ABC originally wanted to give the role to Connie Britton, but series creator Shonda Rhimes told executives she created Olivia Pope as a black woman.

Annalize Keating – How to Get Away with Murder (2014)

From her different looks to that iconic walk that everyone loves to imitate online, Viola Davis’ portrayal of Annalize Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder is truly something special. She is independent, widely respected and a little frightening when she enters the courtroom. On the outside she seemed to have a perfect life, but behind closed doors she struggled with alcohol consumption. Davis said the role helped her develop her own growth.

“We need to be allowed to have our own messes as women. I don’t think that makes us any less valuable. It makes us very human,” Davis said in a previous interview. “This character has helped me in many ways to tap into those parts of myself… Getting older (also) helps you say no, it really does. I don’t want to get too morbid or too deep, but you feel like you don’t have time for that.”

Molly Carter – “Insecure” (2016)

There’s no better friend than Issa’s homegirl Molly Carter (Yvonne Orji) on Issa Rae’s hit HBO series “Insecure.” She is funny, smart, the life of the party and most importantly when it comes to her business but love life hasn’t been easy for her. She was also featured in the series as a member of the first historically black American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In the series, Molly works as a corporate lawyer and the character is based on Rae’s real-life best friend.

Jax Stewart – “Reasonable Doubt” (2022)

Last but not least is the new lawyer on the TV block, Jax Stewart, played by Emayatzy Corinealdi. She is a stunning, confident and intelligent civil and criminal defense attorney and a partner at her law firm Binder, Hurwitz and Stewart. And while some of the decisions she makes in her personal life are questionable, there is no doubt that she will always get the answers she needs in the courtroom. The series was created by former Scandal writer Raamla Mohamed and the character is loosely based on the life of real-life lawyer Shawn Holley, who also serves as a producer on the series.