 Of all the lawyers that are on movies and TV, these are my top 10 black female lawyers. Keep watching to see if your favorite has made the list. It's Kyla Denigno and today we're talking about my 10 favorite black female lawyers on TV. So this video is going to end with my favorite. Okay? So make sure you keep watching so that you can find out who is my absolute favorite. So number 10 is Annalise Keating of How to Get Away with Murder. So How to Get Away with Murder was on air from 2014 to 2020. So when this show came out, I was already in law school. I was in law school from 2012 to 2015. So I tried to watch it, but let me tell you, I was busy. I was right in the throes of all of it, but there is one thing that I remember. For one, Annalise was a law professor. She also had her own practice on the side and she was including some of the students. So there were some problematic parts, right? If they were getting internships as 1Ls and I remember distinctly being told that I could not work as a 1L, right? You had to be an extreme exception to work as a 1L or either you were in school part time. But nonetheless, I remember when I tried to watch the show and a lot of the cases that they mentioned in the show were actual cases that we read as 1Ls and 2Ls. So I was like, okay, I do remember some of those cases from my criminal law, criminal procedure courses. I'm right. I had either just taken the bar or was about to. I wasn't trying to hear about all that. But I do remember Annalise being an incredible professor, also owning her own practice. So at number 10, Annalise Keating is my 10th favorite black actress on TV. So coming in at number nine is Rachel Zane. Rachel Zane is a character on the show Suits, which was on air from 2011 to 2019. So Rachel Zane has a special place in my heart because Rachel was apparently won the show. And really, we're seeing how Rachel knew her stuff. Her dad was a lawyer, so she had that pressure on her back of trying to live up to him and probably even wanting to step into his shoes. But Rachel does eventually go to law school, take the bar exam and become a lawyer. And so Rachel's trajectory was so important because it reminded me of a lot of stuff that I saw in law offices all the time. First of all, paralegals are incredible. There are so many memes out there where first and second year lawyers run to the paralegals to find out what's happening, right? Because the paralegals have been there for so long. They know their stuff. They know the people. They know the judges. They know where to file. They know the margins. They know all of it, right? And when you are a lawyer, you can turn in a memo. If it is not size 14 fine and your margins are not correct, it's being thrown out. But guess who will know? Your paralegal. And even if you forgot it from law school or never learned it, right? Paralegal tasks are different than lawyer tasks. And so maybe you didn't even learn it. But all that to say, the paralegal will know. So Rachel Zane was a paralegal and by the time the show ended, she actually had become a fool on attorney actually. Not even a lawyer and a law school graduate, but she actually passed the bar exam and became an attorney. So Rachel Zane is number nine on my list of top 10 black female lawyers on TV. Coming in at number eight is Renee Radick from the show Ally McBeal. Ally McBeal was on air from 1997 to 2002. So Renee Radick was a district attorney. So Ally McBeal was a lawyer and Ally McBeal worked at this big kooky law firm and all this other stuff. But then Renee was actually on the public sector side working as a district attorney. And so it was interesting to see the relationship. It was interesting to see the different stresses that they both had because they were on different sides of the table technically. And so the time that the show was on, I don't remember if I watched it real time because that was when I was in high school, you know, not to age myself too much. And then I remember that Renee was one of the first characters that I remember looking at and being like, I could be a lawyer. Oh, I could definitely be a lawyer. Oh my God, look at her. I was like, she's not toning herself down to go to court. Her hair doesn't always have to be pulled back and perfect. And I'm like, she used to be her. She used to be curly hair, red curly hair. She used to be doing this stuff. She is her in law. So yeah, I would definitely say that Renee Radick was one of the people that had me thinking, I bet law school would be pretty awesome. All right. So number seven of my favorite black women lawyers is Molly Carter. Now, Molly Carter is from the show Insecure. Insecure was on air from 2016 to 2021. So she was an associate. And one of my favorite things about Molly as a black woman lawyer on TV was the honesty in her character. So Molly off jump winning, she was the lawyer, right? And it was a really good justification to see Molly and Issa and how Issa didn't have her stuff together. But then Molly had her stuff together career-wise, right? And you've got to see all the different levels and the different struggles of Molly, right? So you've got to see her get jealous when co-workers were getting engaged. You've got to see a time where she picked up someone's check and it wasn't her. She found out that she was being severely underpaid, which was crazy because she was like the one who was balling up her friends. But she was still super underpaid compared to the white men and the other white associates in the office, right? And so then she makes lateral moves, which is to a different firm. So her track was so honest. And I would say that Molly is at number seven because Molly is what people want lawyers to be, which is you go to school, you hustle, you grind, you study, you make all this money afterwards. That doesn't always happen. I talk to lawyers every single week on my podcast where we talk about how's life, what happened after law school, how are you doing? That doesn't always happen. So I mean, she was crushing it, but yeah, Molly is number seven on my list of top 10 black boyers on TV. All right, so coming in at number six of the list is Joan Clayton. Joan Clayton is a character on the show Girlfriends, which was on from 2000 to 2006. And Joan was an associate at a law firm. She's trying to work her way up. She's trying to become partner. She's really good friends with one of the black male lawyers. He ends up being partner. So there's a whole dynamic there. And I love to see her trajectory and how she even transitioned away from the law into owning a restaurant and doing all these other things. So Joan was definitely a well-rounded and kooky character. So she was great to see. And it definitely was nice to see another lawyer portrayed on TV. So coming in at number five, the dearest Claire Huxtable. So Claire Huxtable is a character on The Cosby Show, which was on air from 1984 to 1992. Now, Claire Huxtable is my all-time favorite because she's Claire Huxtable. She is, she is it. I promise you she was my first impression of black women lawyers. I promise you she was the first time I saw a black woman lawyer on TV. I know it, I know it, I know it. But listen, she was Rudy's mom. I was young, 1984 to 1992. She was just Rudy's mom. It did not mean not dare nothing to me that she was a lawyer. I saw it, but it definitely wasn't until I watched reruns of the show where I was like, oh yeah, she was a lawyer. No, I wanted to make her higher up on this list, but she is Rudy's mom. Yes, she's awesome, yes, she's so witty, but important black female lawyer on TV, absolutely. But she comes in at number five for me on this list because that's Rudy's mom. So coming in at number four is Lola Carmichael. Lola Carmichael is a judge on the show All Rise, which started in 2019 and is still currently running in 2022. Now Lola Carmichael is so important because she's a judge. Kyla, I thought this list was black women lawyers. Wait a minute. So, did you know you can become a judge without being a lawyer? It's true. It is true. There are a number of states where you do not even have to be a lawyer to become a judge. You can either be elected to judge or you can only do misdemeanor cases. It's a whole, Google it, it's out there. You do not have to be a lawyer to become a judge in the United States of America. So there. So the fact that Lola Carmichael was a lawyer, she talks about being a lawyer is a huge deal, right? So Lola is in this list because when I was a little girl I wanted to be a judge. I had no idea what that meant, but I definitely used to wear my dad's black cotton robe around the house and act like I was a judge and boss my two brothers around. I remember it very distinctly and I was like, being a judge is so cool. And it wasn't until I got older where I realized, oh, to be a judge I have to have a legal background. You have to go to law school. There's more to it, right? When she become a judge or get elected, you go to judicial college. That's where you learn the nitty-gritty details. But in most states and definitely in the state of Ohio, I would have to have a law degree and sometimes practice even, be a practicing lawyer to become a judge. So yeah, Lola Carmichael can make this list of black women lawyers on TV because she definitely is a black lawyer on TV. So coming in at number three is Kate Sacker. Kate Sacker is a character on the show Billions, which started in 2016, and which is still currently on the air, okay? So Billions is this crazy drama about billionaires and district attorneys fighting and all of this big tech money stuff. But Kate Sacker is an assistant district attorney. So she's on the public sector side fighting to protect the people. And you get to see her learn from her absolutely kooky, intelligent, genius boss. Chuck Rhodes is a hot mess. And one of my favorite things about Kate is the reaction she gives, okay? She will read you with her eyes and you will be like, I don't like your tone of voice. I have just cut you completely out, right? But she's respectful. She didn't say nothing out of turn. So one of my favorite things about Kate is that she moves from being the assistant district attorney to actually going in-house right in the most recent season. She actually moved and went in-house and decided to work with a corporation. And that is not unlikely, right? A lot of times people will learn, get a lot of information from the public sector and then go in-house because a lot of times the money is different or if you have ambitions of running for office, you'll go to the private sector or vice versa. You'll start private sector and then go public, you know? But she has this big wealthy family that she has a lot of money. She has this big wealthy family that she came from, all of these demands, all of these pressures to be amazing and she still creates her own path, right? It was not the obvious choice for her to go work in-house but I love that she did it. And bonus for you, if you did not know this, the actress playing Kate Sacker, Condola Rashad is the daughter of Felicia Rashad and Amad Rashad. Take a look at this picture. She looks just like her mama. And so in loving the show and then doing the research for this list, I was like, look at you, you get it, honest. So I absolutely love Kate Sacker on the show, Billions. And that's why she is in at number three. Now, if you've been watching and waiting and you're like, Kyla, where is the obvious choice? The obvious choice is in at number two. And that's Olivia Pope. Olivia Pope? It's Olivia Pope. This don't gotta be your top 10 list of mine and Olivia Pope is in at number two. Olivia Pope is a character from the show, Scandal which was on air from 2012 to 2018. Now, Olivia Pope is a lawyer. A lot of people think, oh, she's just a handler. Her whole thing was a scandal. It was handled because she was a lawyer and lawyers get it done. But she was a lawyer. She had her group of other lawyers who were with her. She also had her group of investigators, right? So you have Huck over here and they were doing a lot of stuff but most of them were also lawyers. And so Olivia had this entire life, this entire really public relationship and all of this going on. But one of my favorite things about Olivia Pope is that she was a legal MacGyver, okay? If you watched the show MacGyver, the new one or the old one, okay, I'm old. If you watched either of them, MacGyver would just find a way to get it done. And that was Olivia Pope. That was part of her saying it's handled. You tell me the issue? Stop there, say less. It's handled. She will find a way to work it out and in every single episode, the conflict would present itself. She would handle it, it was done. I'm a lawyer, I'm knocking it out, right? And so that was one of the things I loved about Olivia Pope. When she came into a room, she stole all the attention. She stole all the energy. Every black woman I knew wanted to be walking into a room, walking so hard that her hair is pushing back like we walk with our own fan just owning it, right? We were like, do it, do it, Livy. And so yes, Olivia Pope is definitely in at number two for my top 10 black women lawyers on TV. So here we are at number one. Number one for me is Maxine Shaw, attorney at law. If you just said that out loud with me, you're my person. You are my person. Maxine Shaw is a character from the show Living Single which was won air from 1993 to 1998. And Maxine Shaw was dope, hands down. I can watch Living Single every single episode right now from the beginning. That show was brilliant. Living Single walked so that Sex and the City could run, okay, four characters, a lawyer is one of them. You got the kooky one like Sinclair and Cary. You got the really flirty one like Regine and Samantha. And he has the goody, goody sweetheart like Charlotte and Khadija, right? So you have all of those four types going on based in New York. And I was just, everything about it, yes. And so Maxine Shaw, we always saw her in these suits. We saw her with the briefcases, but most importantly, the hair. She had dreadlocks, they were short, they were asymmetrical, they were long, they were in a bun, they were Maxine Shaw and this hair, listen, this is so relevant because it's 2002 when this is coming out and there was recently an act passed by Congress called the Crown Act, which says that people cannot be discriminated against based on their hair. Because you can have cornrows and still be intelligent and an amazing lawyer. You can have dreadlocks and be a lawyer. You can be bald, you can have purple hair, you can have whatever you want. You can have a giant puff. And you cannot be discriminated against because of your hair, but guess what? It wasn't on the books. And why is that important? Because sometimes when things are written down, people think they don't have to acknowledge them, okay? But Maxine Shaw crushed it. And of course there's more than your outfits to being a lawyer, right? And we did see some scenes of her going to work or her doing all of her stuff, definitely when she would be arguing with Kyle, who also was a lawyer, but it was just like Maxine Shaw was it. She was always given the good advice. She was always setting people straight and she just had a commanding presence where you were like, oh, if Maxine said it, it's the Bible truth. Maxine Shaw, number one in my book, a favorite black woman lawyers on TV, okay? So if you are still here, thank you for hanging out with me. Thank you for watching this. Give me a comment. Let me know. Do you agree with my list? Do you think that Claire Huckstable should have been hired? And please like this video. That really does help YouTube share this video with a bigger audience, okay? So thank you for hanging out with me today and I will see you next time. Bye.