Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Filmmaker

Why be a lawyer when you can make movies about law instead?

Our latest career alternative for attorneys is probably one that makes most people wish they had not only the funds, but also the creativity to be able to tackle. We’ve covered television screenwriters and novelists in the past, but creating a script for a visual masterpiece on the silver screen is another thing entirely.

It takes time, talent, and most perhaps importantly of all, money. The stealth lawyer profiled in today’s video had all three, and she used them to create a film that touches on social issues that public defenders face each day of their lives. Let’s find out who she is, and what she did prior to becoming a filmmaker….

Meet Dawn Porter, a graduate of Georgetown Law and a former associate at Baker Hostetler. Porter’s time in Biglaw was followed by a two-year in-house stint at ABC Television before she moved on to A&E Television. After “watching TV for a living,” Porter decided to make the transition to becoming a filmmaker and producer, and because she’s a lawyer, her most recent film, Gideon’s Army, is about the law. She discusses the twists and turns of her various career shifts in her interview with Spencer Mazyk of Bloomberg Law:

Gideon’s Army is a documentary that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and it’s already received high praise and several awards. It profiles three idealistic public defenders who try to challenge many of the long-held assumptions that drive the strained criminal justice system in the Deep South.

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In the wake of Gideon vs. Wainwright, can there truly be justice for all? Find out for yourself this summer when the film airs on HBO. Congratulations to Dawn Porter for all of her successes.

Stealth Lawyer: Dawn Porter, Filmmaker, ‘Gideon’s Army’ [Bloomberg Law via YouTube]

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of career alternatives

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