Lawyers are often known for being some of the seediest people around. Many of them chase ambulances and others will use shady practices in order to get their way. However, lawyers can also uphold the law and protect the rights of people – if they want to, that is.

Lawyers have also been known to be very productive when it comes to literature. In fact, you might be amazed at how many people who are popular authors these days used to be lawyers. These include a number of fine authors who have used their experiences in the field of law to their advantage as they use it all to help them work their understandings of how the world works into their literature.

Scott Turow

Known for books like Pleading Guilty and Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow continues to be a practicing lawyer who has a full understanding of the law. However, it is his book One L that truly makes him stand out. This book is about the first year he spent while at law school. It truly gives off a good look at how studies in the world of law really work and what people do in order to succeed in this challenging field.

Erle Stanley Gardner

The late Erle Stanley Gardner may be the most noteworthy explore on this list. He created the famed characters of Perry Mason, Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. Mason was noteworthy for being a former lawyer who became a detective and used his knowledge of the law to find criminals.

Meg Gardiner

Meg Gardiner was a lawyer and even a writing instructor before moving on to writing thrillers. Today she is best known as the creator of the Evan Delaney series of novels including China Lake and Jericho Point.

Henry Fielding

Many people know Henry Fielding for writing the History of Tom Jones but he was also a lawyer in the eighteenth century. He was especially supportive of the development of judicial reform and the standardization of conditions in prisons around Great Britain. He also helped to found the Bow Street Runners, an organization that made up London’s first real police force.

John Mortimer

Known for defending Virgin Records’ right to free speech over a high-profile obscenity case, John Mortimer also created the Rumpole of the Bailey character. He used his experiences in the courtroom and his knowledge of how the legal system works to his advantage when bringing this challenging field to life for all to discover.

Josh Grisham

Naturally, no list of lawyers who became authors is truly complete with John Grisham. The author of such books as the Firm and the Pelican Brief, his work has brought people closer into the worlds of law and politics alike to show how these two radically different worlds really do converge with one another.

Lawyers who have become authors are interesting to discover. These are people who have done some work in a very serious field but have chosen to take that experience into something more than just working the traditional legal grind. They are people who want to share their knowledge and their ideas with the entire world.