The most talkative lawyers in the land are vacating the staid theater of the courtroom for the more glamorous arena of television, and it's all O.J. Simpson's fault.
The camera coverage in Simpson's 1994 murder trial heralded a new age of law as TV entertainment and created an instant industry of legal commentators.When the trial ended, the talking went on, and now several of the most celebrated commentators are making TV a large part of their professional lives.
Lawyers Greta Van Susteren and Roger Cossack of CNN's "Burden of Proof" have given up their law practices to practice TV. Johnnie Cochran, of Simpson courtroom fame, juggles a law practice and business enterprises with a full-time show for Court TV.
The Court TV network hit its peak during the trial and has parlayed the interest into several popular shows.
Leslie Abramson, a tenacious defender of such cases as the Menendez brothers, has a contract with Court TV to appear on "Prime Time Justice" and other shows, but she is openly seeking her own permanent spot on TV.
Although Abramson says flippantly, "I do it for the money," she acknowledges her overriding interest is to bring the defense point of view to TV.
"It's a very powerful place," she said. "You have an impact on public opinion. You have a chance to change things, and that's why it's so dangerous in the wrong hands."
Abramson seized the chance to guest host the "Rivera Live" show for a week - a show she says she would never appear on when host Geraldo Rivera was in charge because of his anti-defense views.
"The bias of the media is toward the government and most of these shows have a pro-prosecution agenda," she said. "Who's going to be pro-criminal?"
Gerry Spence, who had his own show for a while, appears on talk shows because, he says, "My mother wanted me to be a preacher, and I have an agenda. I'm trying to preach the gospel of freedom to ordinary people."
Spence, who made his name in high-profile trials such as the Karen Silkwood case and the Imelda Marcos trial, continues to practice law, teaches young lawyers and writes. But TV lures him back.
"It gives you the opportunity to talk to thousands of people at a time," he says.
Gloria Allred, a celebrity lawyer long before the Simpson case, has her own KABC radio show and has done some TV commentary. She said she provides a liberal, feminist voice on predominantly conservative talk radio.
"There is a need for progressive voices in radio," says Allred, who represented Nicole Brown Simpson's family during the Simpson civil trial. "I consider it part of my professional duty to speak out."
For some, the powerful TV audience is enough to make them give up the law entirely.
Manny Medrano, an assistant U.S. Attorney for 13 years who prosecuted the high profile Enrique Camarena case, now works full time for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. The Harvard Law School graduate said he's moved on from doing only legal commentary to covering news assignments such as floods and fires.
"I enjoy what I'm doing," he said. "The hours are better, and with the pulpit of a broadcast journalist, I have an even greater impact on the community."
Van Susteren may have had the most meteoric rise of any TV legal whiz. A successful Washington, D.C., trial lawyer, she was snagged for comments by media covering the courthouse.
Then CNN called. Would she provide commentary on the William Kennedy Smith rape trial? She did, and then came O.J. Simpson. She and Cossack, a Los Angeles lawyer, teamed to provide commentary and "Burden of Proof" was born.
It is now a top-rated show that repeats three times a day with guests discussing legal aspects of the news. When Princess Diana was killed in Paris, "Burden of Proof" explained the French legal system to its viewers.
Van Susteren doesn't rule out returning to the courtroom one day, but for now she says of TV: "It's fast, it's fun, and I love talking about the law.
Cochran, who successfully defended Simpson in his criminal trial, keeps up a frantic schedule with his practice in Los Angeles and his show in New York.
His practice is far more lucrative than his TV show, he acknowledges, but with the show "Cochran & Co.," he says, "I have the best of both worlds and I'm not losing money. I'm just losing sleep."