Before writing this piece, I did a few quick internet searches on lawyers in film, on TV and in books. Frustratingly, nine out of ten characters were men. But if you scratch just a little beneath the surface, you’ll find some fabulous women…
Natalie Bach - Convictions. Well, it would be rude not to start off with my very own lawyer protagonist from my latest release! Convictions is the first in a legal series and it introduces the complex, feisty and personable Natalie. After a broken love affair and a five-year absence, she finds herself back at her old law firm Goldman Law. Practising her self-styled feminism, she gets stuck into ethical, legal and personal conundrums ranging from the death of a goat to outraging public decency, from restorative justice to murder. But what is right and what is wrong? She soon discovers there are two sides to every crime…
Dianne Lockhart – The Good Wife and The Good Fight. She’s a similar character to Catherine Hetherington in Convictions. Glamorous, intelligent, incisive, strong and professional, but was she right to put her career over family?
Patty Hewes – Damages. I loved this series and the way Patty ruthlessly dedicated herself to taking down power-abusing bullies. She’s an incredible lawyer, but is she a nice person? Some would say being a good lawyer is the bottom line, but as Natalie says, sometimes it leaves you feeling grubby!
Alicia Florrick – The Good Wife. I started writing Convictions after watching this compelling drama. Natalie isn’t there yet, but I liked the way this series had significance for women in its depiction of the more modern struggle to merge career success with life and family.
Martha Costello QC – Silk. A fabulous British TV series. Martha is a no nonsense, honest and caring lawyer. She’s also funny. Natalie would be great friends with her. Martha prioritised her career over her personal life. Fearful she’d do the same, Natalie absconded to Majorca for five years. Does she now regret it?
Ally Mcbeal - Another inspiration for my Natalie Bach character. In Convictions and the follow up Confessions (out in June 2020), the focus is not just on the woman lawyer acting in a professional capacity, but also the unfolding of her personal story. Like Ally, Nat’s exploits as a smart solicitor frame the chaos and whimsy of her private life.
Grace Van Owen - LA Law. Someone had to make an appearance from LA Law. It should have been Arnie Becker, but seeing as this is an all female line up, Grace got the nod!
Josephine Karisson - Spiral. Love her! She’s so stubborn and uncompromising and tough, and yet so vulnerable.
Jessica Pearson - Suits. She’s female, black and the managing partner. She takes no bullshit from the men around her and wears incredible clothes. She also says, “I don’t respond to threats. I make them”. What’s not to love?
Caro Land - Well, she’s the pen name I’m using for Convictions, so she’s fictional too. Like me, she was once a feisty crime and divorce lawyer… Enough said!
Convictions
There are two sides to every crime…
Returning home to care for her ill mother, and approaching her fortieth birthday, Natalie Bach is devastated when she’s dumped without explanation by her long-term boyfriend.
Struggling to pick herself up, she’s offered her old job at Goldman Law. Jack Goldman’s estranged son Julian has been arrested for attempted murder and he wants Natalie to find out why.
With the help of fellow solicitor Gavin Savage, Natalie sets out to investigate, but with a series of red herrings ahead, will she ever discover the truth?
And can Natalie avoid her personal problems interfering with the case?
Caroline England was born in Sheffield and studied Law at the University of Manchester . Caroline was a divorce and professional indemnity lawyer. She turned to writing when she deserted the law to bring up her three lovely daughters. Caroline has had short stories and poems published in a variety of literary publications and anthologies.
Caroline writes domestic psychological thrillers. Her debut novel, Beneath The Skin, known also as The Wife's Secret in eBook, was published by Avon HarperCollins in October 2017. Her second novel, My Husband's Lies, followed in May 2018.
Her latest novel, Betray Her, was published by Piatkus in September 2019. Caroline has two dark, twisty short story collections available on Amazon, both in eBook and paperback,
Her latest novel, Betray Her, was published by Piatkus in September 2019. Caroline has two dark, twisty short story collections available on Amazon, both in eBook and paperback,
Watching Horsepats Feed The Roses and Hanged By The Neck.
Caroline also writes under the pen name Caro Land. Her first Natalie Bach legal suspense, Convictions, was published by Bloodhound Books in January 2020. The follow up, Confessions, will publish in June 2020.
Caroline also writes under the pen name Caro Land. Her first Natalie Bach legal suspense, Convictions, was published by Bloodhound Books in January 2020. The follow up, Confessions, will publish in June 2020.
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