TLC's Sister Wives is the latest show headed toward legal trouble.
Lawyers know how to capitalize on the latest trend—as in 1999 when some firms began marketing Y2K practices to help clients through the crisis posed by those pesky double zeros.
Are reality-TV practices the next niche? Many reality shows seem to spiral into litigation. For example, Real Housewives of D.C. stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi warned their costars in a letter that referring to the couple as “party crashers” was “legally actionable defamation.”
Now Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and a frequent media commentator, has become the latest local lawyer to dive into the morass of reality TV. The family featured on TLC’s new series Sister Wives has retained Turley to fend off Utah prosecutors. The family—which consists of husband Kody Brown and his four wives—is under investigation for violating polygamy laws.
Turley, who has written about morality laws, including the polygamy statute, is doing the work pro bono. He says the state of Utah has opted not to prosecute thousands of other polygamists, so he sees no reason that his clients’ situation should “move from the television guide to the criminal docket.”
Earlier this year, a local woman hired Washington employment lawyer Jason Ehrenberg to sue MTV, Viacom, and Bunim/Murray Productions in DC Superior Court after she made an intoxicated appearance on TheReal World: Washington D.C., which she claimed caused her emotional distress and to miss out on job opportunities. Her case has since been moved to the US District Court for DC.
For their part, the Salahis have created lots of local legal work. Stephen Best, co-head of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s white-collar criminal-defense group, helped them navigate the congressional probe into their appearance at last year’s White House state dinner. There also have been disputes over their family winery, unpaid debts, and other matters, including their polo club’s recent bankruptcy filing. Unfortunately for the DC Bar, their reality-TV lawyer du jour is Los Angeles–based attorney Lisa Bloom.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She was previously a reporter for Legal Times and the National Law Journal. She has recently written about the Marriott family’s civil war and the 50-year rebirth of 14th Street, and reported the definitive oral history of the Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt case. She lives in Northeast DC with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.
Reality TV Meets the Law
Lawyers know how to capitalize on the latest trend—as in 1999 when some firms began marketing Y2K practices to help clients through the crisis posed by those pesky double zeros.
Are reality-TV practices the next niche? Many reality shows seem to spiral into litigation. For example, Real Housewives of D.C. stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi warned their costars in a letter that referring to the couple as “party crashers” was “legally actionable defamation.”
Now Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and a frequent media commentator, has become the latest local lawyer to dive into the morass of reality TV. The family featured on TLC’s new series Sister Wives has retained Turley to fend off Utah prosecutors. The family—which consists of husband Kody Brown and his four wives—is under investigation for violating polygamy laws.
Turley, who has written about morality laws, including the polygamy statute, is doing the work pro bono. He says the state of Utah has opted not to prosecute thousands of other polygamists, so he sees no reason that his clients’ situation should “move from the television guide to the criminal docket.”
Earlier this year, a local woman hired Washington employment lawyer Jason Ehrenberg to sue MTV, Viacom, and Bunim/Murray Productions in DC Superior Court after she made an intoxicated appearance on The Real World: Washington D.C., which she claimed caused her emotional distress and to miss out on job opportunities. Her case has since been moved to the US District Court for DC.
For their part, the Salahis have created lots of local legal work. Stephen Best, co-head of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s white-collar criminal-defense group, helped them navigate the congressional probe into their appearance at last year’s White House state dinner. There also have been disputes over their family winery, unpaid debts, and other matters, including their polo club’s recent bankruptcy filing. Unfortunately for the DC Bar, their reality-TV lawyer du jour is Los Angeles–based attorney Lisa Bloom.
Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
This article first appeared in the November 2010 issue of The Washingtonian.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She was previously a reporter for Legal Times and the National Law Journal. She has recently written about the Marriott family’s civil war and the 50-year rebirth of 14th Street, and reported the definitive oral history of the Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt case. She lives in Northeast DC with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.
Editors' Picks
The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington
Bad News for the NFL: John Riggins’ Wife Is a Lawyer
The High-Paid DC Millennials Who Are Using Side Hustles to “Ball Out”
Meet Britt McHenry, the Fox News Star for Millennials
Most Popular in News
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Filming on the National Mall and the Photos are Kinda Intense
Is the Acela Really a High-Speed Train?
A Shocking Love Triangle Has Broken Up DC’s Favorite Bald Eagle Power Couple
The Definitive Oral History of the Bobbitt Case, 25 Years Later
The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch
February 2019: 100 Very Best Restaurants
Related
A Look Inside One of the Country’s Biggest Vinyl Record Plants
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
More from News
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Filming on the National Mall and the Photos are Kinda Intense
The Amazon Resistance Won in New York. What Does it Mean for Virginia?
Jelani Cobb on the Super Bowl, Ralph Northam, and the State of Black History
We Asked These Washingtonians Who They Were Buying Flowers For on Valentine’s Day
Who Would Go See Howard Schultz Speak on Valentine’s Day?
Washingtonian Today: Amazon Dumps NYC on Valentine’s Day
The People Who Still Have to Work When Washington Has a Snow Day
A Shocking Love Triangle Has Broken Up DC’s Favorite Bald Eagle Power Couple