5 Legal K-Dramas To Watch If You Love Badass Female Leads

Charismatic, intuitive, and with an innate ability to outsmart their opponents, there have been a few badass ladies who have held sway over the courtrooms. Demonstrating their sharp wit as well as a no-nonsense attitude and blended with the right amount of vulnerability and emotion, these feisty legal eagles are uncompromising in their pursuit of justice. 

If you love these types of characters, here are five such ladies whose courtroom swag and appealing personalities come with no objections. 

“Lawless Lawyer”

Bong Sang Pil (Lee Joon Gi) is a former gangster-turned-lawyer. Crafty and well aware of the loopholes in the legal system, he uses it to his advantage. His end goal is to bring justice no matter the means to the end. He finds a willing partner in Ha Jae Yi (Seo Ye Ji). Jae Yi is a righteous lawyer who has been disbarred from court after assaulting an obnoxious judge. And she refuses to apologize, well knowing her job is on the line. Together, the two are a formidable duo that is willing to go to any lengths in their quest for justice.

Jae Yi is spunky but also comes with an emotional vulnerability which makes her relatable. She is not just a pretty face but a woman with gumption who stands up for the right things. Seo Ye Ji plays Ha Jae Yi with finesse, bringing in the ferocity as well as the sensitivity to her character. And the tacit understanding that her character has with Lee Joon Gi’s Sang Pil adds dimension to the drama.

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“Juvenile Justice”

Kim Hye Soo is Judge Shim Eun Seok, an indomitable force in the courtroom. She is stern and unstoppable when it comes to getting the truth out. However, she is unsympathetic when it comes to juveniles as she nonchalantly admits, “I detest young offenders.” She finds herself volunteering as a Juvenile Court Judge due to a situation she is unable to avert. But will her preconceived attitude towards teenage crimes come in the way of delivering justice?

Her co-judge is the sensitive Cha Tae Joo (Kim Moo Yeol), who is empathetic towards the young troubled souls. He feels guidance, moral support, and rehabilitating them correctly would go a long way in helping these teens. Can Eun Seok be non-judgmental and for once understand the trauma of youth and what drives them to do what they do?

There is no denying that Kim Hye Soo’s screen presence and star power are unmatchable. A fine actor who gets the beats of her character on point, she plays her role to perfection. “Juvenile Justice” can be triggering as it highlights contemporary issues of juvenile violence, embittered youth, and the apathetic society which further adds to the discontentment.

“Miss Hammurabi”

Go Ara is Park Cha Oh Reum, a newly appointed judge in the Civil Affairs Department at the Seoul District Court. Always on the look out for offenders, she has a strong sense of justice and propriety. Though sympathetic towards people, she is not a pushover. While she sees her male colleagues taking sexual harassment cases lightly, “an eye for an eye” is what she believes in and espouses. But many don’t regard her attitude towards the law as practical, since she focuses on people rather than on the case. The law for her is for the people, and if one could understand humans better, the cases would be solved on their own.

“Miss Hammurabi” is an underrated drama and comes with a strong humanitarian message. It sheds light on gender sensitivity, harassment at the workplace, and the long road to justice which resonated with viewers.

Go Ara as the “in your face” Park Cha Oh Reum strikes a chord as the idealistic rookie judge who stands up for her beliefs, even when the system goes against her.

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“Woman With a Suitcase”

When the law and its gate keepers turn against you, why not use the same tactics to make the law turn against them? This is what Cha Geum Joo (Choi Ji Woo) does when she lands up in jail for violating the attorneys-at-law act during her turn as a manager in a law firm. Once out, she may be down on her luck, but her spirit shines bright. She studies the law diligently and finds an unlikely ally in Ham Bok Geo (Joo Jin Mo), the chief of a paparazzi news agency. Though initially skeptical of Geum Joo and her so-called crazy ideas, especially when she starts challenging the stories his agency puts out, he realizes how a mere rumor can have adverse effects.

“Woman With a Suitcase” is a riveting drama which comes with plenty of twists as well as light-hearted moments. The chemistry between Choi Ji Woo and Joo Jin Mo is fun as the two squabble but finally come together to right the wrongs.

“Vincenzo”

You don’t want to mess with Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Been). One of the brightest lawyers in Korea’s best law firm Woosang, she is known for a sharp tongue and has razor sharp abilities to get down to the bottom of the most twisted cases. Overtly ambitious and equally competitive, Cha Young can go to any lengths to win a case. After all, one has to focus on the advantages, which could well mean even siding with those in the wrong. She is constantly at loggerheads with her father, a lawyer devoted to public service, until the arrival of Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong Ki), a calculating and smooth Italian lawyer and Mafia consigliere in Seoul. Hong Cha Young suffers a tragedy and realizes that she may well have been a pawn for the higher-ups in her law firm. She forms an unlikely partnership with Vincenzo, and she learns that not all matters can be settled in court.

“Vincenzo” is a thrilling drama, which keeps you involved through the entirety of its narrative. Song Joong Ki as the ruthless Vincenzo and Jeon Yeo Been as the tenacious Cha Young are in sync. Their flair for comedy comes as a respite in an otherwise tense narrative, and their chemistry is on point.

Hey Soompiers, which one of these is your favorite legal drama? Let us know all about it in the comments below!

Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yang Yang and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.

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