The Law in Her Hands 1936

Two waitresses working in New York, Mary Wentworth and Dorothy Davis, pass the bar exam and embark on legal careers. Their employer Franz inadvertently photographs a gangster just before the man ignites a smoke bomb in the restaurant, and the incident is meant to coerce Franz into joining a protection racket run by crime boss Frank Gordon. The perpetrator is arrested, and the case is prosecuted by Robert Mitchell, who is Mary’s boyfriend.

At the trial, Gordon tries to shift blame by lining up witnesses who claim the defendant wasn’t at the restaurant, but Mary and Dorothy present the photograph as evidence. Gordon is impressed with Mary’s performance and offers her a job as his lawyer, but she declines, choosing to stay clear of underworld activities.

When a corrupt lawyer plants a bottle of liquor in a coat that Mary had entered into evidence, she loses her first case in court. Robert believes that the law is not a suitable profession for a woman, and he asks her to abandon her career in order to marry him. Mary asserts that she intends to overcome her first defeat and persevere in the law, but she will consider his request if she cannot find success within a year.

Hoping to discourage Mary, Robert suggests she represent a man who has already signed a confession. Later, Mary employs the same tactics and defeats Robert in court. She eventually accepts Gordon as a client, and the fledgling law firm becomes a great success with a large and busy office.

When Mary learns that Gordon’s gang was responsible for poisoning milk that caused multiple deaths, she changes her mind and refuses to continue to represent him. When Gordon forces her to defend him, she turns on him in court and accuses him of the crime, and Gordon is convicted. She later successfully appeals to be disbarred, and she informs Robert that she will abandon her law career in order to marry him.