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Where the Menendez brothers' lawyer is now

Where the Menendez brothers' lawyer is now

She was described as a “5-foot-tall, grubby, nuclear-powered pain in the ass.”

In episode three of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix, we are introduced to Leslie Abramson, who is featured as a stellar criminal defense attorney who does her best to help brother Erik avoid prison and the death penalty after the family fired the previous attorney.

In real life, Leslie Abramson was considered by Vanity Fair to be “the most brilliant death penalty defense attorney in Los Angeles.” This was said of her in 1990, the same year that Lyle and Erik Menendez were arrested for murder and she was assigned to defend the latter.

Leslie was known as a lawyer who nobody liked to deal with, who outwitted witnesses and did whatever it took to win her cases. She attended Queens College and UCLA law school and worked for six years in LA County public defense.

According to the LA Times, she earned a reputation as a “5-foot-tall, fire-breathing, dirt-throwing, nuclear pain in the ass.”

Leslie Abramson, Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik MenendezLeslie Abramson, Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez

via Netflix

Where is Leslie Abramson now, decades after the trial of the Menendez brothers?

Leslie Abramson is now 80 years old. She is not only known for the Menendez case, but is also a published author. Leslie has been married twice and has two children. As you can probably imagine, she has long since retired from the legal profession.

In 1997, after defending the Menendez brothers, Leslie Abramson wrote a book called The Defense Is Ready: Life in The Trenches of Criminal Law. Her memoir provides insight into the criminal justice system and some of the notorious cases she was involved in.

In 2017, there was a season of Law & Order that featured Leslie Abramson, played by Edie Falco. It was called Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, and Leslie talked at the time about seeing herself play herself on screen. “Oh man,” she said in a phone call with The Wrap. “I have nothing to say. Absolutely nothing. Goodbye.”

Showrunner René Balcer told EW that Leslie was not involved in the series in any way, but commented, “She has a beautiful life, a beautiful retirement.”

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is now available on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, and memes, follow The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this author:

• The real Erik Menendez denounces the Netflix show's “blatant lies” in a sensational statement

• Complete: The real escape plan letter that Lyle wrote in prison to his brother Erik Menendez

• So how rich was Lyle and Erik's father, Jose Menendez?

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