Wondery launches new true crime anthology series Criminal Attorney

Wondery has launched its latest true crime franchise, Criminal Attorney hosted by award-winning hip-hop personality and journalist Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins.

Each season will feature a story of legal corruption and courtroom scandal centring on lawyers and attorneys that put their thumb on the scales of justice.

Season one recounts the rise and fall of ruthless defence attorney, Paul Bergrin. The series follows bank manager turned FBI agent Shawn Brokos on her mission to clean up the streets of Newark.

As she ventures deeper into a dark world of racketeering, drug dealing and murder, she discovers that one of the key figures she is trying to arrest is a criminal defence attorney.

It appears every case he takes, he wins, and as rumours start to emerge, it becomes evident that Bergrin has crossed the line and become a criminal himself.

Bergrin, referred to as “the craziest, most evil lawyer in the history of New Jersey” was known for defending a range of famous and notorious clients before his 2013 conviction.

From celebrities like Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, and rappers from the Naughty By Nature crew, to gang leaders and imprisoned soldiers, including an Army reservist charged in Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, these clients trusted Bergrin to disprove their wrongdoings.

As loyalty to his clients and a stubborn refusal to lose a case grew stronger, lines began to blur and Bergrin found himself closer to the crimes than any reputable attorney should ever be.

Criminal Attorney goes inside the criminal world of Paul Bergrin and his remarkable fall from grace, asking, what made him go from upholding the law to breaking it?

Host Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins says: “What’s most fascinating to me about the evolution of true crime are the exciting stories that make you re-evaluate the often-blurry lines about what is right and what is wrong, both within and beyond the scope of the law. And how easily people can justify passing back and forth between those moral regions.

“Paul Bergrin and the people he crosses paths with, have to engage with that dichotomy to varying degrees. I’m excited for people to tap in.”

Criminal Attorney is available ad-free now on Wondery+ and will be available across all podcast platforms on 23 September, with new episodes released each Monday.