Where is Leslie Abramson now? Current whereabouts of The Menendez Brothers attorney explored

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, detailing the infamous Menendez brothers' case, premiered on Netflix on September 19, 2024. The series rekindled public interest in the dramatic events surrounding the brothers.

Leslie Abramson is one of the main characters on the show. She was the high-profile defense attorney who represented Erik Menendez and fought to save him from receiving the death penalty. Now, at 80 years old, she is enjoying retirement after a career that established her as one of the most formidable defense attorneys in Los Angeles.

After the trial, Abramson continued to work on several other high-profile cases, published a memoir, and appeared in several documentaries. She leads a much less public life, but her legacy as an indefatigable advocate is respected across the legal establishment.

What was Leslie Abramson's role in the Menendez Brothers' trial?

Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson (Image via Netflix)

The most dramatic point in Leslie Abramson's career came when she represented the Menendez brothers during their trial. After the family dismissed their previous attorney, Abramson was engaged to defend Erik Menendez. She became famous because of the cross-examinations she conducted with so much acidity and rigidly designed legal maneuvers.

Her defense was based on arguments that Erik and Lyle Menendez were driven to kill their parents. In addition, the Menendez brothers had suffered years of physical, emotional, and s*xual abuse at the hands of their father.

Abramson's approach was to humanize the brothers and to portray them as victims of a very dysfunctional, abusive home. She positioned the case more as a tragic result of psychological abuse than a cool-blooded murder. Her efforts successfully stopped the Menendez brothers from getting the death penalty, and Erik and Lyle Menendez both were sentenced to life in prison.

During her defense, Abramson was still accused of tampering with evidence, but an investigation led by the California State Bar found no truth to that claim. Her work on the case established Abramson as a fierce advocate who can tackle even the toughest and most contentious cases.

How did Leslie Abramson build her legal career?

Abramson graduated with a strong academic background from Queens College before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1965 to complete her law degree in 1969.

Shortly thereafter, she passed the California State Bar and started working for the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office. Early in her practice, she was exposed to a long litany of cases, which eventually helped develop the courtroom skills that would define her entire reputation.

Abramson quickly earned a reputation as a tenacious defense attorney, particularly in death row cases. She was highly successful and had taken on some high-profile clients who were accused of horrific crimes even by the time she took on the Menendez brothers' case.

Finally, she did her work on the Menendez brothers case that would send her into national headlines. However, her career was built on a base of real experience and courtroom successes years before the case, which made her one of the most sought-after defense attorneys in Los Angeles.

Where is Leslie Abramson now, decades after the Menedez brothers' trial?

Leslie Abramson is now retired and has left the legal profession after decades of practicing law. Now, she passes her quiet life as a background figure compared to the time when she was a superstar celebrity lawyer with countless high-profile murder cases that she defended. However, putting aside this retirement, the notoriety ensured by Abramson remains to date through fictional and documentary-style portrayals of the trial.

In 1997, Abramson published a tell-all memoir titled The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law, where she detailed her experiences with several infamous clients. Abramson also went on to try a handful of other criminal cases after the Menendez trial, but none were nearly as mainstream in their appeal. She even briefly represented famous music producer Phil Spector but quickly left the case over infighting within the defense team.

Despite the retirement, Abramson remains sometimes in the limelight due to new dramatizations of the Menendez Brothers case. In 2017 Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, she was played by Edie Falco. All producers of the show shared that Abramson has shown little interest in re-opening the case and spends most of her time retired, almost fully hidden from public life.

Interested viewers can stream Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix.

Check out Apple TV+'s cutest new show HERE

Edited by Shubham Soni