{"id":160718,"date":"2026-08-17T07:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T15:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/17\/biglaws-nda-problem-is-heading-to-prestige-tv\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T07:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T15:16:10","slug":"biglaws-nda-problem-is-heading-to-prestige-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/17\/biglaws-nda-problem-is-heading-to-prestige-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Biglaw\u2019s NDA Problem Is Heading To Prestige TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paramount+ has handed out a straight-to-series order for Discretion<\/em><\/a>, an eight-episode legal thriller from A24 with Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning starring and executive producing. Kidman plays Sharon, the commanding senior partner. Fanning plays Lenny, the summer associate who figures out what Sharon is sitting on. Production is underway<\/a>, with Stephan James and Colton Ryan just added to the cast, Matt Shakman directing the first four episodes, and a 2027 premiere on the calendar.<\/p>\n

The logline<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\n

Discretion\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is a legal thriller about a summer associate Lenny at a prestigious Dallas law firm who uncovers a web of NDAs masking a dark truth. When she realizes she signed the same agreement, her discoveries put her in the crosshairs of the firm\u2019s most powerful female partner Sharon (Kidman)\u2014upending their mentor-prot\u00e9g\u00e9 dynamic and raising the question: who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a good hook. It is also not (entirely) fiction. The specific plot engine here, a firm quietly getting its summer associates to sign away the right to talk in mandatory arbitration\/nondisclosure agreements, isn\u2019t a writers\u2019-room invention. It\u2019s the exact fight law students dragged into daylight back in 2018 when Munger Tolles was\u00a0called out on social media for the practice<\/a>. That firm changed its policy as a result, and other firms\u00a0voluntarily did away<\/a>\u00a0with the\u00a0practice<\/a>. The\u00a0People\u2019s Parity Project<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 an activist group for law students and new attorneys \u2014 has kept the pressure on the industry. And their tactics have\u00a0proven successful<\/a>. But it isn\u2019t a practice firmly in the past \u2014 there have been some firms that have\u00a0held fast<\/a>, despite complaints, and as recently as last year a high-profile litigation boutique rolled out mandatory arbitration on its associates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Discretion<\/em> is based on a short story by author, Chandler Baker (who is also writing and EPing the TV version). And Baker isn\u2019t writing from a research binder. She practiced law for a decade \u2014 a corporate attorney who, by her own account<\/a>, spent that time negotiating \u201chundreds of NDAs a year\u201d \u2014 before she wrote Whisper Network<\/a><\/em>, the 2019 bestseller about the informal warning system women build when the formal channels have been papered shut. She has done the thing the show is about. The dark truth Lenny finds in the drawer is the kind of document Baker used to draft on a Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost? Biglaw has been answering that question for years\u2026 it just never got Nicole Kidman to read the lines.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Which Biglaw Firms Still Require Summer Associates To Sign Mandatory Arbitration Agreements?<\/a>
Harvard Law School Students Organize #DumpKirkland Campaign Over Biglaw Employment Arbitration Agreements<\/a>
Biglaw Firm Under Attack (Again) By Law School Students Who\u2019ve Had Enough With Mandatory Arbitration<\/a>
Elite Boutique Getting Slammed By Associates Over Mandatory Arbitration Agreement<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Biglaw\u2019s NDA Problem Is Heading To Prestige TV<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paramount+ has handed out a straight-to-series order for Discretion<\/em><\/a>, an eight-episode legal thriller from A24 with Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning starring and executive producing. Kidman plays Sharon, the commanding senior partner. Fanning plays Lenny, the summer associate who figures out what Sharon is sitting on. Production is underway<\/a>, with Stephan James and Colton Ryan just added to the cast, Matt Shakman directing the first four episodes, and a 2027 premiere on the calendar.<\/p>\n

The logline<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\n

Discretion\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is a legal thriller about a summer associate Lenny at a prestigious Dallas law firm who uncovers a web of NDAs masking a dark truth. When she realizes she signed the same agreement, her discoveries put her in the crosshairs of the firm\u2019s most powerful female partner Sharon (Kidman)\u2014upending their mentor-prot\u00e9g\u00e9 dynamic and raising the question: who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a good hook. It is also not (entirely) fiction. The specific plot engine here, a firm quietly getting its summer associates to sign away the right to talk in mandatory arbitration\/nondisclosure agreements, isn\u2019t a writers\u2019-room invention. It\u2019s the exact fight law students dragged into daylight back in 2018 when Munger Tolles was\u00a0called out on social media for the practice<\/a>. That firm changed its policy as a result, and other firms\u00a0voluntarily did away<\/a>\u00a0with the\u00a0practice<\/a>. The\u00a0People\u2019s Parity Project<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 an activist group for law students and new attorneys \u2014 has kept the pressure on the industry. And their tactics have\u00a0proven successful<\/a>. But it isn\u2019t a practice firmly in the past \u2014 there have been some firms that have\u00a0held fast<\/a>, despite complaints, and as recently as last year a high-profile litigation boutique rolled out mandatory arbitration on its associates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Discretion<\/em> is based on a short story by author, Chandler Baker (who is also writing and EPing the TV version). And Baker isn\u2019t writing from a research binder. She practiced law for a decade \u2014 a corporate attorney who, by her own account<\/a>, spent that time negotiating \u201chundreds of NDAs a year\u201d \u2014 before she wrote Whisper Network<\/a><\/em>, the 2019 bestseller about the informal warning system women build when the formal channels have been papered shut. She has done the thing the show is about. The dark truth Lenny finds in the drawer is the kind of document Baker used to draft on a Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost? Biglaw has been answering that question for years\u2026 it just never got Nicole Kidman to read the lines.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Which Biglaw Firms Still Require Summer Associates To Sign Mandatory Arbitration Agreements?<\/a>
Harvard Law School Students Organize #DumpKirkland Campaign Over Biglaw Employment Arbitration Agreements<\/a>
Biglaw Firm Under Attack (Again) By Law School Students Who\u2019ve Had Enough With Mandatory Arbitration<\/a>
Elite Boutique Getting Slammed By Associates Over Mandatory Arbitration Agreement<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Biglaw\u2019s NDA Problem Is Heading To Prestige TV<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paramount+ has handed out a straight-to-series order for Discretion, an eight-episode legal thriller from A24 with Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning starring and executive producing. Kidman plays Sharon, the commanding senior partner. Fanning plays Lenny, the summer associate who figures out what Sharon is sitting on. Production is underway, with Stephan James and Colton Ryan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":160489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-PMvU1V.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}