Entertainment

Who Are Brendan Dassey's Lawyers Now?

by Taylor Ferber

Yes, you have heard correctly: Netflix's Making a Murderer series will continue. On Tuesday morning, the streaming service announced that additional episodes of the wildly popular show are in production. If you've been stuck under a boulder, the series (shot over a 10-year span) follows prisoners Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who were convicted of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach. (Avery and Dassey maintain their innocence to this day.) Since time has passed since his initial sentencing, Dassey has received new legal representation as he works to appeal his conviction — and now, Netflix's press release about Season 2 states that Brendan Dassey's 2016 lawyers will be involved as the series continues looking into Avery and Dassey's stories.

According to Netflix's press release, upcoming episodes "will provide an in-depth look at the high-stakes post-conviction process," as well as the "emotional toll the process takes on all involved" and members close to the case — specifically, Avery and Dassey's lawyers. And like the series, buzz surrounding the case lives on: Earlier this year, WISN 12 News reported that Avery sent them a letter from prison claiming "the real killer is still out there" — and additionally, according to WISN 12 News, Dassey was moved to the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin due to all the attention he received from the show. Dassey is serving a life-in-prison sentence and is up for parole in 2048, and currently, lawyers Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin lead his defense.

Both Nirider and Drizin appeared in the first season of the documentary series, so you may recognize their faces. Nirider was immediately noticed by viewers 'round the globe for being super articulate, smart, and endearing. Seriously, people friggin' loved her.

The Northwestern attorney's areas of expertise include: juvenile justice, wrongful convictions, confessions, and police interrogations. Her strong-willed convictions regarding Bassey's invalid confession are mesmerizing, and she's not backing down.

Additionally, there's Drizin, who's also a lawyer and Northwestern Clinical Professor of Law. Additionally, he was the co-founder and Legal Director of the clinic's Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth. Drizin's passion drove him to become an expert on U.S. juvenile justice, as he received the American Bar Association's Livingston Hall Award for outstanding dedication in the field in 2005.

Like Nirider, he's ready.

If you haven't gotten to know these faces yet, don't worry. You will.

Images: Netflix/Making a Murderer (4)