Lawyers with media training have become essential for modern-day news. From breaking down President Trump’s indictments to the legal ramifications of SCOTUS decisions ABC News Contributor, Law and Crime Daily host, and Author of “Come Home Safe,” Brian Buckmire wants to make the law more accessible to all.
“If people are more informed about the law and compassionate about the people who are being affected by the law. We will be a more just society,” Buckmire told Barrett News Media over a Zoom call.
Born and raised in Toronto, Brian Buckmire is the son of immigrants. His mother is from Jamaica and his father is from Grenada. He said of their relationship, “I am the only kid between the two of them, Parents divorced when I was young and it was like a single mother home. But also my mother is one of 14 kids,” later adding, “I had a lot of uncles [around, and] saw my dad on the weekends.”
At 3 years old, Buckmire was diagnosed with ADHD, while doctors wanted him medicated his grandmother had a better idea. “Just let the kid go outside and run around and when he’s tired, he’ll be okay,” Buckmire recalled.
Two years later, a neighbor noticed Buckmire’s talent for running and suggested soccer. “My mom can’t afford the first year of soccer, so [our neighbor] paid for it, paid for the cleats and everything. From there, I never stopped playing soccer.”
His talents provided a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. From there he transferred to Queens College where he played soccer, “I was a Second-team All-American at a Division II school. I applied to law school on both sides of the border,” Buckmire said.
It was a scholarship to Hofstra law which kept him in the States. After his first year, he transferred to Washington School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. Of his time in law school Buckmire said, “During my summers, I got the public defender bug. I like the idea of actually representing clients, litigating, the adversarial kind of an environment of criminal law and I want to come back to New York.”
After law school, Brian Buckmire took a job at the Legal Aid Society and in 2014 got his wish of becoming a public defender in Brooklyn. “I was kind of hungry to do as much as I could and also so I was on what’s called a NAFTA visa.” Having to renew his visa every three years, Buckmire needed to prove why the Legal Aid Society needed him. He added, “So, along with my just naturally competitive personality, I also have to show my worth every three years. I was always aggressively saying, ‘Hey, let me do more in bigger cases.’”
It is from his public defender work that Buckmire was discovered and brought as a contributor to Dan Abrams’ Law and Crime Network. “There is this private attorney named Julie Rendelman. She was a host at Law and Crime. And, let’s say my litigation style is a little bombastic. It’s colorful and, I think, she saw me making some just argument and she was like, ‘You should come to the show,’” Buckmire recalled.
His TV career began in 2018 but he also continued to work in the legal field. “I would do my work as a public defender and every day I would sneak out after the lunch break and from 3 PM to 5 PM do my Law and Crime shifts,” Brian Buckmire said. He worked both jobs for a year and a half before being offered a hosting gig at the network. While still working for Legal Aid, Buckmire covered the biggest trials including, Derek Chauvin, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
His “bombastic” or “colorful” litigation style comes across on TV very well and caught the attention of one ABC executive. “Steve Baker, who was the executive producer at Nightline, hit me up and he’s like, ‘Hey I keep seeing you on Law and Crime, and every once in a while I would see you on ABC. What’s your story?’” Buckmire recalled.
He was offered a contributor role at ABC News, and now has his own segment on Good Morning America 3, “Better Call Brian.” Buckmire is excited to continue to develop the segment. Not only does it help achieve one of his goals, informing people about the law, but it also unleashes a great deal of creativity.
“I want to get to a point where we’re talking about explaining prenuptial agreements and why they might be helpful not just for the rich and famous, but for everyone. Explaining, wills, and then also estates,” Buckmire said.
His main goal is to, “Make the law more accessible to people more understandable. I don’t want it to be a foreign language. I want to be a thing that works for them, not against them,” He later added, “Help people not be intimidated by the law, instead embrace it and use it to better their lives”.
Brian Buckmire also looks to better the lives of others outside of the law. This year he is being honored by the mentorship program Bigs Littles NYC for giving back to the community. But Buckmire is humble about the honor saying, “Actually, I don’t think of it as giving back. It’s what I think is the right thing to do. I think in large part, I look back at who I become over the years and how I’ve gotten to this place.”
He later added, “There are so many people who could have just said ‘He’s just another player. He’s just another student. I don’t have to go the extra mile.’ But they did. And I’m here because they figured that was the right thing to do. So who am I not to do the same?”
While Brian Buckmire is excited about what comes next, he does have one goal in mind, combining his legal expertise and media experience.
“If I could have any goal, it would be not to persuade people in this country or this world about the law, but just make it more accessible and more understanding to them. I think when people understand the law and they’re compassionate about it. We all benefit from it. And I think that that might be a goal to try to figure out how to best do that.”
Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
