Clair Huxtable’s occupation in “The Cosby Show” was lawyer. She worked as an attorney in New York City and eventually became a partner at her law firm.
Clair was portrayed by Phylicia Rashad and served as the sharp, composed matriarch of the Huxtable family. Her husband, Cliff Huxtable, was an obstetrician, making the couple an unusually prominent depiction of two successful Black professionals raising a family on television.
The character’s legal work occasionally entered the plots. Clair handled corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, and also took on legal-aid work. She sometimes used her professional knowledge to help her children deal with unfair business practices or legal disputes.
A common mix-up is confusing Clair’s occupation with Rashad’s real-life career as an actress and singer. Another is assuming Clair was always written as a lawyer: early plans reportedly considered making her a plumber before the character was reshaped as an attorney.