Top Law Schools

OKAY I know this is a dumb question -- but how similar or dissimilar is the TV show Suits to the actual life of a lawyer? What are the specific differences? Of course, I know they take a lot of creative license and stretching a story line for dramatic effect, but what exactly is inaccurate or accurate about the show?

Bear with me...

There are a lot of inaccuracies. One is that Harvey has no department and just does all the biggest deals AND all the biggest cases. He's somehow the best transactional lawyer and the best litigator. The other funny one is that they only ever have one deal/case to work on at a time and they get resolved in a ridiculously short amount of time.

And then of course there's the fact that this guy is risking.his entire career to hire a kid who didn't go to law school, but that's kind of the point of the show.

Entertaining though

One is that Harvey has no department and just does all the biggest deals AND all the biggest cases.

So senior partners in real life have their own departments? (I feel so naive asking this.)

Yes. You build up expertise in a certain area. Corporate partners do corporate work, litigation partners litigate. You don't negotiate a merger one day and then go into court and argue in front of a judge the next.

Mike Ross's witty loophole he came up with by carefully reading a company's corporate documents: 10 Seconds of the Show.

The hours and hours it would take to ACTUALLY read those documents to come up with the witty loophole: totally absent from the show.

Also, it seems strange to see a partner work on a litigation case, a merger, and a bankruptcy case.

What about a paralegal (Rachel in this case) having his/her own office? Does this happen?

Yeah. As a summer I sat across from a paralegal with her own office. She didn't look like Rachel though unfortunately

I've definitely said this before, but the whole premise of that show bothers me. There is actually no way that some kid could take the bar "for fun" and be an admitted attorney. Or there is no way that some kid could not be an attorney and do what he does at the firm without someone finding out about it. For some reason that is my biggest problem with the show.

Okay, rant over, back to comparing it to real life.

piccolittle wrote:I've definitely said this before, but the whole premise of that show bothers me. There is actually no way that some kid could take the bar "for fun" and be an admitted attorney. Or there is no way that some kid could not be an attorney and do what he does at the firm without someone finding out about it. For some reason that is my biggest problem with the show.

Okay, rant over, back to comparing it to real life.

A show about what real corporate lawyers do would get cancelled in about four and a half minutes.

Are real-life partners on the whole actually as cool/relatable as Harvey and Jessica? Do partners actually crack jokes and talk about movies with associates?

Probably totally firm dependent but at least at my firm (v50 non-nyc) there were plenty of really cool and accessible partners. None had millions of dollars worth of sports memorabilia in their office or mj on speed dial though

It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

Calling it now: the secret is that it's not a real law firm.

DUN DUN DUUUUHHHHH

the real issue is that mike ross, a confessed avid pot smoker, acted so ridiculous when he was high in the episode with the tennis star (his first client). no (even ex-) pothead would be unable to handle a nopressure conversation like he did.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

Well this would make sense if Mike had spent $200K on law school + undergrad loans, but considering he has no debt it is a bit ridiculous.

From my experience as a paralegal at an NYC V100, I can tell you the following things.

1) Paralegals don't get their own offices. Shit, half the first year associates shared an office with someone else, and many of our staff attorneys sat in the hallway. Space is at a premium in NYC. The idea of Rachel rocking her own giant office while Mike and the others slum it out in shitty public cubicles is pretty laughable.

2) Some of the partners were pretty cool. Others were incredibly boring. Others were huge assholes. This pretty much rings true for most people in most professions. The only real difference is that they're top of the totem pole, so some of them use that position to abuse those underneath them.

Also, there's a Lewis Litt in every office. He's the most realistic character on the show.

3) Harvey's quite a talented man - works on transactions, litigation, criminal defense... guy does it all! This doesn't happen IRL. Partners (and lawyers in general) usually have one area of expertise and stick with it. I was in litigation and I couldn't tell you who half the people in corporate were, because we never worked with them.

None of this stops suits from being an entertaining show, but it has sort of jumped the shark recently, which is making it a bit hard to watch (a poker game? really?)

i didnt like the whole poker thing either

it was too bullshitty for my taste

PaulKriske wrote:the real issue is that mike ross, a confessed avid pot smoker, acted so ridiculous when he was high in the episode with the tennis star (his first client). no (even ex-) pothead would be unable to handle a nopressure conversation like he did.

Wut

barestin wrote:

PaulKriske wrote:the real issue is that mike ross, a confessed avid pot smoker, acted so ridiculous when he was high in the episode with the tennis star (his first client). no (even ex-) pothead would be unable to handle a nopressure conversation like he did.

Wut

great avatar selection

It's surprisingly realistic, especially compared to crap like The Deep End. They take huge license with the presentation of the stories, but the kernel of what a big firm will do and how it is structured are there.

Obviously a show like law and order will be more true to life (though still taking some liberties) but suits isn't as bad as it could be.

I also think the main plot point is somewhat plausible - junior associates tend to do crap that doesn't require bar admission. In fact, most work at a law firm for months before being admitted just because the process of swearing in, c&f, etc. is quite slow.

thesealocust wrote:Obviously a show like law and order will be more true to life (though still taking some liberties) but suits isn't as bad as it could be.

lol

I also think the main plot point is somewhat plausible - junior associates tend to do crap that doesn't require bar admission. In fact, most work at a law firm for months before being admitted just because the process of swearing in, c&f, etc. is quite slow.

LOL

Icculus wrote:

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

Well this would make sense if Mike had spent $200K on law school + undergrad loans, but considering he has no debt it is a bit ridiculous.

Remember that he's taking care of his grandmother...or was until tonight's episode. Assisted living is expensive anywhere you go, but in NY it's probably as expensive as a Palm Springs resort or something. I'm mad, b/c I liked her.

PDaddy wrote:

Icculus wrote:

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

Well this would make sense if Mike had spent $200K on law school + undergrad loans, but considering he has no debt it is a bit ridiculous.

Remember that he's taking care of his grandmother...or was until tonight's episode. Assisted living is expensive anywhere you go, but in NY it's probably as expensive as a Palm Springs resort or something. I'm mad, b/c I liked her.

Hey thanks for using spoiler tags before you blurted out that massive spoiler.

PDaddy wrote:

Icculus wrote:

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

barestin wrote:It annoys me that Mike Ross is a BigLaw associate (presumably making 160K) and yet works in a cubicle, rides a bike to work, and lives in a crappy apartment. In short, he gets the opportunity to finally clean up his act and become an attorney, but his life hasn't really changed...except that he works 80+ hours a week to live essentially the same lifestyle he was just making walking around money to take the LSAT a few times a year for people and smoking pot all day.

Well this would make sense if Mike had spent $200K on law school + undergrad loans, but considering he has no debt it is a bit ridiculous.

Remember that he's taking care of his grandmother...or was until tonight's episode. Assisted living is expensive anywhere you go, but in NY it's probably as expensive as a Palm Springs resort or something. I'm mad, b/c I liked her.

Fuck you you spoiling asshole.

Also, suits is a good show, not because of realism, but because of good writing, good stories, good characters. And because the show became more about baller Harvey and less about hipster Mike.