Too often in TV shows do we get that “dirty sexy money” approach where a lawyer grandstands, settles into his office in financial district high-rises, and juggles a few relationships on the side. It’s in that regard that I think the Breaking Bad series Better Call Saul differs.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m no lawyer. I probably have a pretty general knowledge of our legal system, but not nearly enough to know whether or not something is actually accurate. But unlike other shows, Better Call Sauls digs into the minutiae, emphasizes those long hours, and makes each task difficult and seemingly insurmountable. In Season 1, we saw Jimmy digging through the dumpsters to find an incredibly obscure legal document he needed to prove a point, and that felt like a microcosm of the show as a whole. But is it actually accurate?
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TheWrap decided to ask entertainment lawyer Rick Zou about the series as a whole, as well as two scenes in particular. The firs scene was the one at the end of Season 2 where Jimmy confesses to a crime to his brother Chuck, who is recording the conversation. The other scene is when Jimmy convinces his community service supervisor to let off one of his fellow community service peers take a break to see his daughter by throwing some scary-sounding jargon at him. While, yes, there is a tad of stretching going on here, Zou thinks that, overall, it’s a solid representation:
“I think the show actually takes great pains to be accurate, to not just the individual legal issues, but life as a lawyer as a whole. There’s definitely glamorous aspects, but this definitely balances both issues and shows, ‘Hey, it’s not just a glorified party all the time. There’s paperwork, there’s stress, and depression with aspects of the profession that you don’t necessarily see on other TV shows.”
What do you think of Zou’s comments? Are you a lawyer yourself, and do you disagree with this assessment? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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SOURCE: TheWrap
