(Season 6, Episodes 6-7)
How much proof that Jimmy’s unqualified to practice law does the firm need before letting him go? Bobby may be blinded by emotion, but I think it’s Eugene who’s being more irresponsible. I like him continuing on as managing partner of the firm, and I feel sorry for him that he has to deal with Jimmy’s stupidity, but he has to stick to his guns. This is twice that he’s ultimately let Jimmy slide on seriously criminal misconduct.
6.6 “Honor Code”
A Jimmy special, and I have to say that I nevertheless really enjoyed this episode. I was somewhat surprised at first that Donnell and Associates would sign on to help defend an insurance company in civil litigation. The plaintiff was a 10 year-old boy who’d been run over by a guy driving an SUV. Not exactly their territory.
But the direction of the episode became clear when a doctor from the insurance company revealed to the firm that he’d discovered something on the kid’s MRI — an aneurysm due to explode. Privileged information that their client did not want to reveal to the plaintiff.
Before we get into what happened, I just have to say something. I am not in favor of letting that kid die. However, and this is commonly overlooked when vilifying a corporation, there are people’s lives on the other side of the equation too. Maybe not as immediate as an aneurysm, or as sympathetic as a kid, but the company has employees. Lets say that 10,000 people work there, and a multi-million dollar verdict breaks the company and it goes bankrupt, costing everyone their job. Sure, many of them will bounce back. But what about the ones who don’t? The suicides, broken families, homelessness, crimes of desperation? Corporations aren’t faceless entities with no human component to them. So how come they’re always the bad guy?
I mean, Jimmy sure thought they were when he decided to tell the kid’s parents about the aneurysm. Good for Eugene for reporting Jimmy to the bar! Bobby didn’t think anyone would dare report him? Is he insane? The level of malpractice here is astronomical, not to mention the ethical implications. And then Bobby went and yelled at Eugene for doing it! I thought Bobby walked on the wrong side of things when he got up in court, but this really showed just how beyond questionable his relationship with the law is.
I got so excited when Jimmy quit! I wasn’t surprised when Bobby went and asked him to reconsider, and I know that Jimmy’s on the show until the end, but I was so excited! I cheered! And I think I convinced myself that he’d continue on in some paralegal or investigative capacity. Because there’s no question that his bar card should have been pulled, particularly since he also stole from a client trust account the other week.
It was nice that the kid’s father came to Jimmy’s hearing to try and speak on his behalf, but his confrontation with Eugene just reinforced the misconception that we all have about lawyers. They’re not cold-hearted … they’re tasked with upholding the law. That may not take emotion into consideration on a regular basis, but that’s because unless there are clearly defined rules, as with anything in life, the subjective differences between people’s perceptions would make it impossible to maintain anything but chaos and anarchy. Would we really be better off that way?
And is the legal profession really better served with people like Jimmy in it? That’s the barometer the panel used to weigh their decision, and their conclusion was yes, serving Jimmy with all of a three week suspension. For breaking privilege and opening his client and his firm up to a multi-million dollar malpractice liability. Oh yeah, that was the right call.
6.7 “Suffer the Little Children”
That certainly didn’t take very long. Seven episodes into his run, and new ADA Alan Lowe (Ron Livingston) has managed to surpass Richard Bay in uselessness and incompetence. As Ellenor put it to Helen, “Even Richard Bay wouldn’t have pulled this kind of crap.” Interestingly, the crap entailed pursuing one teenage he suspected of murdering another in a gang drive-by gone wrong. Of course he had the wrong person, and of course he only found out after he’d signed the innocent teen’s death warrant by holding a press conference announcing his guilt. Maybe he’ll get a little poetic justice, and we’ll get another chance at seeing an ADA slaughtered — death by drive-by take two?
Meanwhile, Lindsay did her good deed for the year by helping a man recently cleared on rape and murder charges after fifteen years in prison reunite with his daughter. How the State feels no obligation to wrongfully imprisoned people is both beyond me, and too long a topic to get into here. But it’s shameful. Good for Lindsay.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 18, 2010 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
“Bobby didn’t think anyone would dare report him? Is he insane?”
Bobby didn’t think the client would report him since it would involve admitting that they didn’t want Jimmy to reveal the boy’s condition.
*POST AUTHOR*
That’s true. His incredulity was only at the idea of the client reporting Jimmy. Although he did also seem to highly doubt that the other attorney would do so. Either way, you’re right. Thanks for the clarification!
Did you remember that, or are you watching along with me?
No, I’ve seen that episode like a dozen times. I have most of the Practice episodes on my computer and I watch them all the time.