Watch the following trailer and then I'll discuss:
The Deep End is about 4 hot attorneys working at an extremely presigious LA firm dealing with the pressures of being an attorney. Sounds great, huh?
But there are so many inconsistencies... I hope 0Ls don't tune into this show and let it influence their decision in any way. I don't think I need to say it, but this show is extremely unrealistic. Actually, I'm not surprised considering that it comes from the Grey's Anatomy people. Everyone I know who is in medicine can't watch Grey's without cringing. Apparently, their jobs are make-believe.
So, back to Deep End, this sought after firm is a small, exclusive, general practice????! That isn't how it works. Firms like that are generally more forgiving, but don't pay nearly as much. Unless, of course, it's a boutique firm specializing in, for example, patent law or securities. But this imaginary firm thinks it should have the most brilliant attorneys in the whole world as first years. Why, exactly? They are doing child custody cases and cases of firemen with cancer? That work is extremely rewarding and makes for great television, but that's not where the most exclusive firms spend their time. And the money certainly is not in those sort of cases. So, this show would be tons more realistic if the first years were totally broke. Maybe working for $45K a year--forking over 2/3 of their salary to Access. I would tune into a show like that in a heartbeat.
If I take the show on it's face--that this is an prestigious white glove firm--am I to believe that the first years are meeting with clients??? At a fancy pants firm, you don't get to meet a client until your 5th year! And you definitely don't try cases or do depositions or settle cases. Who are they kidding?
At least they were spot on with the office mates. In big firms, no one gets their own office until the second year... at least.
Will you be watching this show? I won't be. I don't think I can watch it without yelling at the TV.
Oh yah.. I love this little speech:
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Labor Membership & Power Requires Elite and Mass Support
-
[image: Labor Membership & Power Requires Elite and Mass Support]
The Great Depression was cause by a demand problem: there wasn’t enough
demand for goods...
20 hours ago
Posts
I watched Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck. In the movie, he played an attorney who drove a Mercedes and had a hot wife. I told myself, "that's gonna be me, too!"
ReplyDeleteI wanted to toss my cookies at the one minute mark of the first clip. What's so amazing is that a lot of these shows are written by ex-attorneys. I guess they all got out before they actually had to practice. I know a guy who is a partner at a white collar firm - he goes to court maybe twice a year if he's lucky and none of his associates (even the ones who have been there 10 years) have tried a case. Not one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the show is really supposed to be art imitating life though...not that I watched it. I haven't watched any of the lawyer TV shows, ever.
ReplyDeleteI kind of liked "A Few Good Men" though, but mostly because the both guys from "Gladiator" were in it. No, not the fake "Gladiator" with Russel Crowe in it...the original, baby, with LL Cool J and Rico Suave theme music!
And seriously, relating to that last post--does that one anonymous idiot really think I aspire to be a law school dean? And I'm clueless...
If that's the quality of an ex or current law student, maybe I really will make the top 10% when I go.
I do have a prediction though--the economy will turn around, Angel will get re-hired into BigLaw either through old connections or by her hubby pulling some strings, and this blog will no longer be updated.
So when that happens and this blog goes dry, everyone can laugh at me as you follow my unemployed lawyer misery in 3 1/2 years at tobeajd.blogspot.com
Doug
***And yes, I would take the job as a law school dean, if offered, but I probably wouldn't last long.
I hope you're right.. but suspect you're not.
ReplyDeleteAngel, you will find decent legal work again. You went to a decent school, did well enough to land the BigLaw job, and lasted for a while there until this shit economy took you out, as it did with countless others.
ReplyDeleteI just hope that you don't let the negativity (although it is understandable) on all of these blogs become an albatross that you carry with you to interviews, because the interviewer will sense it.
While you were fortunate enough to have some success, I believe that it makes it even more painful for you because you actually know what you've lost, as opposed to many of the other bloggers who never had it to begin with. It is times like that when everyone wonders whether the adage "tis better to have loved and lost...blah blah blah" can really be true, right?
Anyway, Happy New Year to you and your husband. I, like you hope that, in the future, higher ed debts will be dischargable--don't misunderstand some of my comments. It seems like some people will attack when someone doesn't share their exact beliefs, but for the most part, I'm on the same page with most of the other scam bloggers, and you.
i find it hilarious that one of the four went to case western, my law school, and is considered with the likes of stanford, columbia and oxford...
ReplyDeleteI don't anything about this show, but my job is exactly like Law & Order, minus NYC.
ReplyDeleteEvery prospective law student should be forced to watch "...And Justice for All." Not only is it the movie in which Al Pacino delivers the famous "Out of Order" speech, it is the most accurate depiction of what it's like to be an attorney ever spat out by Hollywood.
This is so far from reality, Barney the singing purple dinosaur is more realistic. And educational. Scooby Doo is more realistic.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's a problem that TV shows glamourize the practice of law. I remember back in the 80s, there was a show called "LA Law" which was really popular. I recall reading that law school applications went way up the year LA Law became popular.
ReplyDeleteActually, I know several youngish doctors (late 20s/early 30s) who work at hospitals who think Grey's is entertaining. Not necessarily realistic or whatever, but they watch it sometimes. In fact, I know they've even DVRed the show at times when they were busy on shifts or other things.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in addition to watching "And Justice for All," every person should be required to listen to "...And Justice for All" by Metallica.
ReplyDeleteNot for any reflection on the legal world or the world in general, but just because it's a great album/CD/etc.
Doug