How Lawyers Think

Generally, I’m not a giant fan of legal dramas since they’re prone to massive errors, misstatements and misdirection, but The Good Wife has an episode, aired this last week-end, where the protagonist, Alicia Florrick, played by Julianna Marguilies, sorts through a case for wrongful eviction in her head while juggling some other temporally critical circumstances, like her campaign for District Attorney. It’s the clearest thing I’ve seen on film that describes how lawyers think and, consequently, why lawyers earn what they do. They can think in ways you can’t or won’t. If you’re a lawyer, you know you have gone through the same process the night before depos or before an appearance. It’s uncanny. It’s also a gift, as annoying as it might be to those not so endowed.

Watch it on CBS.com at this link, as long as it’s available. If you’re getting to this after the link has expired. it’s episode 14 of Season 6 called Mind’s Eye.