Lessons for Immigration Lawyers — From Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Robert Fojo, Principal at Fojo Dell’Orfano, P.L.L.C., and Co-founder and CEO of LSAT Freedom Follow, has a great article on 12 Things Every Lawyer Should Learn From Saul Goodman. Goodman (a/k/a Jimmy McGill) was the lawyer for meth manufacturer Walter White in the amazingly popular television series Breaking Bad. The prequel, Better Call Saul, premiered earlier this week to rave reviews.
Here are lawyering lessons from Saul Goodman:
1. Be a Zealous Advocate
SAUL GOODMAN: “I fight for YOU, Albuquerque!”
2. Plan ahead
SAUL GOODMAN: “Did you not plan for this contingency? I mean the Starship Enterprise had a self-destruct button. I’m just saying.”
3. Provide comfort
SAUL GOODMAN: “You’re now officially the cute one of the group. Paul, meet Ringo. Ringo, meet Paul.”
4. Be creative
Skyler White: “Do you even know Walt? I mean, how would he of all people buy a laser tag business? It doesn’t add up.”
Saul Goodman: “It adds up perfectly. Walt’s a scientist. Scientists love lasers. Plus, they got bumper boats, so . . .”
5. Provide value
SAUL GOODMAN: “Don’t drink and drive. But if you do, call me.”
6. Tell a compelling story
SAUL GOODMAN: “If you’re committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it.”
7. Get to know your client
SAUL GOODMAN [Talking to Skyler after Walt introduced his wife to Saul]: “Hello. Welcome. What a pleasure it is to have you. Just gonna call you Skyler if that’s OK. It’s a lovely name. It reminds me of the big, beautiful sky. Walter always told me how lucky he was, prior to recent unfortunate events. Clearly his taste in women is the same as his taste in lawyers: only the very best with just the right amount of dirty.”
8. Be candidly honest
SAUL GOODMAN: “Look, let’s start with some tough love, alright? Ready for this? Here it goes: you two suck at peddling meth. Period.”
9. Take on your client’s problems and solve them
SAUL GOODMAN: “As to your dead guy, occupational hazard. Drug dealer getting shot? I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it’s been known to happen.”
10. Don’t be afraid to encourage your clients to do better
SAUL GOODMAN: “Alright, $16,000 laundered at 75 cents on the dollar, minus my fee, which is 17%, comes out to $9,960. Congratulations. You’ve just left your family a second hand Subaru.”
11. Incorporate flat fees into your business model
SAUL GOODMAN: [To a client who has been arrested] “I’m gonna get you a second phone call, OK? You’re gonna call your mommy or your daddy or your parish priest or your boy scout leader, and they’re gonna deliver me a check for $4,650. I’m gonna write that down on the back of my business card. Four, Six, Five, Zero. OK? And I need that in a cashiers check or a money order, doesn’t matter. Actually, ah, I want it in a money order and, ah, make it out to ‘Ice Station Zebra Associates.’ That’s my loan out. It’s totally legit. It’s done just for tax purposes. After that, we can discuss Visa or Mastercard, but definitely not American Express, so don’t even ask, alright? Any questions?”
12. Get out there and network
SAUL GOODMAN: “Better call Saul!”
KJ