Last week, I talked about the latest episode of Bluff City Law, the legal drama set in Memphis, my old hometown. I got enough positive feedback to offer my comments about Episode 3, 25 Years to Life. My quick thoughts follow:
They didn’t teach Geography in law school. One of my criticisms last week was that all of the lawyers on the show were Vanderbilt Law graduates. In my experience, this isn’t the case in real life Memphis. I just assumed that it was Hollywood / quasi-Ivy League snobbery, but, after seeing Ep. 3, I wonder if the writers realize that Vanderbilt isn’t actually in Memphis?
In the show, two of the lawyers (who had earlier been established as Vandy grads) represent their former law professor (thus, a Vanderbilt law professor) in an age discrimination case. The episode actually shows them meeting with him, at his Vanderbilt law school office, in Memphis.
As a warning to all you prospective law students who may watch this show and fall in love with Memphis, Vanderbilt is not in Memphis.
Mo much Ribs. Just like episode, lawyers eating ribs at lunch was a plot point this week.
I’ve been a lawyer for 20 years, and I have never seen a lawyer eat a huge plate of ribs for lunch. They are messy–can you imagine all the fingerprint smears you’d get on your pleadings? Plus, it’d be an awful lunch food. You’d want to take a 10 hour nap after that meal.
I have to wonder if the show writers just assume, weirdly, that everybody eats some form of ribs for every meal in Memphis.
Also, pimento cheese and honey? As so many shows set in the South do, Bluff City Law makes reference to all types of southern charm (Jimmy Smits with a southern accent!). But, what makes this show unique is that, in lieu of actual southern traditions, it sometimes just makes them up.
Like when Jimmy Smits and his son were eating “a Memphis tradition” early in the episode. Apparently, this was a pimento cheese and honey, on an english muffin. What?
With all the eccentrically precious southern things out there, how on earth did they decide to present this to the world?
On to the legal dramas. It’s still jarring to see cases commenced in one scene and, then, basically, being tried two scenes later.
Law students: This is not how any of the practice of law works. I filed a law suit for $20,000 a few months ago, and I’m not sure if it will get tried in 2020 or 2021.
Creditors Rights 101 