The Law Firm, Episode 4: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Sigh… we lost Regina last week. As I said in the Episode 3 recap, I can only hope for a Michael/Olivier double elimination. It probably won’t happen (even though I insist that Olivier should have gone after Episode 2 and will continue to do so until he is gone) but my, won’t it be fun to watch and find out.

It’s a sunny California morning as we kick off the show with the Cute Perky Receptionist Who Has Far More Personality Than Anyone Else On This Show. She tells Olivier as he enters that he must pick a gavel out of the jar, and if it has a pink tip he must sit on one side of the table and if it’s purple, he’s on the other. Ultimately we get Olivier, Chris, and Keith on one side of the table and Michael, Deep, and Aileen on the other. Deep, of course, doesn’t want to be on a team with Michael and vice versa.

Actually, to be more honest, I think that Deep would rather be kneed in the crotch over and over again by Aileen until he was writhing in pain and agony and could never have kids again rather than have to work with Michael. I think that’s a more accurate statement. Michael, though, is thrilled to be working with the only woman in the group, so that negates Deep’s existence altogether. Can we kinda tell that I’m pulling for Deep here?

This week’s case is Edward Thompson vs. Kizzy Randle. This is a former couple who happens to have joint custody of a child. One day when she was picking up their son Elijah, Kizzy said that Edward tried to strangle her and threatened to kill her. She called 911 and had him arrested. He claims he is innocent and is suing her for damage. Additionally, this will be a jury trial so they must plan their cases and presentations accordingly. Oh… and this week…only ONE person will be eliminated. So yes, folks, that means our dream of a Michael/Olivier double elimination are gone.

Damn.

The binders are grabbed and Team Michael representes Kizzy Randle while Team Olivier represents Edward Thompson.

At this point we get something so totally non-trial and non-case specific that I do kinda feel that it’s a bit refreshing. Chris says that the firm has taken on a high school feel as we see Olivier with his arm around Aileen and he’s either whispering something in her ear, tonguing her ear, or trying to suck whatever intelligence he can from her through her ear. Either way, it’s a little disturbing. They all wind up in the firm’s little kitchen area where Chris jokingly asks Aileen and Deep if Michael has already told them that he’s doing both the opening and the closing. The joking goes back and forth for a while and somewhat ends when Michael says that he’s going to hand Olivier his fourth consecutive defeat.

Michael says that he is the one to beat and the other lawyers are just getting it. No, Michael, you’re the one to beat up and the other lawyers all want to be the first do it.

Chris says the main challenge is to maintain Thompson’s credibility. According to the court documents, he’s only looking for reimbursement of bail expenses. They decide to ratchet those numbers up because $5,000 is definitely not enough. Apparently he’s also a gang member or a former gang member, but I can’t really tell. No matter how many times I play that scene back I can’t really tell if Olivier said “was” or is. Hopefully it will come out in future scenes, but I’m going to say that he’s a former member for right now until we know otherwise. Upon hearing that, Chris says that he should wear light colors. According to him, it’s harder to be plaintiff since you have to prove allegations and you’re the one pointing the finger

Oliver says that their client needs to tell them with his eyes that what he is saying is true. If he can’t do that with them, then they are screwed because the jury will see right through him. It’s a valid point because no matter how pretty you make your client, the jury can usually see through the BS. I say usually because we’ve all seen the judicial system run amok.

Over on the defendant’s side, Aileen is reading through the statements. They learn that they have statements from Kizzy’s brother and, I believe, one from her son as well. In fact, the son says that his father did choke his mother. Aileen finds it somewhat reprehensible that Edward wants to put his son through this entire trial for $5,000 in damages. Well, Aileen, Edward may not be the clothes horse that you seem to be with the designer duds that you’re bringing into the office each day, so $5,000 for him is probably a lot of money. Maybe you should consider that before you start saying that it’s not enough to even bring to trial.

It’s time for the lawyers to meet their clients. Team Olivier meets up with Edward outside in a park while Team Michael talks to Kizzy. She says that she went over to pick up Elijah, her son, with her brother in a car. They started to get into an argument outside the car which ultimately led to him grabbing her. She says that Edward said, “Bitch, I’ll kill you,” and reached out and grabbed her neck. At the time, she thought he had a gun because of how he was holding himself and reaching for the side of his pants, but she admits that she never saw a gun.

Meanwhile, Edward says that he had no reason to touch her and that he wants custody of his son. He knows that if he does anything like what she described, he’ll lose custody of his son and possibly visitation rights as well. Edward does admit to being a former gang member and then brings up the possibility of doing a polygraph test to prove that he is telling the truth. Chris says that’s great, but they have to check on the admissibility of the test in the court case. As they leave, Chris says that all Edward wants is his kid and that Kizzy isn’t the saint that she portrays herself to be either. Olivier is MUCH relieved after the meeting.

We’re now 26 hours before the trial, and Deep has been given a secondary role to do research and do “errands,” according to Michael. At first I was kinda pissed that this was the position that Deep was “given,” but when he admits that he’s glad to take a secondary role so he would not be around Michael, I really can’t complain. Of course, if it comes down to case participation and people doing work, then there may be a huge problem and he may be gone. We saw Regina marginalized last week, and I hope we’re not seeing it again here.

Meanwhile, Michael has overheard that the plaintiffs are going to look into getting a polygraph test and they decide that they should look into it as well because it may look bad that the plaintiffs have one and they don’t. Michael is freaking out about it and decides that Kizzy needs to take a test as well since it will look like she has something to hide without taking one. Deep goes to research the lie detector result finds case law that says that the judge has discretion on whether or not it can be admitted in a civil case.