Legal Profession
The Practice was considered more accurate in its portrayal of the law than L.A. Law or Ally McBeal. The importance of legal strategy sometimes at the expense of the truth rang true. One attorney said, "t's really about the tactics and the mistakes that opposing counsel makes." Judges were represented as complex, less-than-perfect human beings, sometimes with emotional problems. Plots demonstrated how a defendant's personality would impact the adjudication of a case. Stuart Levine of Variety magazine said, " isn't afraid to paint the firm's clients as the dregs of society." Kelley said,
| “ | One of the most fundamental questions people have about defense attorneys is, 'How can you do that? How can you go to bat every day for a person whom you may not know is guilty but you have a pretty good idea that he's not so innocent? | ” |
Other aspects of the legal profession in Kelley's shows have been criticized as unrealistic. Attorneys have complained that:
- Ex parte meetings (where lawyers meet in a judge's chambers without opposing counsel present) do not happen,
- Judges would not allow attorneys to badger or attack witnesses,
- His shows overplayed prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct,
- The time required to select and empanel a jury is never shown and is not allowed for in the story's timeline, and
- Many of the cases would never have made it to trial.
Read more about this topic: David E. Kelley
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