Nancy and I have been captivated by the Amazon Prime Series Suits. Suits is the story of a New York law firm, Pearson, Specter and Lit. Harvey Specter, a Senior Partner, hires a brilliant Associate, Mike Ross. Ross has an eidetic memory. He can read a book and retain the information for long periods of time.

Mike has memorized New York laws and statutes. He makes his living selling weed and taking LSATs and Bar exams for students. He applies for an associates position as a graduate of Harvard Law at Pearson and asks Harvey to hire him. Harvey, impressed by Mike’s knowledge, does so. Harvey knows the truth about Mike and cautions him to keep the info quiet. 

Mike is mainly interested in Pro Bono cases. He desires to help the powerless and disadvantaged fight the exploitations of the rich and powerful. He works with Harvey who is his mentor. Mike is able to resolve many legal problems for the disadvantaged.

This series presents many legal, ethical, and moral questions. Mike is a fraud and Harvey is complicit. Yet Mike desires to do good things and help people. He is very successful at this. One wonders about the relationship of the law and basic goodness. Is it better to follow the letter of the law or is it more moral to accomplish good things by following the spirit of the law, even if it means violating the letter of the law? What is Justice? What happens when the law gets in the way of Justice? Which should prevail? 

In Plato’s Republic, Socrates asked What is Justice? His students give various answers, but the dialogue centers on Glaucon’s answer. “Justice is the will of the strong.” In other words might makes right. To prove his point, Glaucon tells the story of the ring of Gyges. 

A shepherd given a ring, the ring of Gyges, discovers that it has the power to make him invisible. He uses this power to seduce the queen, assassinate the king, and take over the kingdom. Glaucon asks if there is anyone who given such power could resist doing evil. Invisibility allows evil to happen. Glaucon claims that no one could resist such power. 

In Suits, we see much evil being done by the invisible hand of the legal system. Evil corporations hide behind the letter of the law while violating its spirit. Suits explores these and other questions. I highly recommend watching this series.