You need to get Litt up!
Of all the parties that I have been late to, and there have been a few, Suits has been one that I did not know I needed to attend. I recently started watching it, and am currently on season 3. And while most men I know absolutely revere Harvey Specter, I think that the real diamond in the rough is Louis Litt.
Now make no mistake here, Louis does have his share of shortcomings. He is by no means perfect, and has the abrasive personality that seems to be patent pending for lawyers. But nothing that Louis has done is any worse than what Harvey has done.
So here are some of the things I have learned from Louis. They don’t exactly map with how to be a better ABA, but these are still very good personality traits.
Louis is unafraid and unfazed by the odds against him. He knows Harvey’s reputation, he knows Jessica’s preference of Harvey, he knows Hardman’s unashamed power and the will to use it. But he absolutely does not flinch in front of them. When Louis has the right of way, he takes it.
Louis is in-charge of training the associates, a job he takes very very seriously. He is absolutely brutal with them, no doubt, but he knows their names, their strengths and weaknesses, and he shields them when they make mistakes. Harvey literally knows no associate other than Mike and Katrina. I know misanthropy has been what the cool kids do since the grunge music scene, but I’d rather care than be cool.
Louis is the best attorney at the firm. As he loves to point out he has more clients than Harvey, he has more billable hours, and he is the best when it comes to finance. And while Harvey or Jessica or Mike always have some ad hominem ready, none of them ever deny it. And Louis does not stop being a badass just because he cannot get validation or respect from Jessica and Harvey. He remains a badass because to be anything less would be unacceptable. Excel as a rule, not as a means to an end.
Louis does, as I have pointed out, a lot of mistakes. Some he does despite himself like grilling Donna during Harvey’s mock trial, some he does because who he is like the Pearson Darby merger dissolution goof up. But the one thing that he always always does is accept when he is wrong and apologize for it. He has apologized to Jessica, Harvey, Donna, Rachel, Shiela, Nigel, and Katrina till now. And he has listened patiently when getting genuine advice. He does not get defensive or double down into his mistakes. He fixes them.
Movies and series, art in general has a lot to teach us about life. And while there are people who like to insist that art does not have any tangible effect on humans, that is patently untrue. So if we are the media that we consume, why shouldn’t we consume it mindfully if not always responsibly?
Cheers,
Devavrat Kulkarni
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