Saul Goodman is an Albuquerque lawyer known for his quick wit. Representing clients in all sorts of legal disputes ranging from buying car washes to laundering drug money, this unscrupulous attorney is always ready to provide the service needed.
But is he really an effective attorney? Let’s examine his qualities to discover more.
Legal Knowledge
Anyone who has watched Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul will recognize Saul Goodman. Saul embodies all the dreary stereotypes about lawyers; his office sits within an abandoned strip mall between bail bondsman and payday loan firms and panders to the most criminal elements by promising they are their best hope at getting out of jail.
While Saul may not be representative of all attorneys, potential clients should keep certain factors in mind when selecting an attorney. Legal knowledge equips individuals to make informed choices and provides confidence when engaging in interactions involving legal matters; whether dealing with landlords or advocating for their rights. Likewise, in-house counsel must possess an in-depth knowledge of their company’s legal landscape in which their company operates.
Client Relationships
Saul Goodman is an attorney who values his clients. He treats them with the utmost respect even when their activities involve illegality. When necessary, however, he may employ unethical means in order to meet his clients’ goals.
Saul has established lasting relationships with various criminals for hire, including drug distributors and their suppliers, evidence disposers, impersonators, and anyone who can help to reduce legal exposure or avoid legal exposure. He provides invaluable advice to these clients to stay out of trouble and maximize profits.
Example: He assists Walter and Jesse by offering them a car wash location where they can launder money and hide drugs from police detection, yet does not share attorney-client privilege with them as Badger is being informed about their plan to avoid detection by authorities. When this was made known to Badger he attempted to clear it up by demanding payment for his services which violated ethics regulations.
Personality
Saul Goodman may appear overbearing and tacky on TV ads, but he is actually an exceptionally competent lawyer. His intelligence and skill help him tackle difficult cases and find legal loopholes on behalf of his clients while maintaining integrity even when representing criminal cases.
Saul Goodman is an irresistibly captivating character – some may view him as an unscrupulous con artist while others admire his unorthodox methods for survival in an often harsh world. Whatever your take may be on him, Saul Goodman remains an unforgettable figure on television and should remain so.
Saul’s morally flexible yet ruthless nature make him a fascinating character to study from a psychological point of view. He seems to embody the ENTP personality type as identified by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), with quick wit and an ability to bend rules that perfectly suit his career as a criminal lawyer – including ushering Chuck toward suicide!
Ethics
Bob Odenkirk plays Bob Goodman brilliantly as an antihero on both Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul. A self-professed “sleazy lawyer”, Saul Goodman engages in unlawful practices by promising large settlements while engaging in ethically dubious practices.
Saul has not only successfully run his dodgy law firm and staged pedestrian accident schemes, but has extensive connections to criminal underworld as an attorney-for-hire, representing drug dealers, evidence disposers, and impersonators – an act which some view as particularly hazardous and dangerous to society.
But for many viewers, his willingness to go the extra mile for his clients — even if that means illegal or unethical conduct — is what draws them in. In doing so, he reminds us why so many choose law as a profession: helping others during times of distress; this doesn’t require placing one’s own interests above those of your client; rather it calls for integrity.
