Summary

• Being a lawyer isn't glamorous - Suits glamorizes the legal profession.
• The show fails the Bechdel test, focusing on male-led storylines.
• Harvey hiring Mike defies logic and realistic hiring processes.

There are several reasons why Suits is a bad show in the eyes of many viewers, despite the rejuvenated success the legal drama has found on streaming platforms like Netflix. Deciding if a show is good or bad is always subjective, and while many people hated the fact that, for example, Suits didn't pass the Bechdel test, others didn't let that bother them. The show still succeeded, even after the departure of major characters. Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter proved he could keep the show afloat without the aid of Mike and Rachel.

To the delight of fans, Suits kept going through nine seasons and even had a finale that brought back several characters to give the show the sendoff it deserved. There was even a short-lived spinoff in Pearson. There was a lot that Suits got right, from its casting to its breezy approach to the genre. However, Suits succeeded despite several shortcomings audiences seemed content to overlook, from the storytelling to the depiction of the legal profession. While these inconsistencies don't necessarily make Suits a bad show, it's difficult to argue that many viewers have to willfully ignore them.

Suits is availalable to stream on Netflix and Peacock Premium.

20 Harvey And Mike Are Experts In Every Area Of Law

Real Lawyers Work Specialize And Work Specific Types Of Cases

There is no way Harvey Specter and Mike Ross could’ve represented most of their clients throughout Suits’ first seven seasons. In the real world, the only lawyers who personally cover multiple areas of law operate out of small, general practices. Successful attorneys like Harvey and Mike, who work for large firms, practice one specific area of law, such as being transactional or litigation experts.

Plot developments like Harvey poaching a client from rival Louis Litt simply wouldn’t happen. If the showrunners of Suits were going for accuracy, Harvey and Mike would be forced to refer a lot of their work to one of their peers.

19 How Does Mike Maintain His Secret So Long?

This Could Never Have Realistically Happened

The core of Suits’ premise is that Mike Ross never qualified to practice as a lawyer. This causes headaches for Mike and Harvey – along with anyone else they share his not-so-little secret with. Yet this really shouldn’t have been such a long-running issue, since Mike should have been publicly outed as a fraud by the end of Season 1.

Harvey and Mike vet opposing counsel in the lead-up to a trial, probing for any weakness to exploit – and it stands to reason their opponents do the same. How did nobody discover Mike hadn’t earned his college diploma or participated in any undergrad work programs?

18 Pearson Hardman’s 'Harvard Only' Hiring Policy

This Seems To Hold Hardman Back

Plenty of real law firms only hire candidates who graduate from Ivy League schools, whether they openly admit it or not. That doesn’t mean Pearson Hardman’s “Harvard only” associate recruitment policy holds up to scrutiny. It drastically reduces the number of potential candidates the firm has access to. This firm by-law also belittles the academic chops of other top-flight institutions to an absurd extent, even when “school pride” is taken into account.

It doesn’t fit that Jessica Pearson would perpetuate a policy that excludes other universities — especially Yale, whose law school arguably has a better reputation than Harvard.

17 Being A Lawyer Is Not Glamorous

​​​​Suits Makes Being A Lawyer Look Much Better Than The Reality

Admittedly, every movie and TV show set within the legal industry perpetuates the myth that lawyers lead rock-star lifestyles, but Suits takes things to another level. Sure, there are perks to working for a big firm — healthy paychecks and dining out at exclusive restaurants with clients come to mind — but there are plenty of drawbacks, too.

For fans of legal dramas who didn't quite gel with the series, an often-cited reason why Suits is a bad show is this specific lack of realism.

The majority of legal work involves many hours of research work in drab offices connected by corridors that are cluttered by boxes of files. This doesn’t quite match the day-to-day routine enjoyed by Harvey Specter and his high-flying peers in Suits. For fans of legal dramas who didn't quite gel with the series, an often-cited reason why Suits is a bad show is this specific lack of realism.

16 Everyone Is So Young

The Senior Partners Should Be Much Older

It stands to reason that Mike and Rachel — a freshly hired associate and senior paralegal, respectively — are played by young actors in Suits. They were just starting in the industry, so it's only natural that they would skew toward the younger end of the age spectrum favored by TV shows. Their bosses’ apparent ages are much less natural, however.

When Suits first introduces Jessica, Harvey, and Louis, they’re all in their early 40s, at the oldest. It’s highly improbable (although technically, not impossible) that the trio would have ended up in such senior roles and as name partners given how relatively young they are. Becoming a senior partner in a law firm, especially one so prestigious, usually takes decades of work.

15 Why Does Harvey Risk It All On Mike?

Harvey Risked His Career On A Stranger

Harvey Specter is a maverick who possesses a level of self-confidence that regularly spills over into outright arrogance. It’s in character for him to view himself as above the Pearson Hardman by-law that stipulates that associates must be Harvard Law School graduates. Even so, Harvey hiring Mike Ross — who didn’t attend any law school, let alone HSL — was a big gamble.

Harvey was looking for someone who possessed similar qualities to himself, but even if Mike ticked all the right boxes, recruiting him meant risking his career and possibly even jail time. Would Harvey stake his entire future on someone he’s only just met?

14 All The Rapid-Fire Casework

The Law Doesn't Move This Fast In Real Life

Part of the appeal of Suits was that it depicted the law as moving at breakneck speed. This made for an entertaining show filled with nail-biting moments, as Harvey and Mike tried to outmaneuver their opponents in time. The current legal system doesn’t work that way. On the contrary, in the real world, complex litigation tends to move at a far more glacial pace.

While the environment is undeniably stressful, it’s mostly more of the “slow burn” than pulse-pounding variety.

While the environment is undeniably stressful, it’s mostly more of the “slow burn” than pulse-pounding variety. This applies to even the most interesting, high-profile legal matters — so, despite the fact the pair fly high throughout Suits, Harvey and Mike might not be cut out for the real-life legal world.

13 Mike's LSAT Scam Wouldn't Work

This Could Never Happen In Real Life

Before joining Pearson Hardman, Mike Ross paid bills by sitting the Law School Admission Test on other people’s behalf. He did this for quite some time, as he only gave the game away in the pilot episode after a proctor recognized him as someone who sat the exam. Realistically, Mike would have struggled to pull off this scam once; getting away with it repeatedly is out of the question.

Mike’s scheme involves wearing a hat pulled low to hide his face, and discreetly dropping off the completed test paper as he exits the room. In reality, participants are banned from wearing non-religious head coverings, and papers are collected by officials.

12 There Wasn’t Enough Fallout From The Mike Reveal

Mike Should Have Barred Him From Legal Work In The Future

Suits season 5 finished with Mike arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud — which is in line with how someone who’d illegally practiced law for several years would be charged. The following season, he goes to prison. However, by the end of season 6, Mike finds work at a legal clinic after serving a reduced sentence, and Harvey brings him back to the firm in season 7.

Mike’s criminal record would prohibit him from working within the legal profession in any capacity, whether that be a legal clinic or a firm. That’s not the only issue, either. Every case Mike ever worked on should have been reopened and re-tried. Once again, realism is the reason why Suits is a bad show in the eyes of many detractors who expect their legal dramas to be a little more grounded.

11 The Amount Of Backstabbing And Infighting

A Real Law Firm Would Have Cleaned House

Open conflict, covert betrayals, and complex internal politics are part of working at a prestigious law firm in the real world. Better still, this aspect of the professional environment is a recipe for compelling drama. Unsurprisingly, Suits leans heavily into this side of things. At the same time, it’s remarkable that a firm as dysfunctional as Pearson Hardman (in all its different iterations) could remain in business, much less thrive.

The constant upheaval in senior management — and the continual firm rebranding — would have far more negative widespread (internal and external) consequences than what is seen in the series.

10 Mike Never Gets A Law Degree

Mike Not Working To Become A Lawyer Was Selfish

If Mike had qualified to be a lawyer on Suits at the local night school soon after he was hired, the scheme could have worked on Suits. As long as Harvey kept Mike out of the courtroom until the day he officially passed the bar exam, the pair would only have been guilty of breaking Pearson Hardman policy, rather than committing a crime.

It would have been tough to conceal internally because people would start questioning why Harvey’s promising new associate never set foot in a courtroom. It would have made his deception more easily traceable. Still, they would have run the risk of losing their job rather than face the prospect of jail time.

9 Nobody Applies To Work At Pearson Specter Litt

Pearson Should Have Had Plenty Of Applicants Regardless

When it became public knowledge that Mike had been practicing law without a license, it wasn’t just Mike who had to deal with the resulting blowback. Pearson Specter Litt also suffered severe damage after the revelation that each of its name partners knowingly employed a fake lawyer. This led to a mass staff exodus, as nobody wanted to be linked with the scandal.

It’s absurd to suggest no one would apply for a position.

Suits season 6 said no new candidates applied to fill the void these outgoing employees left. Potential applicants would think twice about being tainted by the brand. It’s absurd to suggest no one would apply for a position given the scarcity of positions at top-flight practices.

8 Hardman Falls For The "Signed" Affidavit

Hardman Was Too Smart For This Scheme

Pearson Hardman co-founder Daniel Hardman is many things, but a fool isn’t one of them. That's why he’s proven to be such a thorn in the side of legal heavyweights like Harvey and Jessica. So, when he’s outfoxed by Mike's simple ruse in the season 2 episode “High Noon,” it doesn’t ring true.

Mike delivers Hardman a damaging affidavit that torpedoed his campaign to regain control of the firm — a document Mike sneakily signed himself. The idea that a shrewd customer like Hardman wouldn’t go over that affidavit with a fine-toothed comb and immediately notice Mike’s signature is hard to believe.

7 Mike's Computer Password

Mike Shouldn't Have Been That Clueless

Mike had a brilliant mind and a photographic memory, which made it baffling that he set his work computer password to “Ross99.” Why would Mike opt for a weak security measure, when he could devise something so complex only he could memorize it? The out-of-universe explanation for this is that the Suits creative team wanted to illustrate how much of a “fish out of water” Mike was in a legal environment.

As someone with no previous experience working for a top-tier law firm, Mike had never been instructed on the finer points of password creation. Even so, it seems out of character that someone as sharp as Mike would drop the ball like that.

6 The Associates Use Books To Research

Everything Should Be On Computers At This Firm

On the rare occasion that Suits tries to show Mike or Rachel researching a case late into the night, they’re almost always burying their noses in phone book-sized legal tomes. On a storytelling level, this was the show getting things right. For the average viewer, these gigantic books serve as effective shorthand for “boring legal homework.”

It’s extremely rare for anyone other than older practitioners to resort to pouring over physical books.

To actual legal professionals, though, it's anachronistic. Mike and Rachel were far more likely to burn the midnight oil seated at their PC, logged into online research portals and databases. It’s extremely rare for anyone other than older practitioners to resort to pouring over physical books.

5 Leonard Bailey's Life Shouldn't Be At Stake

New York No lOnger Used Capital Punishment At This Time

One example of Suits being out of sync with the legal system it supposedly emulates was the fight to save Leonard Bailey’s life. If you recall, Rachel (and later, Pearson) spent part of season 6 trying to get Leonard acquitted, to cancel his lethal injection. It’s tense, as both women draw on their formidable prowess as lawyers to spare Leonard from his unjust fate, but it’s also a complete fantasy.

New York stopped using capital punishment in 2004, the year Leonard was sentenced. He should have received life in prison or had his existing sentence commuted to a life imprisonment term at some point in that year.

4 Hoyt Nearly Loses His Company In A Poker Game

Keith Was Intoxicated, Which Nullifies Any Contract

In fairness to the Suits writing staff, several elements of the case at the heart of season 2’s poker-oriented episode “All In” are accurate. A contract can be drafted on a napkin as shown, and they could theoretically put up a company as collateral to buy their way back into the game. Mike even correctly identifies the three components all legally binding contracts need: offer, acceptance, and consideration.

There’s one major thing the episode overlooks: Keith Hoyt was intoxicated when he entered the contract. Having it rendered voidable should have been easy for a lawyer of Harvey’s caliber — something the show conveniently ignores.

3 How Was Mike Hired In The First Place?

Jessica Never Would Have Approved Mike's Hire

Another issue with Mike’s recruitment to Pearson Hardman was how he was hired in the first place. Harvey Specter disregarded Mike’s ineligibility to join for legal and company policy reasons, but how did he manage to get past Human Resources? A law firm of Pearson Hardman’s size would have an HR team to handle the associate onboarding process, and part of this would include a full background check.

At that point, they would have flagged to Harvey — and almost certainly Jessica Pearson — that there’s no record of Mike earning a Bachelor’s degree, much less going on to attend Harvard Law School.

2 Donna Destroys The Evidence

Donna Could Have Found A Legal Way Out Of This

Suits’ Donna Paulson is a legal secretary whose abilities border on the supernatural. Her boss Harvey once noted, “Donna never makes mistakes.” This was except for when she destroyed evidence supporting a fraud accusation against Harvey. The emotional motivations underlying this reckless behavior make sense. Donna acted out of loyalty to Harvey.

Given how close their relationship was, she had to know her actions would make him angry. Tampering with evidence goes against Harvey’s code of ethics. Why didn’t she approach Harvey first? As one of his closest confidants, she should have planned out a legally compliant course of action.

1 It Regularly Fails The Bechdel Test

Suits Fails A Very Important Equality Test

Does Suits pass the Bechdel test? For those unfamiliar with it, the Bechdel test is a tool that ensures the presence of more than one female character of substance in any given film, TV show, or comic book, by talking about more than just the men in their lives.

Later seasons address this somewhat, but the majority of female-led storylines revolve around male characters at the expense of more meaningful narrative developments for women.

Despite having several intelligent, successful, empowered female characters — like Jessica Pearson, Rachel Zane, and Donna Paulson — Suits fails the Bechdel test. Later seasons address this somewhat, but the majority of female-led storylines revolve around male characters at the expense of more meaningful narrative developments for women.