I've heard a number of people call this show a lawyer version of Hospital Playlist. And while we don't quite agree, this one's still worth your while. It might help that there were only 12 episodes, which were mostly an hour long each.
Plot
Law and the City tells the story of five lawyers/associates who work for different law firms housed on the same building in Seochodong. Actually, two of them - the most senior and 10-year lawyer Ahn Ju Hyeong (Lee Jong Suk) and Bae Mun Jeong (Ryu Hye Young) work for the same firm. But all the rest go to different firms. Other members of the gang include the chatty Cho Chang Won (Kang You Seok), the teddy bear Ha Sang Gi (Im Sung Jae), and the newest member, Kang Hui Ji (Moon Ga Young). Although they have different employers, these associates make it a point to have meals and drinks together, mostly lunch, but it can extend all the way to post work drinks when they're stressed out.
The show takes us through the different kinds of lawyers and cases you can encounter and of course, the struggles that legal professionals have to deal with. It's a journey of how young lawyers try to find themselves in the midst of their heavy caseloads.
Lee Jong Suk as Ahn Ju Hyeong
With his clean cut look, it's easy to believe that Lee Jong Suk is an accomplished lawyer. Roles like this (which project him as a guy who's always in control such as the ones he had in Big Mouth, Romance is a Bonus Book, and that cameo in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo) seem to suit him well.
Ju Hyeong walks us through the different stages of being a lawyer. He started out as an eager beaver who was gullible to believe his clients without investigating.
As the years went by though, Ju Hyeong turned into what the show perfectly described as a textbook employee who always carries a resignation letter in his heart. He's not exactly happy with what he does but he does it anyway. He's robotic, mechanical, cold, heartless but no one really complains because he gets the job done. And he's happier being a follower too because it comes with less responsibilities. It's weird how he refuses to be promoted to partner in the firm.
Yes, being too technical has its downside too. Laymen find it hard to understand him but they agree anyway because he explains things in a very convincing way.
But one advantage Ju Hyeong has over his emotional peers is that he has clarity. Since there are no strings attached for him, he can afford to be very observant and keen to bring out the truth. And he understands that things are not black and white, that things will always have consequences even if you think you've won something.
Over the years, Ju Hyeong has learned to accept things as they are. He believes that the key to being a good lawyer is to have short term memory, to just forget everything that you don't need to remember. That one should not have expectations. That we can't control the past and what's bound to happen in the future. That it's all just work that you need to do professionally and leave at the office at the end of the day.
But just when you think he's so frozen, Ju Hyeong would surprise you by saying that he didn't really like the bad side of lawyering, he just got used to the discomfort. And that tells us that he's human after all.
And while he can be brutally frank most of the time, I love how Ju Hyeong gives wise advice. Like how he told that young lawyer that no pomp is needed for a lawyer's daily grind. Legal TV drama is meant to stay on TV. Real lawyering can be boring, repetitive, and it's definitely more straightforward. One should focus more on the substance of his arguments and not his style. And you can only learn that in an actual courtroom.
Moon Ga Young as Kang Hui Ji
We've only seen Moon Ga Young in The Interest of Love. And I loved how she has a brighter character here. Right from the start, you can see that Hui Ji is the exact opposite of Ju Hyeong. She hates repetitive work and she quit her previous job even before she found a new job because she was no longer invested in what she was doing.
Hui Ji is compassionate and she takes her responsibilities to heart. She attends promulgations even if it's not required just to support her clients. She cares about everyone - even those who are not her clients but who might potentially be impacted by her decisions. And she exerts the same effort for both paying and non-paying clients. She'd even offer to do pro bono work without being asked. She's persistent in advocating for her clients. And she's very intuitive about what's happening around her too like finding out that Mun Jeong was pregnant or whenever Ju Hyeong was troubled by something.
I loved how Hui Ji showed us that lawyers who show their feelings and emotions can be just as successful as robotic ones like Ju Hyeong.
Hui Ji and Ju Hyeong
I did like them better when they were more cordial with each other, when they got their past out of the way. And how Hui Ji bravely asked Ju Hyeong the hard questions like when he handled his ex's (Lee Yoo Young) divorce.
And Hui Ji was good for Ju Hyeong too. She brought out his soft side like his thoughtfulness in buying emergency snacks for her or how he found himself repeating the things she said like it's nice to have decent clients.
The club scene was quite funny but it was more awkward for me. Although we were not really feeling them, I have no doubt that Ju Hyeong and Hui Ji are a good match because they complement and bring out the best in each other.
Kang You Seok as Cho Chang Won
Kang You Seok is having a great year with at least three dramas airing this year alone - this, Resident Playbook, and When Life Gives You Tangerines. We saw him on Start-Up too a few years back.
If you're an introvert, Chang Won is a difficult colleague to have, especially when you're having a bad day. He's too perky and talkative. He shares more than he should. And he loves meddling with other cases and people. Now that I think about it, Chang Won is quite similar to Resident Playbook's Um Jae Il.
Chang Won tends to be overly emotional too. Like the way he avoided Sang Gi when that nepo baby allegation came out. It's as if he was saying they can only be friends if Sang Gi's poorer than him. I know he didn't mean it that way but that's just how it came out. And while I get it that he also likes Hui Ji, it was quite immature of him to feel bad when he found out that Hui Ji talked to Ju Hyeong first about the case of her dad (Kim Tae Hoon of Samjin Company English Class, Live, Reply 1988, and Angry Mom). If he truly cared about Hui Ji, his primary concern should have been that someone's out there to help and comfort her.
In the end, I loved that he found his true calling of being a prosecutor. He started out quite indifferent but it was nice to see him really care about bringing out justice.
Ryu Hye Young as Bae Mun Jeong
It's nice to see a familiar face especially since it's been a while since we last saw Ryu Hye Young in Law School and Reply 1988.
Mun Jeong is another one of those lawyers who seem detached. She was more of a foodie who was an expert on what restaurants they should try.
As the story progressed, however, we see that Mun Jeong is the family type. That interesting twist about her boss (Park Hyoung Soo of Confidential Assignment, The Interest of Love, Happiness, Hospital Playlist, Crash Landing on You, and Prison Playbook) refusing to give her a maternity leave was a blessing in disguise because it gave her the courage to admit what she really wanted to do in her professional life.
Im Sung Jae as Ha Sang Gi
I didn't realize that we've already seen Im Sung Jae in Moving, D.P. 2, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Vincenzo. I loved how Sang Gi resembled a gentle giant teddy bear here.
It's easy to misjudge Sang Gi as someone materialistic - he's somewhat of a financial whiz and he won't mind getting more work as long as he's well-paid with bonuses.
But as we get to know him better, we'll appreciate that there's more to Sang Gi than his food blog. I felt so bad for him because of that nepo baby issue, especially with Chang Won being so cold towards him. It's bad enough that it was not true, but it was made even worse by the fact that it was the exact opposite of the truth. I totally felt his pain when he said that having to prove his poverty is harsh. Although I agree that his initial reaction (or non-reaction or non-denial) didn't really help his case and it just made people talk more.
And even if Chang Won kept on whining that Sang Gi was not being a true friend to him, I loved how Sang Gi actually shows that he cares in his own little way. Like how he introduced Chang Won to his mom (Jung Eun Kyung of 1987: When the Day Comes, When Life Gives You Tangerines, Squid Game 2, and Hospital Playlist 2) to prove that they were close.
And I loved how he was finding his calling too - starting with his caring and patient mentorship of the interns progressing to taking up a PhD to become a professor. Add to that his interesting love story with his boss (Kim Ji Hyun of Thirty-Nine, D.P. 2, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, and Prison Playbook).
The Gang
Oppa was complaining a lot about how the friendships and relationships in this show seem contrived. He might have been a victim of the Hospital Playlist comparison. To be fair, however, I don't think we should compare this with our Hospital Playlist gang whose friendship is so deep because they go way back. Our Law and the City gang could be a bit more like our Resident Playbook crew when they first started. And our friends here don't really get to spend a lot of time together because they work for different firms. They mostly share meals and drinks with each other. But I agree that there are moments when the show seems to be trying a bit too hard to be funny that it does not come out organic anymore.
As with any relationship, I believe that their friendship will deepen the more they go through tough times together. So I was happy when opportunities like that came up such as with Sang Gi's nepo baby issue and how Ju Hyeong broke the ice by confessing that he handled his ex-girlfriend's divorce. Hopefully, these rough spots will make them appreciate each other more.
Yum Hye Ran as Ms. Kim Hyung Min
Apart from our group of friends, I want to talk a bit about Ms. Kim (Yum Hye Ran of When Life Gives You Tangerines, The Glory, Hospital Playlist, Prison Playbook, and Guardian), the building owner and law group advisor. I found her intriguing and I was genuinely curious about what her deal was. I know she has this foundation that provides scholarships to poor but promising students (like Sang Gi). And that she wanted to be a lawyer but she didn't pass the bar. I just somehow wish the show went a bit deeper into her story because she really seemed interesting. We didn't even get any closure about her real relationship with the bar owner guy (Heo Hyeong Gyu of Melo Movie and Lovely Runner).
Execution
The show had a couple of interesting moments. But there were times when it suffered because it didn't seem so all-in on what it really wanted to do. At what one point it would be highlighting the friendships then it would seem to want to explore profound legal stories. Thus, there were moments when things felt contrived or half-baked.
I guess it's expected that not everything will be logical. But for a bunch of associates who keep complaining about being overworked, they seem to have a lot of time to hang out and handle pro bono work without even being asked like the tteokkbokki shop case. And legal fees must be quite affordable in this drama. They all seem to get random simple cases that won't really pay that much, especially when you consider that their firms are in a law firm district. And the lawyers here don't care about attorney-client privilege seeing how they freely talk about their cases with each other. Maybe it's fine when there's no name dropping?
But having said that, the show serves us a lot of relatable legal stuff too. Like how lawyers are always drowning in piles and piles of documents and never ending work. But that it pays well too. And how important it is to have a strong support staff who will cheer you on and console you and will definitely make your like and work easier and more fun.
And of course, the show was not lying about how stressful the legal profession is. How it's emotionally taxing because you take on your clients' problems. The physical and mental exhaustion are real and you can even bring them home. Sometimes, you even care and worry more than your clients. And some days just really don't go your way like when a judge just hates how you look, all of your requests are denied, your clients are too hard to please, the other party gets too personal with you that you can't help but take it personally too, plus other non-legal misfortunes you may encounter on a bad day. And how else do lawyers cope with stress? Some do it the healthy way like Hui Ji by meditating. But most would rather eat and drink their worries away like our gang.
Unfortunately, law is still a sexist profession. Mun Jeong's maternity leave issue is proof of that. Pregnant lawyers just quit? And it's even more disappointing when women partners like Hui Ji's boss (Jung Hye Young of Reborn Rich and Snowdrop) just reinforce the norm. I find it so unfair that women lawyers have to choose and they can't do both things they love.
I also liked how the show touched on career progression for lawyers. It's always safer to remain an underling like Ju Hyeong. It's easier to take orders and not to worry about the struggles of dealing with solo practice. But for one to truly grow, difficult decisions and changes need to be made.
I appreciated the show's attempt at presenting to us the dynamics of attorney-client relationships. How lawyers, especially the more jaded ones, struggle with trusting and believing their clients. Or how it can be difficult for lawyers to get their clients to trust and tell them the truth and to make clients understand that their lawyers need to know everything even something that seems inconsequential like their sexual orientation because it can matter. And of course, there's that challenge of teaching your clients to temper their expectations so they won't take matters into their own hands.
Dealing with different kinds of clients is challenging. You have those who pretend to be fortune tellers who can foresee the future. Or those who are indecisive, admitting to a crime but wanting to recant later on. But lawyers still need to hear them out because they might have their reasons like the blind accountant (Ko Gun Han of Love in Contract, Narco Saints, Fight for My Way, and Oh My Venus) who confessed to a crime he didn't commit in order to protect his boyfriend but eventually realized that a criminal record would be detrimental to his career. Or you have clients who seem like loonies such as the old man (Kim Jong Goo of Exit and Suits) who claimed to own an ancient property without any conclusive document to back him up, but turns out he was actually telling the truth. Or you have perverts. Or arrogant assholes like the husband (Nam Yun Ho of 12.12: The Day and Our Unwritten Seoul) of Ju Hyeong's ex-girlfriend and Chang Won's prison visit client (Kim Tae Jung of Crash Course in Romance), who think that they can buy lawyers. And the highly emotional ones who are conflicted if they should pursue cases against people they love.
But attorney-client relationships can be rewarding too especially when clients are grateful and they turn out to be like family and friends like Sang Gi providing a scholarship for his rental evictee client (Seo Dong Hyun) who wants to continue studying but cannot do so because of poverty.
I also liked how the show taught us how much time and effort goes into working up a case. How evidence need to be reconstructed to find out the truth and how one should go beyond what a client says. I liked that scene where Ju Hyeong reenacts the events in his mind to find out which angle is more logical. And the diligence that lawyers need to exhibit. Learning does not stop in law school. Lawyers need to study new case law because you'll never know when it can become useful. And they even need to learn non-legal stuff like how Hui Ji needed medical knowledge for her case or how Mun Jeong had to study construction blueprints.
And the most important trait a lawyer can have is humility - admitting when they're wrong or they don't know something and asking for help when needed.
And how case work can mean going against giants like corrupt and powerful people and how you must persevere despite the difficulty in order to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
The thing with legal dramas is they need to present interesting cases to make the show entertaining. But I believe this drama somehow tempered the expectations of aspiring lawyers by showing that not all cases are big time and newsworthy. Bulk of cases are mundane and boring like debt collection. And one can't help but feel unworthy of being a lawyer when you keep working on the same types of cases.
But of course you have complex ones like Hui Ji's court-appointed euthanasia case (Sung Byoung Sook of Lovely Runner and Misaeng) where you can't help but feel for the client who was only concerned about her brother with dementia outliving her.
I also liked that part on covering minorities like the gay blind accountant. It was a nice perspective to show that not because one is a PWD, it does not automatically mean that he's not capable of committing crimes. As in fact, some people use their disabilities to get away with crimes. And how this particular client struggled so much that he was forced to confess to a crime he didn't commit to avoid outing his partner.
I also liked how the show touched on different practice groups and how more often that not, it's a matter of preference. Indifferent people like Ju Hyeong avoid family cases because they focus on relationships and tend to be emotional like his ex-girlfriend's divorce. (At least he got his closure!) Then there's also the corporate versus litigation battle. Corp work is perceived to be weaker and more lenient like how Mun Jeong considered it when she was about to have a baby. Lit is deemed more stressful with heavier workload. But some people just really have passion for litigation no matter how difficult it is. So, yes, at the end of the day, lawyers choose what they think will be best for them.
The merger of the law firms was quite interesting although I don't think the show was able to maximize that storyline that much. And it was weird that they had no mechanism in place to avoid conflicts of interest.
The case of Hui Ji's dad seemed to have a lot of potential although things did slow down a bit when this was introduced. That crypto scamming case is quite relevant. However, I feel as if the show wasted the opportunity to tie this up with the other scam cases. Imagine if this was connected to the money mule for voice phishing case (Hwang Jung Min of 1987: When the Day Comes, Moving, D.P. 2, Cleaning Up, and Law School) and the main culprit behind all of these would be Chang Won's prison visit client and he'd go to jail for that. That would have been a nice way to integrate various cases.
But I was still happy to see the gang collaborate on the case of Hui Ji's dad. It was nice to see them have more screen time together doing serious legal stuff. Ju Hyeong was the perfect team leader seeing how objective he was despite having close ties with Hui Ji. His impartiality and indifference were truly assets here. It was also sweet of Sang Gi to take on some of Hui Ji's tasks knowing that she couldn't think straight.
However, I felt that this issue was resolved quite simplistically.
It was sad that towards the end, the gang seemed to have less meal and bonding time together. They were too caught up with work by then. But I'm still happy with how everyone got their happy endings.
Yey for Chang Won for quitting first. Although I felt bad that his prison visit guy is still out there, I'm imagining that Prosecutor Chang Won will be the one to bring him behind bars for good.
It was nice that Sang Gi finally discovered that Ms. Kim sent him to law school. And how he's now paying it forward with his rental evictee client. And he'll be a professor soon, with his boss as his girlfriend, haha.
It was amazing to see Ju Hyeong turning into a new leaf. He's no longer afraid of showing his emotions. Thank you to the old man land case client who provoked him into thinking if he only does things for his gain. And that resignation with a bang. Telling his boss that he will disobey the boss's orders but not in the boss's law firm. Going solo after 10 years was definitely worth the wait.
Hui Ji winning her court appointed case truly opened doors for her. Her compassion and listening heart are her greatest assets and I'm sure they'll win her cases for years to come - this time as a public defender.
Mun Jeong considering in-house work even if she was not really happy with it was sad. It was painful to hear her say that she'd rather struggle in a job she doesn't want than to see her baby have a hard time because mom will be working a lot. But I was so happy that she chose to follow her heart in the end. I'm sure things will work out because she has a very understanding and supportive husband (Yun Kyun Sang).
And Ms. Kim went back to law school, yey!
I'd like to say though that while I'm happy with everyone's endings, not all lawyers have the privilege of choosing something they really want to work on - something that's still in the legal field but more meaningful and worthwhile. Some lawyers can only dream of having work-life balance.
The ending was of course, nostalgic. It was sad to see all of them leaving their offices, carrying their own boxes. Yes, they still meet for meals but reunions might not just be the same again. I guess we just have to be happy that they're all evolving and developing as persons and lawyers.
Oppa says...4.2.
Noona says...4.