The Law According to Hollywood: Suits and Preliminary Motion Practice

Countless legal dramas exist and paint a gripping picture of the legal world – dramatic courtroom exchanges, surprise evidence appearing at the last minute, bold lawyers single-handedly resolving a case within days – but how much of this accurately reflects the legal process?

The truth is, not much, but that is because an accurate depiction would make for boring television. Very few people would sit down for an hour to watch the protagonist attorney draft discovery requests or send case updates to clients. Yet, these legal dramas – consciously or subconsciously – shape the public’s perception of how the legal process should work. This series dives into the most common misconceptions fueled by film and television and unpacks what real-life legal professionals wish more people understood about the legal process.

We begin with the below scene from the TV popular show Suits, a legal drama that follows Mike Ross, a brilliant but unmotivated college dropout who is hired as an associate attorney at a top New York City law firm, despite never attending law school (we will set aside for now the obvious fictional elements of this scenario).[1]

The Law According to Hollywood: Suits and Preliminary Motion Practice

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Background

In this clip, Mike appears in court alongside Robert Zane – co-counsel from another law firm – to defend against a motion to dismiss brought by Kelton Insurance Company, a fictional insurance provider accused of wrongfully denying necessary medical coverage for the plaintiffs (of which there are over two hundred in the lawsuit).

For purposes of analyzing the legal procedure implicated in this scene, this article uses the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, despite the portrayed hearing taking place before the trial court for the State of New York.

Common Order and Notice of Hearing

At the beginning of the hearing, the presiding judge notes that while the hearing was set to address Kelton’s motion to dismiss, the court file appears to indicate that the plaintiffs have instead moved for a motion to expedite the trial.

Although the order in which the parties will present their oral arguments is ultimately decided by the judge, the common practice is that the moving party (the party who brought the motion) will first present their argument as to why the motion should be granted. Then, only after the moving party’s attorney is finished, including any questions or criticisms that the judge may interject with, the non-moving party will present their opposition.

Here, this custom is cast aside, with Robert and Mike presenting their own motion instead. In fact, not only do Kelton’s attorneys not get to go first on their motion to dismiss, but the judge also makes her decision without them being afforded the chance to substantively assert their position.

Furthermore, Rule 6(d) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure requires that all written motions be accompanied by a notice of hearing, which must be served on the opposing side at least five days before the hearing.[1] In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the local rules also require the Notice of Hearing to be filed with the Clerk of Court.[2] If Mike and Robert did not follow these procedures, the judge would have certainly refused to hear their motion at the hearing.

Judicial Review of a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss

In response to the judge’s questioning as to why she should grant the plaintiff’s motion to expedite trial rather than Kelton’s motion to dismiss, Robert craftily responds, “well if you expedite our trial that takes care of their motion to dismiss.”

Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a defense may be made by motion requesting dismissal on the basis that the allegations in the complaint have failed “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”[3] This frequently utilized defense tool “generally tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint . . . [t]he motion does not present the merits, but only whether the merits may be reached.”[4] The judge is to examine the allegations in the complaint, treated as true, to determine whether the allegations are sufficient to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under some recognized legal theory.[5]

Here, Robert’s response does not in any way demonstrate that their claims contain sufficient factual allegations to support at least one plausible legal claim, the proper opposition for a plaintiff to make against a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Instead, he suggests that proceeding to trial would render the motion to dismiss unnecessary or irrelevant.

This may be a valid defense to a motion to dismiss if such a motion were based on a failure to timely prosecute the case. The exact circumstances regarding the duration of the case's pending status are unclear from the video clip or the rest of the episode. Nonetheless, Robert’s defense to the motion to dismiss overlooks the primary purpose of a motion to dismiss – to evaluate the merits of the allegations to assess whether the case is legally sufficient to proceed to a trial.

Timing

At one point during the hearing, the judge mentioned that Mike and Robert had taken over the case two days before the hearing. While one of the central plot points of Suits is that Mike has a photographic memory that enables him to quickly learn and recall facts, any responsible attorney in actual practice would request a continuance of the hearing to ensure they are adequately prepared to appear.

Preparing for a hearing not only includes drafting a written brief, but also reviewing the case materials, such as prior pleadings, discovery, prior motions, correspondence, and client notes; conducting legal research to find support for their side and to have an understanding of legal authority that is in conflict with theirs; planning court room strategy in the form of anticipating the opposing party’s arguments and the judge’s critiques and questions; and rehearsing their oral argument repeatedly.

This is because lawyers have a professional obligation to their clients to at all times provide competent representation, which “requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.[1] Superhuman recall skills aside, Mike should have sought a continuance rather than proceeding with the motion hearing.

Judicial Review of a Motion to Expedite Trial

The hearing concludes with the judge questioning Mike and Robert regarding the unlikely nature of how they could have gathered enough information to warrant an expedited trial within the time they have been on the case. Mike responds by reciting the narratives of two of the class plaintiffs, even showing the judge he knows the exact page number where it is alleged in the 5000-page complaint, which is unusually long for any pleading. Mike’s heartfelt, dramatic monologue convinces the judge to grant their motion, who states, “jury selection starts Monday.”

In North Carolina, trials are scheduled pursuant to the trial court’s local rules. In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, trial calendars are published forty days in advance. [2] A case will only be placed on the trial calendar if it is determined that the case is ready for trial. Older cases are generally given priority in the order of cases to proceed to trial.[1]

Although Mike’s argument makes for entertaining drama, he does not address whether the case has a great public interest to the state, how the issues are important to the jurisprudence of the jurisdiction, or why there is a need to reach a final resolution on the merits at the earliest possible opportunity, which is the standard applied by North Carolina courts in the rare instances such a motion has been granted.[2]

Conclusion on Suits

While Suits certainly delivers compelling television that has captivated millions of viewers, its depiction of preliminary motion practice trades accuracy for entertainment. This clip highlights just how wide the gap is between courtroom fiction and the methodical reality of legal procedure.

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[1] Suits, Fandom, https://suits.fandom.com/wiki/Suits#:~:text=11%20External%20links-,Summary,the%20charade%20that%20he%20did (last visited Jun. 4, 2025).

[2] N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 6(d).

[3] N.C. Super. Ct. 26th Jud. Dist. Civ. R. 12.3 (rev. Mar. 1, 2015).

[4] N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6).

[5] Concrete Service Corp. v. Investors Group, Inc., 79 N.C. App. 678, 681, 317 N.C. 333 (1986).

[6] Forsyth Mem’l Hosp., Inc. v. Armstrong World Indus., 366 N.C. 438, 442 (1994) (quoting Lynn v. Overlook Dev., 328 N.C. 689, 692 1991.

[7] MODEL RULES OF PRO. CONDUCT R. 1.1 (AM. BAR ASS’N 1983).

[8] N.C. Super. Ct. 26th Jud. Dist. Civ. R. 9.1 (rev. Mar. 1, 2015).

[9] Id. R. 4.2.

[10] Id. R. 9.5.

[11] See, e.g., Holmes v. Moore, 382 N.C. 690, 690 (2022) (“In light of the great public interest in the subject matter of this case, the importance of the issues to the constitutional jurisprudence of this State, and the need to reach a final resolution on the merits at the earliest possible opportunity, plaintiffs' Motion for Expedited Hearing and Consideration is allowed . . ..”).