RichC2

After Trevor and Vaas I am curious what other videogame psychopaths they have lined up.

covenant

expound on that

Matt925

I don't remember what episode it is but there's a moment when jimmy watches chuck's reaction to something he did and outright says or intimates this is my fault.

dhmac

What Chuck did was unforgivable.

Jimmy has been trying to pull himself up out of the gutter and improve himself. And becoming a respectable lawyer, like his brother Chuck, was his goal. Working directly side-by-side with his brother at HHM would've done just that and his shady past would've been behind him.

But in Chuck's eyes, Jimmy is still the same and can never change. Which is a harsh judgement in which Chuck won't even give Jimmy a real chance to change. Why not let him work as a lawyer at HHM? If Jimmy fails and backslides, then fire him. But Chuck should've at least given him a chance.

Now "Nepotism" (which is where a company hires relatives of workers, typically unqualified for the job) would be a good argument against hiring Jimmy. I've worked at companies where nepotism was actually forbidden.

However, the fact that there are at least Hamlins at HHM shows that it doesn't seen to be an issue at that firm. (And I wonder if the only reason a 2nd Hamlin, still unseen on the show, is in the name of the company is just so viewers won't support Chuck's view due to its potential nepotism).

majorjoe23

They should have called this show "Chimp With a Machine Gun" instead of "Better Call Saul."

fumanstan

I don't think there's any reason to assume that the second Hamlin was just some schmuck relative if he was important enough to be a partner with his name on the company. And it seems like hiring a guy like Jimmy with a degree from Universitty of American Samoa to what appears to be a major law firm like HHM the way it's portrayed on the show would most certainly be nepotism. It makes sense to me the way Chuck was pushing Jimmy to make a name for himself by doing his own thing instead of constantly badgering HHM and Howard.

Cusm

But Jimmy was already an employee at the company. He could have been bumped up to the lowest rung lawyer spot and given a chance to prove himself. it makes it worse, it's okay you work for me as a mail room monkey, but not as an attorney.

DthRdrX

It's one thing to be upfront and sit your brother down and state why he can't work there, but to go behind his back like that was rotten. Chuck did not want him to succeed him at all, which is why he had Jimmy bring the case to his company. Chuck knows Jimmy could have most likely brought the case to another firm and became a partner there.

Mike86

While I do agree that Jimmy could have been a liability somewhat to me it seems to make sense that if Chuck assisted him with getting hired at HHM that the associates at HHM as well as himself could have helped guide Jimmy down the right path. It seems like Chuck was just way too unwilling to give Jimmy a chance.

I agree that he could have at least been given a low level spot at the firm to start out with and work his way up if he proved himself. Chuck essentially sets him up to fail and really the way he went about things was a back stabbing move.

JoeyOhhhh

I'm not terribly surprised about Chuck being the one to kibosh Jimmy's attempts at joining HHM since the episode where Hamlin denies his request (I had suspected him, but that chain of events sold me on the idea).

What doesn't make sense to me is if Jimmy is correct about Chucks share of HHM, why would Chuck not sell his stake if it is indeed worth more than him continuing to stay on (albeit with his "illness").

And the scenes with Mike are always great, and I loved how he got rid of the other two guys for the protection knowing the one guy was full of shit when he starts grilling him about weapons and so forth.

chowderhead

I agree. They could of had a probationary period for his hiring or they could have pulled a The Good Wife and pit him to compete against another associate for 1 job.

fumanstan

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it is or should be that simple to get a promotion or a position like that. I'd like to think there would need to be an open position first, and an interview. And even then, depending on how Jimmy has conducted himself prior he could be deemed not ready or professional enough to warrant that opportunity. The company doesn't owe him a position, low level or not, just because he passed the exam.

mphtrilogy

sucks this was only 10 ep season...

Mike86

I don't think it should necessarily be easy but there are some factors at play here. Chuck is one of the partners of HHM, he could easily help Jimmy land a job given that he passed the bar exam and is a lawyer. Whether he went to the best school or whatever is another question but he still has the qualifications technically. Plus he handed HHM a potentially huge case on a silver platter. I would think something like that would at least lead HHM to open the door to him a bit. Maybe not give him a top spot right away but at least start him out.

Like I've said I do get where Chuck is coming from somewhat too given Jimmy's shady past, but there's no question in my mind that the way he handled things was a bastard move.

fumanstan

Right, i'm not defending or arguing against Chuck pulling a shady move at all. I'm just saying that just because Chuck could help Jimmy land a job doesn't mean he should, and i'm a little genuinely surprised that people think Jimmy should have been promoted from the mail room right away.

It's not law, but I work in IT and just because someone has a certification doesn't mean they get a job, whether they already work for the company or not. I also wouldn't recommend a friend or family member for something and put my own credibility at risk if I didn't think they were qualified to do the job. Chuck didn't think Jimmy was qualified enough or put in the work, and that appears to be a completely fair and justified opinion given what we've seen.

Mike86

I think its fair given his past. On the series thus far though I wouldn't say so much that Jimmy seems completely untrustworthy. He seems like he's a down on his luck kind of guy trying to make it. I think some things he's done could be viewed as questionable but he hasn't done anything so terrible that I think Chuck has a reason to not trust him (within the current time in which the series is taking place). Chuck seems like he can't look past Jimmy's past no matter how hard he's trying and has to continue holding him down. I do get it to an extent but yet at the same time I don't know.

Timber

I'm going to disagree. Chuck may not have thought Jimmy was qualified when he first got the degree but after working with him he clearly saw that he was qualified. He was holding where the degree was against him.

dhmac

Wow, that's not what I said.

I'm not saying anyone is incompetent, but that lot of companies have nepotism rules where a family member of a current employee can't get a job at the company. No exceptions are allowed, aside from two employees who met at the job and get married - usually both can stay on if they work in different areas. Nepotism rules are extremely common in the business world.

So I'm saying that people could argue that it's the reason HHM can't hire Jimmy, but the mere fact that HHM has 2 "H"'s there means that they are a company WITHOUT a nepotism rule. That's all I'm saying.

fumanstan

Sorry I misunderstood, for some reason I was thinking of nepotism in general as just playing favorites opposed to you just meaning that it wasn't absolutely forbidden.

andicus

How would 2 "H"s mean they don't have a nepotism rule? Even if they are related, they presumably started the company, along with Chuck. They could have implemented the rule for their company. It doesn't mean they can't both work there.

I'm not saying there IS a nepotism rule, in fact if there were, it surely would have been mentioned as soon as Jimmy asked to join the firm.

Timber

Why are we talking about a nepotism rule? Jimmy already worked for the company in the mail room. So that invalidates that rule. Plus if that rule was in place that would have been the reason Hamlin would have told him instead of the "wait and see" that he got.

DthRdrX

For the record, I have worked for a Fortune 100 and 500 companies that both had nepotism rules, though the executives moved their relatives up the ladder anyway. Question those movements and the next thing you know you are out the door. I'm betting Hamlin was just being a dick to get Kim to stop asking questions.

Bill Needle

To my knowledge Jimmy is completely free to do just that. He can refuse the HHM offer and take the case to another firm and be made partner, assuming that's all it takes as he claimed in his argument with Howard. Or maybe we aren't supposed to think of that.

Coral

That's what I don't get. They make it seem like there are only 2 options for Jimmy... go solo or take the offer to HHM. He always had the 3rd option of going to another law firm with this case... that was even more obvious when he was turned down to work with them. If this case was as good as they claimed, it would've been an easy sell elsewhere and he more than likely would've been hired on because of it.

majorjoe23

I wish. It was only nine.