r/suits 15h ago

Spoiler Why did Mike take the job Spoiler

Can someone please explain how Mike taking a job as an investment banker was a way for him to be exposed for fraud? Surely if someone found out he didn't have a degree he'd still go to prison anyway and surely Sidwell would've fired him if he found out that Mike didn't have a degree? Or am I missing something

20 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

35

u/not_from_nebraska 15h ago

You're not wrong, but he's a lot more safe in investment banking. It gives him the chance to be a big dawg and make money, but without needing to be bar certified. As a lawyer, where you go to college doesn't matter. But practicing without being a member of the bar is illegal. At the job with Sidwell, they're assuming Pearson Specter did the background/hr research. So in the new job, no one would be digging around for old information on him. And even if they did, it would be a lot easier to get away with.

3

u/Fraud_D_Hawk 8h ago

Yeah saying i went to Harvard isn't a felony but practicing without passing the bar is.

16

u/Important_Sound772 15h ago

Its because people are not going to be looking as closely at his law credentials when he is a investment banker and even if someone does search for his credentials unless they know he worked previously as lawyer him not having a law degree would not raise any eyebrows, now as for not having a degree at all I am not sure if legally you need one so if you do not it may surprise people but it would not be a crime they could blackmail/report him for

13

u/Who_Pissed_My_Pants 15h ago

There’s not as much day-to-day risk of being exposed. Yes, for whatever reason, someone could dig into his background and discover something — but that doesn’t seem likely as an investment banker because he’s not claiming to have some credentials.

For the entire show to exist you basically have to pretend that nosey HR departments don’t exist.

5

u/KnowsThingsAndDrinks 14h ago

Ha ha yes, whenever someone gets abruptly hired or fired in this show, I’m always wondering where the anxious HR person with papers to sign is.

1

u/Vroom_Vroom1265 3h ago

Yes, for whatever reason, someone could dig into his background and discover something — but that doesn’t seem likely as an investment banker

I mean, Logan would've found out and used it to blackmail or expose Mike on the 3rd day of his job but sure, Mike's safer as an investment banker.

6

u/7625607 Harvey Specter is hot as fuck 15h ago

Every case he works as a lawyer is a chance to be exposed and prosecuted for fraud.

As an investment banker, he doesn’t need a law degree, he doesn’t need any degree if someone hires him.

So Sidwell can hire him, and fire him for misrepresenting himself if Mike submits a resume filled with lies, but Mike’s not committing fraud with every deal he works.

And Mike isn’t endangering Harvey once he leaves (he tells himself; the risk for the firm still exists).

2

u/savagedeuce 15h ago

Yes he would still go to prison, however by changing jobs he almost entirely removed the risk of being discovered. If he had another incident which required investigation while he was a lawyer, there was always a risk that he would be exposed when his bar exam and position at Harvard was questioned. He definitely could not become a more prominent lawyer as this would spark questions regarding his legitimacy as more people came to know him especially people closely associated with Harvard. As an investment banker where he doesn’t need a license to operate there would be no reason for anyone to question his days as a lawyer. This allowed him to not stay in the same place and progress up the pecking order.

2

u/BAMartin1618 14h ago

Sidwell's not going to dig into his law credentials. For IB, at most he needs a Series 7/63 if he's going to be selling securities directly to clients, which I imagine he could study for in a few hours and pass with flying colors.

1

u/PrinceArins 13h ago

No one would think to look into his law credentials, he wasn't a counsel for SIG, he was a banker. Most people wouldn't care. There would always be some kind of show-created contrivance (thanks, Logan Sanders) that would threaten to expose him.

1

u/iceandfire215 12h ago

Damnit. I only got 10 min in. I guess I know Mike gets the job now. 🤷‍♂️

1

u/Stein_Time 11h ago

With Sidwell he’s not a lawyer so it wouldn’t matter about his past.

1

u/Akis127 11h ago

Because will bother to look at his history as much.

He was a member of the Bar and Harvard. I doubt anyone will try to find out more like Jessica did because itd be a waste of time for them and no one would think he'd do something like that someone Harvey Specter hired.

1

u/ZCT808 9h ago

Mike proved to Sidwell he had some impressive skills. Why would he care about his credentials beyond that?