Is Perry Mason TV's most effective lawyer? New study names top 5
Raymond Burr starred in the CBS show “Perry Mason” (1957-1966). (Photo by Radio Times via Getty Images)
Perhaps it’s not a surprise that the person who almost never lost a case and almost always broke down a key witness on the stand was the winner in a study to determine the most effective fictional lawyer in television history.
In a new study conducted by the Underwood Law Firm, a California-based partition practice, Perry Mason of Perry Mason was the most successful at delivering a positive outcome for his clients. According to the law firm, it examined 31 fictitious lawyers to determine how often they delivered successful results for the clients. The study also drew on data from Clio, which is also an advertiser with the ABA Journal, to estimate their billing rates based on their practice areas and locations.
According to the results, Mason succeeded for 263 of 265 clients, giving him a 99.2% win rate. In second place was his spiritual successor on television, Ben Matlock, who delivered for 136 of his 140 clients, or a 97.1% win rate. However, the Underwood Law Firm estimated that Matlock was a lot more affordable than his illustrious predecessor, with an average billing rate of $224 per hour, compared to Mason’s hourly rate of $347.
Rounding out the top five in relation to success rate were Alicia Florrick of The Good Wife (87.8% win rate), Mickey Haller from The Lincoln Lawyer (84.2% win rate) and Alan Shore of The Practice and Boston Legal (82.3% win rate).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most expensive lawyers came from Suits, a TV show about a high-powered corporate firm in New York City.
According to the study, Mike Ross, Harvey Specter and Louis Litt would charge $551 per hour. The next most expensive lawyers were also from big firms: Florrick, Will Gardner and Diane Lockhart of the Chicago-based The Good Wife. Their estimated hourly rate was $357. According to the study, the biggest bargain in terms of hourly rates was Annalise Keating from ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder ($192 per hour).
According to the study, of the 31 lawyers who were analyzed, only 16 represented enough clients to make the list. Of those lawyers, it was Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul who finished last in terms of effectiveness. Goodman, who put the “criminal” in “criminal lawyer” only got successful results for 30% of his clients, according to the study.
The data was collected Sept. 4, according to the firm. Only lawyers with at least 10 clients were included in the final ranking.
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