[Jimmy bribes a bus driver to "break down". After handing bribe money to the driver, he climbs on board]
Howdy, folks! Could someone tell me if Mrs. Alma May Urbano is on board? Alma May Urbano? [sees an elderly woman raise her hand] There you are. Hello, dear. Very good to meet you. My name's Jimmy. I tried to visit you at Sandpiper, but they wouldn't allow me to. Hey, you know what? It doesn't matter. I saw your bus broken down, here you are. Lucky me. Do you prefer to be called Mrs. Urbano or Alma May or just plain Alma? My last name is McGill, but you can call me Jimmy. Hey, everyone! My name's Jimmy McGill. I'm an attorney at law, but, uh, don't mind me. Just talk amongst yourselves. Now, Alma May, do you recall responding to a mailer from my law firm, Davis & Main, of Santa Fe, New Mexico?
AMAlma May
I... I don't know.
Well, we were looking to help any Sandpiper residents who may have been overcharged for, uh, basic goods and services. Now, does that ring a bell?
AMAlma May
Oh! Maybe. Was it yellow?
It's canary yellow. I picked that color myself. [chuckles] Well, ma'am, I'm here to make sure you get your money back.
AAmos
What are you talking about? Who took Alma May's money?
Uh, well, now, that's a very good question. And thank you for asking, mister, uh...?
AAmos
Amos... Amos Lydecker.
Mr. Lydecker, Jimmy McGill. Now, nobody took anybody's money, uh, exactly. Okay? It's not like the Sandpiper people, you know, put on a ski mask and, uh, mugged Alma May here at gunpoint. So I want you to put that mental image right out of your head. See, what we're talking about here is more of a... it's just a discrepancy. It's, it's a little thing, it's fairly innocent. But we need to fix it. Do you follow me? [silence] Well, put it this way. Alma May, let's say you're out on a date with your boyfriend. You do have a boyfriend, right? [She shakes her head] Ah! You don't? Come on. You... Alma May's holding out on me. Do you have a nephew?
AMAlma May
Nephew? Oh, y-yes. Steve.
Okay, Steve. Is he a good guy?
AMAlma May
Yes, very good.
Okay. So, let's say you and Steve go out to dinner at, uh, well, Birdie's. That's where you're all headed today, right? All right. So, both of you have a great meal. It's chicken-fried steak and green beans, and it's all perfect. Here comes the check. "Hey, wait a doggone..." Twenty-four bucks for a side of buttermilk biscuits? "That doesn't sound right, now, does it?" No, it does not. It sounds like something got added up wrong. Well, naturally, you send your nephew Steve to talk to the manager, and naturally, the manager corrects the mistake. And what's more, he gives you a coupon for a free meal next time you come in. How about that? Good. Well, same kind of thing is what happened at Sandpiper Crossing. And nothing makes me sadder than to see people of the Greatest Generation... people like my own Nana and Bobo... gettin' overcharged by some great, big company. Even if it was an accident. Now, I know that the good people at Sandpiper want to make this right sooner or later, but you know what? Well, sometimes, it's just easier if you get your nephew Steve to go take care of it for you. And that's how I want you to think of me.
[Jimmy is distracted by Chuck's presence at a meeting at HHM]
How about we move on to client outreach?
Jimmy? You still with us?
I'm gonna save you from having to brag: Over two hundred new Sandpiper clients signed over the past three weeks. Well done, Jimmy.
Thank you. Thanks, Cliff. Right now, we're in the process of mapping out the entire Southwest, targeting the largest Sandpiper facilities first: Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Fort Worth, Provo. Ideally, my goal–another two hundred by the end of the month. With this many folks, we have an excellent shot at a solid batch of plaintiffs for the classes in each district.
Excellent! Looking forward to the next report. Onto a stickier wicket, coordinating actions–
Sorry, before we move on, I'd like to go back to client outreach just for a moment. Looking over these numbers here, really astonishing results, Jimmy. Incredible. Your last trip to Amarillo, you came back with twenty-two new clients.
Twenty-four! I'm confused. Um, how many people out there actually responded to our direct mailer?
Oh, right, yeah. A Mrs. Alma May Urbano... but you got twenty four new clients from this one response? That is... wow.
Well, you're welcome. I mean, what, is there a problem?
Well, might not some parties—the opposing counsel, for example—see this differential and conclude that there may have been some solicitation involved?
I'm just wondering how you account for your success, because it will definitely raise eyebrows over at Schweikart & Cokely. [to the room] I'm sorry, but it will. Particularly in a case involving seniors, for whom the ethical guidelines on solicitation were virtually created by the ABA.
Chuck, I'm sure that— [Chuck hushes him] Jimmy, if you could clear this up, that would be helpful.
I went to Amarillo to confer with a client, and to make sure that we had a solid, good-faith basis for our case there, overall. As many of you are aware, I've visited more than my share of retirement homes. These are close-knit communities, let me tell ya: word gets around real fast. If Dorothy in Phase 2 gets a new Rascal scooter, it's big news.
So these other twenty-three residents, they approached you?
Cliff, they heard the scuttlebutt before I crossed state lines, and I certainly didn't have to go knocking on any doors. And is it any surprise that they wanna speak with a guy who was there to show them they may have money coming their way? I gotta tell ya, with all that in mind: I shoulda done better.
Chuck? We good to move on?
[Jimmy and Chuck stare at each other; Chuck shrugs]
And Chuck, not incidentally, it is absolutely vital that we dot our I's and cross our T's here—invaluable. So, thank you.
Well, the price of excellence is eternal vigilance.
Look, I need you to understand something very critical here.
I put myself on the line to get you this job.
Okay, I thought it was because I'm sensational with old people.
Yeah, and who do you think told them that?
So what, you threw me a bone?
No. Asshole. You know I believe in you... but then I made my beliefs known to them, and now everything you do reflects back on me with Howard, 'cause ultimately I talked him into going out on a limb for you too. Do you understand? It's- it's my word, it's my judgement.
You and I both know you can do this job... [Jimmy frowns] but please, you just have to do it right.
[Jimmy takes a phone call from Cliff after the broadcast of the commercial.]
It's never too late for a congratulations. [picks up phone] Cliff! Jesus, you're still at the office.
Yeah. And oh my God, let me tell you, the response has been–
You ran a commercial without ever showing it to me, without first consulting me and my partners! Did you actually think that was going to fly?!
I was planning on telling you in the morning.
I only ran it once, just in one small market. It was kind of an experiment, all right? Kind of under the radar. And in all fairness, you did tell me client outreach was my department.
Don't be disingenuous. This commercial, I take it my firm's name is mentioned?
Jesus. Howard said you were a little eccentric. He didn't tell me you were a goddamn arsonist!
Cliff, to be fair, I don't think... I apologize if there was any misreading of the situation on my part, but there's a very positive headline here. We got 103 phone calls today, off a measly $700 ad buy. Now, that kind of return on investment you can't get–
Tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock, my office, with the partners, and we want to see this thing!
Cliff, when you see this, I know you–
[Cliff hangs up on Jimmy. Jimmy pretends he's still on the phone with Cliff as he walks back into the living room.]
Yeah, Cliff. Thank you... Yeah, you too... Okay, see ya.
