Diane Lockhart quotes from The Good Wife

Diane

I want you to think of me as a mentor, Alicia. It's the closest thing we have to an old boy's network in this town. Women helping women, okay? When I was starting out I got one great piece of advice: men can be lazy, women can't... and I think that goes double for you. Not only are you coming back to the workplace fairly late but you have some very prominent baggage. [Points to a picture of her and Hillary Clinton] But, hey, if she can do it so can you.

Diane

[about Alicia] It's not just teaching an old dog new tricks, it's teaching an entitled dog new tricks.

Diane

You're never handed the perfect witness. You make the perfect witness.

Diane

If you go nuclear, don't leave missiles in your silo.

Diane

You know why I was made partner? Jonas Stern was sued for sexual harassment, and he needed to show that he had a female partner. That's all. When the door that you have been knocking at finally swings open, you don't ask why, you run through. That is the simple fact. No one is here to make it comfortable for you. No one is here to appreciate your moping, so this is my advice to you, take a minute for yourself, put on your best gracious voice, find a way to wear a smile, and then come into the conference room ready to thank the equity partners for giving you this opportunity. Because what is given can quickly be taken away.

Diane

Ericcson?

Will

Right, [Diane rolls her eyes] William Ericcson. That's just what we need: two Wills.

Will

We just turned down a half million buck.

Diane

Feels good, doesn't it?

Will

Your stripper was hooking.

Diane

Why is she my stripper when she does something bad?

Will

What's up with your bud Abernathy? He's going out of his way to kill us.

Diane

You know how this works. Liberal judge gets on the bench, doesn't want to rule from his bias, so he bends over backwards the other way.

Diane

Are you suggesting I influence a sitting judge in some untoward fashion?

Will

No, just in a toward one. Come on, come to court, let him see your sad little liberal face '[Diane starts to laugh]' and contemplate a life without his friends.

Will

When the connections are personal, it can get tricky.

Diane

Blurring the line between friendship and business usually is.

Kalinda

[after making her report about Malcolm Overby] Are you sure that's what you're looking for?

Diane

I... don't know. Should I be looking for something else?

Kalinda

Well, that's like asking the dentist whether you should brush.

Kalinda

Do you know how much you pay jury consultants?

Diane

No.

Kalinda

A hundred thousand dollars for three months work.

Diane

That sounds about right.

Kalinda

Do you know how much I make?

Diane

I have a feeling I'm finding out.

Kalinda

A fourth of that.

Diane

That sounds outrageous.

Kalinda

Yeah, it does, doesn't it?

Will

You have a lifeboat that holds 15 people or one person... who do you put in it?

Diane

Is one a priest and one a rabbi?

The network doesn't want a long, drawn out trial. We would like to move on.

Diane

You mean from Cheryl Willen's suicide or the loss of ten sponsors?

You don't need to sell it anymore; we're here.

Diane

That wasn't selling; that was rubbing it in.