We’ve known the character trajectory of Better Call Saul’s protagonist since the start. Walter White’s go-to legal advisor, Saul Goodman is as exploitative and unethical as the man whose money he helps launder. However, Saul didn’t always unscrupulously freewheel; before he changed his name, he was Jimmy McGill.
The Breaking Bad prequel series pulled the curtain back on Goodman. He isn’t just that irreverent scumbag we met in the back of a van. McGill used to care about the consequences of his actions. In the Better Call Saul’s fifth season, McGill (now legally known as Goodman) seems to have fully embraced his Breaking Bad persona—the contrast between who he was and is being more apparent than ever. This begs the question: if you required legal assistance (when you can go outside again), which version of Better Call Saul’s antihero would you call? Are you going to a cheap strip mall or the utility room of a Vietnamese nail salon? We’ve pitted lawyer against lawyer—Goodman versus McGill—to determine who we would turn to in a pinch.
Cover Photo: AMC
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Although we love a good scam, you don’t want to associate yourself with someone like Saul Goodman. That character is a red flag; a sociopath molded by a multiple of well-written episodes. Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are cautionary tales. Similarly to how Walter White goes sour and becomes Heisenberg, Jimmy McGill morphs into his professional alias. These men coddled the self-indulgence aspects of their personalities until there was nothing left of what they once were. Picture Jimmy and Walter contracting COVID-19 and going on spring break anyway—selfish ideologies aren’t good for anyone. So, if your neighbor isn’t willing to share their ass wipe, hire McGill and stay the fuck inside…
Overall Winner: Jimmy McGill
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Better Call Who
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Expertise
So, you require legal assistance. Taking into consideration the typical demographic of the internet, this website, and GIFS, we’re going to assume you’ve committed a crime. You weren't injured at work or need to file for bankruptcy. No. You caught a glimpse of your neighbor’s home and saw that they were stockpiling toilet paper, so you went all The Purge and swiped that shit. Now you need an effective lawyer, one who uses illegal tactics and schemes to get you acquitted of burglary. You need Saul Goodman & Associates. Jimmy McGill is a gifted schemer in his own right but his relationship with Kim Wexler keeps him from being the savage you need (not the one you deserve).
Winner: Saul Goodman
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Experience
Saul is a seasoned lawyer. Jimmy is a new lawyer, tethered by moral obligations to his friends and family (which is just Chuck). In regards to litigation, Jimmy started with smaller cases, often under the over-bearing supervision of Chuck. Once Chuck kicks the bucket and grows further from Kim's ideology, Jimmy becomes Saul. Saul embraces complex matters with ease, dancing around in the gray area as much as he has to—manipulating numbers, names, facts, and people. He’ll show an old man a picture of a man fucking a horse if he has to. Saul Goodman is better at picking jurors, negotiating, settling, and persuading judges. Also, he’s better acquainted with Albuquerque and the tendencies of its law enforcement (let’s just assume you live there).
Winner: Saul Goodman
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Fees
Saul Goodman wants to get paid. (Those tacky suits don’t pay for themselves.) Jimmy McGill is in debt and sleeps in his office. He will take any case that he can including low-paying public defender work ($700 a case). He wants to prove himself as a legitimate lawyer. Saul doesn’t care about legitimacy and he has more than enough money to be selective with his cases (especially once Walter White enters the picture). Jimmy is the cheaper option.
Winner: Jimmy McGill
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Reputation
Lawyers are judged by their peers. Good attorneys get recommended like carpenters or hairstylists. That said, Saul is very connected to Albuquerque’s underworld: drug dealers, evidence removers, and criminals for hire. His over-the-top commercials are less than elegant; however, it brings in his particular clientele like moths to a flame...if those flames were lighting a crack pipe.
Saul’s reputation as a huckster is furthered darkened when he becomes the consigliere of Walter and Jesse. While Saul looks like a hustler, Jimmy looks like Andy Griffith on Matlock. Jimmy even filmed himself taking down that Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill-like billboard so that he could be caught saving a worker's life (who ended up dangling from a rope). The media deemed Jimmy a hero early on, only contributing to his fresh reputation. He even gets a position with Davis and Main, a respectful firm.
Winner: Jimmy McGill
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Integrity
Jimmy McGill’s “heroics” is one of the reasons he has so much success with elders. ("Need a will? Call McGill.") He ends up helping out retirement homes, representing their inhabitants, and hosting bingo. Jimmy’s first big case was an ethical one; after visiting Sandpiper Crossing, he realizes that the establishment is grossly overcharging their residents. In addition to this, Jimmy also takes care of his brother, Chuck, who won’t go outside because he believes he has electromagnetic hypersensitivity (a psychosomatic condition). When Jimmy becomes more Saul-like, he manipulates old people (poor Irene Landry) and discredits Chuck’s position as a lawyer, arguably causing his suicide. Saul Goodman & Associates is not a law firm you can trust.
Winner: Jimmy McGill
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Compassion and Understanding
The Sandpiper Crossing case is Jimmy at his most understanding. He understands that law is a way to bring justice to people who can’t do so for themselves. He feels and sees their pain. Asking questions and listening is how he uncovers the retirement home’s scheme in the first place. Anything dirty that Jimmy does, he tries to keep from Kim and Chuck because he understands what it will do to them. Saul doesn’t care about collateral damage. He doesn’t look at it. In the latest episode of Better Call Saul, "Wexler v Goodman," we see that Jimmy/Saul is dragging Kim down with him—Jimmy and Kim are being buried alive, leaving only Saul.
Winner: Jimmy McGill
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Communication
As a client, you will spend a lot of time discussing your case with your lawyer, especially if it goes to trial. You want to like this person. So who’s more likable, the downtrodden brother being sabotaged by his brother or the free man with swagger? Saul Goodman is Deadpool with a law degree, Dr. House with a pinky ring, Jack Sparrow in a flashy suit. While he may not necessarily respect you, he respects the game. He knows exactly what can be achieved legally and will coach you accordingly. You most likely will have a better rapport with the experienced and savvy Saul Goodman than you will with the conflicted Jimmy McGill.
Winner: Saul Goodman
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Availability and Perseverance
Jimmy McGill went from being a con artist and petty criminal to working full-time in the mail room at HHM while attending correspondence at American Samoan Law School. After caring for his brother, a founder of HHM (where Jimmy worked for 10 years), he isn’t hired by his family’s company after passing the bar (a betrayal that contributes to his transformation into Saul Goodman). There’s no denying the fact that Jimmy has drive and, due to circumstance, he is cheap and available. He’ll respond to phone calls immediately and work an entire case until it is finished.
Winner: Jimmy McGill
