1. One Media/Publication Administrative Perspective Analysis paper. That paper is valued at 120 points. The paper should be 5-6 pages, excluding the cover page. Choose one (1) current media produc

Media Analysis Publication:
A Review of Shonda Rhimes’s “How to Get Away with Murder”

Student Name

East Central University

Behind the Scenes: An overview of How to Get Away with Murder

Centered on the professional life of Pennsylvania’s finest criminal defense attorney, the TV show, How to Get Away with Murder does not just chronicle the life of this brilliant, charismatic, and sometimes seductive professor of defense law, but also shows how with the use of her wit, her rigidity, her inner fierceness, and even more so, her rare “maternal protective instincts” she is able to not only mentor a group of five ambitious law students (Wes, Laurel, Michaela, Connor, and Asher), but also get caught up in their twisted saga which all began with someone falling off the stairs. Together with her intelligent but often timid assistant, Bonnie, and her “handyman”, Frank, she is determined to help these students get away with murder.

The Environment

These five ambitious law students, especially known to Annalise Keating (the law professor) as the Keating Five, assists Annalise in her law cases, actual law cases and not just some school experiment, and in return they get course credit of some sort, sometimes the price can be an automatic A on either the midterms or the finals. Having to joggle school and work for this widely feared attorney by the legal system, it is no doubt that interpersonal relationship was going to be rare; the atmosphere was mostly competitive, and when it was not, there was a huge cloud of uncertainty that hung over the heads of the Keating Five, who seemed to think that Annalise is to blame for how messed up they turned out to be.

When they started out, working for Annalise that is, they worked from her home; her home was their base of operations. It was there that all strategic planning, evaluations, and objectives were set. Later on as the show goes ahead, she would be granted the opportunity to open what she called “the legal clinic” wherein cases were taken, mostly pro bono, and the student of the class who presented the best possible defense got rewarded. This however, did not mean that she brought in “strangers” into the Keating club of eight; when more pressing and personal matters arose the Keating club would move matters to be discussed to the Keating home.

Despite the seeming negativity that was very much apparent in the Keating environment, there was a genuine desire to protect and to be protected; something bonded them together for as long as it could hold, or should I say someone – Annalise Keating. She tried as best as she could, especially considering her own story growing up, to be protective of everyone she cared about, even Frank who was an established criminal.

There is infighting, most of the time, there is some element of in-house romance, but the one aspect of the environment that trumps every other thing is their determination to be committed to one another regardless of personal differences.

Goals

It could be argued, and convincingly so, that Annalise and her team have plethora of goals. However, the main goal of the legal clinic which she ran was committed to taking defense cases especially of people who cannot afford a good lawyer and looked guilty at the same time. Otherwise, the goal was to get away with murder. In this sense we could say that her goals were SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

Budget

Given that the clinic was attached to the university, it was run under the university budget. Occasionally however, she would bully her way into more money for funding which was always given to her because of how much the university feared and respected her at the same time. For her private cases at home, she has very wealthy clients, and sometimes alleged criminals who paid very generous fees for her fierce service; she’s paid to deliver and she never disappoints.

Training

What makes Annalise so good at what she does is that she does not just teach the law in a classroom with some foreign examples and case studies; she uses real ongoing cases and challenges her students to come up with the best possible defense. And sometimes the student who gets to win the challenge gets to argue that case in court under her direct supervision.

Referrals

Annalise, due in part to the paranoia and confusion of it all, operates a tight ship; she doesn’t just let anyone in. Her circle is really close and keeping it that way protects not only the students and her assistants but it equally protects the prospective candidate to the club. She, however briefly, sometimes would leave things in the capable hands of Bonnie who, herself, was an attorney. Being a good supervisor that she was though, she was able to tap into the talents of everyone and knew who could best do what.

Casework

All members were encouraged to work together to figure things out, especially when they were hard. However, when it came to presenting defense strategies that was in individual project which came with perks for the winner. They would work, sometimes even overnight just to make sure that there was a solution by morning.

Resisting Supervision

Resistance was not so much an issue as naughtiness was. Being students they would want to challenge Annalise’s decisions; they wanted their lives back; but somewhere along the way they would always realize how right Annalise was and come running back. Annalise pushed them to embrace the limits of their untapped potential and as gruesome as it was at times, it bore the required fruit.

Promotions

Annalise did not believe in promotion. She however, believed in punishment and reward which she felt were the best motivators someone could ever need in life to make those decisions that change one’s life forever. She rewarded brilliance with an automatic “A” on her exams; gave promising students the opportunity to argue cases in court; most of all, she made them feel like they were already lawyers.

Supervision & Evaluation

Effectiveness, for Annalise is not determined by the number of hours one puts into the case but by how convincing the strategy was. That, to her, is the mark of a true lawyer or student aspiring for the bar. Her method from the beginning, was chiefly bureaucratic, and a little dictatorial. However, as the show progressed it became more participative.

The End…?

How to Get Away with Murder presents, from a very picturesque point of view, the inner workings of administration and supervision, and how something small, such as starting out with five students in your living room can metastasize into something large, the legal clinic.

References

Rhimes, S. (Producer). (2014). How to Get Away with Murder [Television series].

Los Angeles: Shondaland.