MBTI Type: ISTP

Paul is a rather straightforward man, who wants to understand every aspect of the case and go over its particulars before he agrees to represent it, while simultaneously thinking up a good way to get his client off, without any real concern for the “morality” involved. He urges the man to think about a “legal defense” for his murder of another man, and carefully coaches his language to infer that a moral defense (this man raped my wife) isn’t good enough. The jury won’t accept it. So then they go with an insanity plea. Paul looks for loopholes in the judicial system to get evidence admitted that was inadmissible before, such as sneaking in references to a lie detector test, telling his client’s wife not to dress in her usual manner when she comes to court (she’ll have to wear proper undergarments, at least this time!), etc. He just wants the facts of the case, and to be told “everything… both what you told the police and what you didn’t.” Paul somewhat naively trusts that what they tell him is genuine, once it passes his inspection, and doesn’t dig deep enough to find out the truth about the events of that night; he is astonished in court to find out Lt. Manion struck his wife, and had hit her in the past. Paul is quick to leap on any possible chance to knock out his opposition’s arguments, but also lives a rather uncouth personal life. He spends more time fishing than working, has not paid any of his bills in a while (yet seems unconcerned by it), and “used to be” an important personage in the town as the district attorney, but has since then abandoned any ambitious designs and simply lives day to day. He becomes narrowly convinced of his client’s innocence and argues to that extend, doggedly remaining persistent on his one interpretation of all those events. Under pressure, Paul’s inferior Fe starts to show – he loses his temper in court, risking alienating the jury. He becomes angry and confrontational, even threatening violence. Whenever he doesn’t watch himself, he speaks his mind clearly – saying that by golly, he loves how Laura dresses (suggestively) but maybe she shouldn’t do it in front of the jury. He’s aware of how she will come across to them, and urges her to tone it down significantly to help out her husband. He also picks his language in court deliberately to appeal to the jury, and sometimes to irritate his opposition.

Enneagram: 9w8 sp/so

Paul is congenial and cautious about offending people upon early acquaintance, and rather… well, too-adjusted for his own good. He’s a bachelor at a ripe old age who doesn’t mind being asked questions, who has never gotten around to courting anybody, and who spends most of his time fishing rather than earning a living. When he finds out someone has cheated him out of a massive amount of money, he just shrugs and chuckles, wonders what he’s going to tell his secretary (who hasn’t been paid in awhile), and then goes on about his day, cheerfully. He never once suspected this fellow would cheat him, either. He’s quick to apologize for causing offense or making others uncomfortable. But his 8 wing certainly comes out in the courtroom, where he is both ruthless and aggressive. The judge calls him out on his underhanded tactics, and at one point he threatens violence against the prosecutor! He gets his ire up, loses his temper in public, and has to be reprimanded for undignified, ungentlemanly behavior.