SUMMARY: In “Good Partner,” a rookie attorney thought she was starting her dream job in the corporate department of a prestigious law firm. Instead she was assigned to the divorce team. What was even more shocking was her new boss. They had a student/teacher relationship and never agreed with each other. Now they are working together? Her boss tells her if she wins 10 cases, she can transfer. The rookie attorney accepted the challenge but when she won her first case, it made her so miserable she was going to resign. Before she could submit her resignation, her boss told her they had to work on a VIP case together. Their differing perspectives clashed again, but the boss ignored her opinions and settled the case in the way she saw fit. Despite their differences, the rookie attorney was impressed once she understood the final outcome of the divorce settlement. Her boss was truly a star divorce lawyer. Working on the divorce team was not her dream job, but she realized that she was going to gain a great deal of legal experience and wisdom.
In “Good Partner”, Han Yu-Ri, a new attorney is hired for the divorce team at Daejeong Law Firm. The first thing she wanted to know was whether there was a mistake and she was sent to the wrong department. She was sure she aced her interview and was supposed to be assigned to the corporate department. Surely someone in Human Resources made a mistake. Can someone please correct the screw-up and send her to her “real job”?
We have hopes and dreams but sometimes somebody crushes them! First, Han Yu-Ri realized that her new job was not a mistake. But her second realization was even more shocking. Cha Eun-Kyung, her new boss, had specifically asked for her to be assigned to the divorce team. WHAT? She and her boss have a “history”. She was a student, her boss was the teacher, and they did not see eye-to-eye. Her boss told her that working as a divorce lawyer is not the end of the world. However, if she wins 10 cases, she can ask for a transfer to the corporate department.
Win 10 cases? It seemed doable until … Han Yu-Ri was given her first case and she won! But she hated herself for winning. Her client was a serial adulterer. His spouse wanted to divorce him and take half of their property. However, he did not want a divorce. He said his wife suffered from delusional jealousy and she could never prove that he had been unfaithful.
Han Yu-Ri doubted that her client was being truthful. Cha Eun-Kyung, her boss, told her that she simply needed to do her job and represent the client. She said that Han Yu-Ri was crossing the line by trying to be the judge and the attorney for both the defendant and the plaintiff. When Han Yu-Ri tried to defend her thought process and her actions, Cha Eun-Kyung snapped at her and told her that she was still arrogant! Still arrogant?? Yes. She was arrogant when she was a student and always thought she was RIGHT! Now she’s an arrogant attorney.
Those words provoked Han Yu-Ri’s ire and even though she won her first case because she followed the direction and supervision of her boss, she was miserable. The wife of the client she had defended did not suffer from delusional jealousy. Her husband was a dirty rotten cheating bastard. When Han Yu-Ri saw how miserable and hurt the woman was, she felt that she had committed an act of injustice. This is not what attorneys are supposed to do. She was so miserable about winning her first case that she planned to submit her resignation. Han Yu-Ri didn’t get a chance to resign because a VIP case came in with two defendants and Cha Eun-Kyung told her that they were going to work on this case together.
Cha Eun-Kyung knew Han Yu-Ri wanted to resign but she wasn’t going to allow it. She decided to assign Han Yu-Ri to work with her on a very difficult divorce case that not only involved the division of the property but also custody of the children. TOGETHER?? Once again, Cha Eun-Kyung and Han Yu-Ri did not see eye-to-eye on the best way to handle the marriage dissolution. Especially when it came to who would get custody of the children.
But Cha Eun-Kyung had her way and the divorce was granted, the property was divided, and custody of the children was granted to the two people who had committed adultery. Han Yu-Ri was filled with righteous indignation. She thought the parties who broke up their marriages by committing adultery had won and that is unjust!! When Cha Eun-Kyung painted “the big picture” and explained HOW the divorce agreement was in the best interest of the children, and the offended spouses did not suffer through a long and painful legal process, Han Yu-Ri marveled. Her boss was truly a star attorney.
Han Yu-Ri had a bad experience in life with divorce. Her father had cheated on her mother, yet her mother attended his funeral. Han Yu-Ri hated her father for destroying their happy home and did not want to show him any respect or honor. Which is why she could not understand why two women were crying at his funeral. His ex-wife, her mother, and the woman he committed adultery with. WHY? Why were two women crying for this awful man? When she worked on her second case with her boss, the same thing happened. The two women, the faithful wife, and the adulteress were both crying. WHY? The answer is simple. DIVORCE HURTS.
2 cases down. 8 more cases to go. The Divorce team may not have been her dream job but it looked like Han Yu-Ri was going to gain a lot of experience and wisdom working with Cha Eun-Kyung. They might even become friends.
My personal rating is the same as Viki viewers.
Several Korean dramas have addressed divorce and its difficulties. Here are three reviews published via PopGeeks: “Queen of Divorce”, “Divorce Attorney Shin”, and “Strangers Again”. This review is the fourth. The other series were good, but “Good Partner” is better! Just watch them and tell me you think differently.
Divorce K-Drama ‘Good Partner’ Defines What Makes A Good Partnership | Forbes
“Good Partner”: The Hottest Legal K-Drama and Where It Was Filmed | LynnTop
“Good Partner” Ratings Rise For 2nd Episode As “Miss Night And Day” Kicks Off 2nd Half | Soompi
LoveBreak _Official. “Good Partner | Official Trailer | Jang Na Ra | Nam Ji Hyun {ENG SUB}.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 12, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdg8yBSkqo.
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