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Ken Sharma is the former city attorney of Chicago who made his sole appearance in "The Former City Attorney".
History[]
- "There was something missing from a case I'm working on, so I went back through all the liability cases under Sharma's tenure. Every one of them settled for way less than expected, and there's evidence missing from every single one."
- ―Keri Allen to Bobby Novak
Ken Sharma was the City Attorney for Chicago and the mentor of Keri Allen, whom he hired straight out of law school to be Deputy City Attorney. Sharma had no issues crossing lines and committing crimes, cheating victims out of liability claims to line his own pockets and befriending many rich and influential people in the process. During his 20 year tenure as city attorney, Sharma also developed a history of mishandling evidence, including burying or eliminating it, in order to avoid having the city pay higher settlement sums. After a young man skipped school and jumped between train cars, which led to him being crippled, his mother Gabrielle sued the city as the trains were not well-maintained. Sharma proceeded to hide the safety and inspection reports that would prove their case and instead had Ricculi, the attorney handling the case, offer a $7,000 settlement.
However, with Ricculi going on maternity leave, Keri took over the case, explaining to Gabrielle and her attorney, Robin Chen, that the Safety and Inspections department would prove in court that the trains were maintained, which would lead to them getting nothing. Gabrielle informed Keri that she asked for the safety inspection reports and never received them, with Robin adding that her office requested them three times as per legal disclosure discovery but did not receive them, much to Keri's surprise. Keri then returned to City Hall to find the reports, and upon failing to do so, sought out Sharma. He notified her that he would handle the matter himself, adding that if the Safety and Inspections department don't hand something over, the attorneys then figure out they don't need it, leaving Keri with a suspicious look on her face. Keri then looked into his past cases and discovered his crimes, reporting them to then alderman Bobby Novak, who ousted him publicly to city council, causing Sharma's employment to become terminated and paving the way for Novak's ascension to Mayor.
Over the next five years, Sharma tried to rebuild his career and maintain his marriage, failing at both, with the latter leading to a divorce that left him financially strained. Sharma then filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against the city, Novak, and Keri as a result. Wanting the problem to go away, Keri enlisted Jessica Pearson to handle the matter. Having hired an attorney, Ben Dunbar, the pair were met by Jessica at his law firm. Jessica claims that Sharma is lucky to still be a member of the State Bar after cheating clients out of liability claims for years, and that he is only suing for the city for wrongful termination because he is out of money after going through a divorce and whose career hadn't recovered after leaving City Hall. However, Sharma claims that the suit isn't about what he did, but about when Keri did, adding that she knows what she did, while Dunbar retorts that their deposition would be on Wednesday.
That night, Jessica meets Sharma at a pub. Sharma believes Jessica is coming to cut a deal after Jessica admits the jury might find a man who lost his job due to the machinations of an ambitious city attorney and an equally ambitious alderman sympathetic, but that he wouldn't win. Sharma explains that he gave $10,000,000 to public schools rather than use it to pay Gabrielle after her son skipped school to jump between train cars, calling it a fair deal. Understanding that Sharma wants revenge on Novak and Keri, Jessica offers him $1,000,000, which he refuses. Before he leaves the bar, he tells Jessica that he gave 20 years of his life to the city, and that despite serving two decades, he is nothing to the city anymore. Realizing that he wants his name and career to mean something, Jessica calls Harvey Specter and has him arrange for Sharma to receive a corporate offer in New York City in exchange for dropping the suit, which Sharma accepts.[1]
Appearances[]
| Pearson, Season 1 | |||
| #01 | "The Alderman" | #06 | "The Donor" |
| #02 | "The Superintendent" | #07 | "The Immigration Lawyer" |
| #03 | "The Union Leader" | #08 | "The Political Wife" |
| #04 | "The Deputy Mayor" | #09 | "The Rival" |
| #05 | "The Former City Attorney" | #10 | "The Fixer" |