Hollywood comes to USC Gould

Screening of Shonda Rhimes series "For The People" draws more than 100 law students

-By Gilien Silsby

Actor Regé-Jean Page (center) talks to Prof. Jonathan Handel (left) and USC Gould student Kristopher Coombs.

Hollywood came to USC Gould this week when actors and producers with the new ABC legal drama, “For the People” held a screening of the Shonda Rhimes television series. 

More than 100 law students watched the screening and took part in a Q&A with actors Wesam Keesh and Regé-Jean Page. Jonathan Handel, USC Gould lecturer, moderated the discussion.

The series follows brand-new lawyers working on opposite sides — for both the defense and the prosecution — as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases.

“This role is the pinnacle of my professional career,” said Keesh, who shadowed a public defender in Los Angeles Superior Court to prepare for the role.

USC Gould students gather with actors Wesam Keesh and Regé-Jean Page.

Page said he was surprised by the sheer number of cases prosecutors and defense attorneys handle on a weekly basis. “Being part of this show has really strengthened my respect for the law… Even though I play a prosecutor, my character is truly defending ‘the people.’”

Set in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Federal Court, aka "The Mother Court," the series was created by Paul William Davies, who earned a law degree from Stanford. He clerked for a federal judge before a nearly decade-long stint as a litigator at O'Melveny & Myers.

Jonathan Handel (left) moderates discussion with Wesam Keesh (center) and Regé-Jean Page