On Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft reported on the bloated disability program and how it could become the first federal program to run out of money. And as interesting as it was, Breaking Bad fans likely became completely distracted when Kroft attempted to track down a familiarly flamboyant lawyer from Kentucky named Eric C. Conn.
To describe Conn as Saul Goodman-like would be an understatement, because he’s more Saul Goodman-y than Saul Goodman. Bombastic billboards and TV commercials? Check. Splashy phrasing and brash claims? “Mr. Social Security” offers up “Guaranteed Success OR You Don’t Pay.”
The comparisons grow more absurd when Kroft arrives at Conn’s headquarters. If you think Saul’s strip-mall location was hilariously un-lawyer-like, wait until you see the double-wide trailers Conn welded together to form The Eric C. Conn Law Complex. (It’s a wi-fi hot spot!)
And while Saul might have the edge when it comes to exploitative, cheesy American symbols — what with the inflatable Statue of Liberty planted on his office’s roof and U.S. Constitution wrapped behind his desk — Conn’s over-the-top Americana contains far more irony: Conn runs the third-largest disability practice in the country, but the massive Lincoln Memorial replica in his parking lot leaves room for only one parking space for the disabled.
Check out the full segment below (skip to the 7:30 mark if you want to jump right to Mr. Conn), in which Kroft gets the runaround (and some free pens) before finally tracking down Conn.
