Suits | Stanley Gordon

 Stanley Gordon, J.D. is a corporate attorney and was a name partner at Gordon Schmidt Van Dyke before Jessica Pearson and Daniel Hardman took over the firm and rebranded it as Pearson Hardman. He made his first appearance in "Hard Truths", dissolving Pearson Specter Litt and allowing it to restructure as Specter Litt in exchange for the firm tarnishing Jessica's reputation.

Shortly after, he conspired with Ellen Rand and Eric Kaldor to represent the former PSL senior partners in order to receive their buy-in reimbursed, although the true intention was to have Rand, Kaldor & Zane buy out and assimilate Specter Litt.

Gordon was a senior partner working for Arthur Reeves and his law firm. Along with fellow partners Schmidt and Charles Van Dyke, they ousted the firm from Reeves, forming Gordon Schmidt Van Dyke in the process. In 2003, Daniel Hardman and Jessica Pearson gained the support of the other senior partners and had Gordon, Schmidt and Van Dyke ousted, creating Pearson Hardman. However, Gordon retained dividend and certain rights in exchange for his partnership being bought out.

Over a decade later, Jessica was disbarred, necessitating Pearson Specter Litt to undergo another name change and have her partnership bought out. Knowing that paying Jessica off would cause an issue since they didn't pay any of the other partners when they left, Louis Litt informed Harvey Specter that they would have to dissolve and restructure once again, but because they had already done so before, they would require the signatures of either Gordon, Schmidt or Van Dyke. Louis notified Harvey that Van Dyke hated them after being defeated, and as Schmidt had gone off the grid in 2012, Gordon would be their only option.

Harvey approached Gordon, fabricating a lie that he required his signature to dissolve and restructure the firm for the sole purpose of letting the associate have an ownership stake in the firm. Gordon explained that he had given a charitable organization money in order to have his name on one of their buildings, but that the charity had reneged on their deal to spend the money fighting malaria. Gordon promises to give his signature if Harvey can either get his money back or have the charity have his name listed on a building, and Harvey manages to succeed in the latter. However, after doing so, Gordon reveals that he is aware that they wish to restructure in order to pay off Jessica and refuses to give his signature unless they bring him back as name partner.

Returning to the firm, Harvey notifies Louis and Donna Paulsen regarding Gordon's stipulation, although Louis deduces that Gordon doesn't really wish to return as name partner but merely wishes to have vengeance on Jessica. Louis suggests that the firm release an official statement denouncing their allegiance to Jessica in exchange for Gordon's signature, and Gordon accepts.^[1]

Shortly after, Gordon returns to his position as a corporate attorney in order to represent the former Pearson Specter Litt partners who are now employed at Rand, Kaldor & Zane, who wish to have their partnerships reimbursed, as they were all refused payment with the sole exception made for Jessica. Gordon, however, suggests an alternative – that Specter Litt merely hire the senior partners back in exchange for them dropping their claim. Harvey and Louis initially refuse, suspecting that Gordon's plan is to have those senior partners hire him at Specter Litt after they return, although Gordon informs them that he is willing to add a stipulation to the agreement that would prevent him from being hired at Specter Litt. However, Louis quickly realizes that Gordon is working with Rand, Kaldor & Zane, and that their plan involves having the partners return to Specter Litt only to use their voting power to oust Harvey and himself and to sell the firm to Rand, Kaldor & Zane, who would then assimilate them, eliminating Specter Litt's existence.^[2]

As Robert Zane was not involved in the scheme and was being betrayed by his fellow partners, Ellen Rand and Eric Kaldor, Mike Ross convinced Robert to leave his firm and join Specter Litt, bringing with him his loyal senior partners who would outvote the former PSL partners and therefore would allow Specter Litt to continue operating. Louis later signed Gordon's settlement, with the former PSL partners being hired back at Specter Litt with their lawsuit being dropped in the process, although Robert intruded on the meeting and informed Gordon that he had joined Specter Litt. Realizing that his plan had been foiled, Gordon lashed out at Robert, claiming that he had always known Robert had feelings for Jessica before storming out.^[3]