are mike ross and harvey specter friends

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"PIVOT!" - how teen entrepreneurs are pivoting during COVID

Published by Sarah Hernholm on September 1, 2020

Over 180 days ago I came out of a 10-day tech-free retreat to the news of COVID. I was in NYC and updates were coming in by the hour and it was clear “business as usual” was no longer an option, so thus began the first of many business pivots.

I’m not the only founder who has been forced to pivot. Many of my friends run companies or non-profits and we have commiserated and celebrated over these months. That’s the thing about pivoting. Some lead to great progress and lucrative success, others make you face-palm and surrender to calling out yet again (perhaps with more desperation), “pivot!”.

Recently I connected with two teen entrepreneurs in the Whatever It Takes program to hear how their organizations have been doing and how they have been pivoting during this time.

Personalized Mask Bags Made By Emma W.

Since this pivot, Emma has made $1300 through bake sales and donated 500 masks total, 250 each to Covenant House New York and Win NYC . I asked her if she ever just wanted to give-up, her response was, “Honestly, yes, but my favorite motto for when things get tough is that even though the waves may be rocky, there is always land on the other side. This quote reminds me that even though things can get really tough, and there may still be an ocean of issues to work through, I will always overcome them to reach my goal. Whatever the problem, I can get through it and come out even stronger on the other side.”

Nikhil Delivering Donation $ To Computers 2 Kids

Nikhil had to implement a pivot right away when he found out that the people he was hoping to help - hospital staff and schools, already had sanitization providers. He shared with me that it was important to not be, “too dependent on one category of customers and to be flexible in exploring my options. After being forced to pivot due to COVID, I thought about how I could make this kit for anyone to use. What’s one thing that people use in their daily lives? Cars. So I decided to make my kits in a box that was convenient to store in a little cubby in your car.”

Since launching in June, Nikhil has sold 47 kits and has been able to donate part of the profits to Computer 2 kids ($255). (see picture) This cause means a lot to him because he understands that since schools are going online many people do not have electronic devices to learn effectively (over 1 million in California). Nikhil wants to make sure that everyone can get the proper education they need to set themselves up for their future.

When I asked him if he ever gets overwhelmed with running Daily Disinfect and going to school, he said his motto is “heart over size.” Which means to him “that no matter how challenging the problem may seem, if you have heart and passion in whatever you do, you can achieve great things.” You can order your own kit by contacting [email protected] , or via dm on Instagram @daily_disinfect , each one costs $6.

COVID or not we will all continue to pivot because ultimately the market changes and that means so do the ways we serve our customers. Personally, I hope the rapidity of the pivots slows down a bit, but more than that I hope all of you out there take a moment to acknowledge your own resilience, grit, and fortitude during this time.

You’ve got this.

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Suits: 10 things we love about mike & harvey’s bromance.

Mike Ross and Harvey Specter are the heart of Suits and their friendship is crucial to the show. Here are the best parts of their bromance.

The sustained success of Suits as a television show can be attributed to many things, and a lot of the focus goes directly onto the theming behind it. While that's quite a valid topic to focus on, there's also something to be said for the characters themselves. The likes of Donna, Rachel, Jessica, and Louis all grew and developed their personas from the Pilot to their departures and they were all integral to the extended success that the show experienced.

RELATED:  Suits: 10 Best Episodes From Season 5, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Of course, the two men that featured on the title sequence for all those years were crucial parts of the show: Mike Ross and Harvey Specter . Upon meeting one another it was clear to see there was real chemistry between them and as time went by, that chemistry developed into one of the most intriguing bromances on all of television - through every single firm name change and beyond.

Mike Beating Harvey In The Pilot

Mike Ross was fortunate that he wound up in an interview room with Harvey Specter, but once he was in there, he made sure that he’d leave his mark.

After impressing Harvey thanks to his memory, Mike proceeded to beat his future mentor at his own game by outsmarting him. From that point on the groundwork had been set for one of the most fascinating friendships in the tri-state area, with Harvey taking the risk of being willing to break the law .

Bringing Out Harvey’s Human Side

It took a while but eventually, Harvey began to understand and recognize why Mike loved helping others so much.

We saw Mr. Specter take on a far more human approach than he had done in the earlier seasons, whether it be due to his own family or courtesy of his clients. Donna obviously played a huge role in getting Harvey to that point too, but without meeting Mike, who knows what Harvey would’ve become.

There’s a lot to be said for finding two actors that are capable of possessing the sort of chemistry that allows them to banter back and forth without even breaking a sweat.

RELATED:  Suits: Every Episode In Season 9, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Whoever put these two together deserves a medal because from their first scene together all the way through to their last, they come across as two friends that have been best pals for years and years on end.

Harvey Protects Mike Against Jessica & Louis

When Jessica and Louis both found out that Mike Ross was a fraud, they had the same reaction: get rid of him as quickly as you possibly can.

Unfortunately, there was always going to be one big problem with that, and that problem is Harvey. Despite the respect he may have had for both of his fellow partners, he was willing to do whatever it took to keep Mike at the firm. It may have hurt his position and credibility at times, but that’s the sacrifice he was willing to make.

Mike Going To Prison For Harvey

Speaking of sacrifices, Mike Ross made the ultimate one when he took the fall and went to prison after admitting to fraud.

Harvey wanted to take the bullet for him but Mike beat him to the punch, and as a result, Mike was shipped off for just over half a season. After everything they’d been through Mike was still willing to put himself in a position that just about guaranteed Harvey would still be able to thrive as a lawyer.

Smoking Weed Together

When Mike was in a dark place, Harvey knew that he had to save him - and he did in a very unconventional way.

RELATED:  Patrick J. Adams Movies & TV Shows: Where You Know The Suits Star

The two smoked weed together in what still amounts to one of the funniest episodes in the show’s history. From seeing Harvey in a completely different light to Mike getting back on his feet, both guys really benefitted from something that they both know could’ve gotten them into a lot of trouble.

Student & Master

The Batman and Robin approach to storytelling can fall flat more often than not but with Mike and Harvey, it just worked.

Harvey was capable of getting the job done in most of his cases but he knew that Mike was a huge helping hand for him whether he wanted to admit it out loud or not. They bounced off of each other and they became better lawyers because of it.

Slowly Breaking Down The Barriers

In the early stages of the show, there wasn’t what you’d really call a friendship between Harvey and Mike, and instead, there was some mutual wit to go alongside an acknowledgment that they were both doing something illegal.

They’d rarely spend time together outside of working hours but as the seasons went on we saw them doing everything from getting dinner to having drinks. It may not seem like a big thing, but it definitely helped their coalition to blossom.

Harvey Teaching Mike The Intricacies

Mike Ross always had an unbelievable ability to remember just about everything he’d ever seen or read and you have to admire that. Alas, if he thought he could stroll his way to the top of Pearson Hardman, he had another thing coming.

RELATED:  Suits: Every Main Character, Ranked By Likability

It’s one thing to understand the outline but it’s another to really grasp the finer details, which is why Harvey was so integral to him becoming a world-class lawyer.

Mike Rooting For Harvey & Donna

When Mike told Donna to go for it with Harvey if that’s what she really wanted, he did so from a good place. Not only did he want to see Donna be happy but he also wanted his friend Harvey to get what he deserves too, because through it all, Mike understood that these two were meant to be together.

It was a rocky road but when they landed at their final destination it was more than worth it.

NEXT:  Suits: 10 Reasons Why Donna Was Overrated

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All About the Real-Life Friendships of the 'Suits' Cast

From attending weddings together to joking around on set, the cast of Suits has remained a tight-knit crew

Stephanie Kaloi is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. She has also written about entertainment news for a number of outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, Parade and LittleThings.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

When Suits debuted on USA Network in 2011, the legal drama had an immediate fan base that only grew over its subsequent nine seasons. The series has enjoyed a recent rise in viewership, too, setting streaming records four years after the finale.

The show stars Gabriel Macht as the impeccably dressed lawyer Harvey Specter, as well as Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross), Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane), Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen), Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt), Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson) and Abigail Spencer (Dana Scott), all of whom built real friendships while the series aired — and kept those friendships going strong even after its finale episode. (And some of the relationships date back decades before Suits was ever on air!).

In fact, much of the Suits cast was invited to Markle’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry , whom she began dating while filming the show. Though Markle later exited the show as her relationship progressed, she remained close to the cast, many of whom praised and defended her publicly.

Here's a look inside the real-life friendships between the Suits cast.

Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty were friends for decades before Suits aired

Dimitrios Kambouris/USA/[NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

As many fans of Suits now know, Macht and Rafferty were friends for years before they were cast on the show together. The pair met back in 1993 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and have been close friends ever since.

In 2016, Rafferty told the New Zealand Herald that Macht was the person who gave her the script for Suits . She said, “I had done a pilot and I was waiting for news on whether it was going to get picked up, and it wasn't. The same day I got that news, I saw Gabriel and told him. He said, 'Great, you need to read this script tomorrow ...' ”

She also told the outlet that their friendship was the backbone of the relationship between their characters, Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen. Rafferty explained, “We had a comfort level with each other. You were able to sense that Donna and Harvey had a history together because we did. Sometimes it's a little bit awkward, when you're just meeting someone on the first day, to have that kind of camaraderie.”

This echoed words that Macht had said years earlier in a 2012 interview with Blast Magazine . He told the outlet, “We are really, really, really close friends," and called acting with her "a lot of fun."

"We constantly say to each other, 'Don’t make me laugh, don’t make me laugh, stop, stop, don’t, stop.' It’s very hard. I mean it’s kind of silly that I’m her boss and I get to tell her what to do and what not to do, all this stuff," he added.

Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams developed a deep friendship

Amanda Edwards/WireImage

Macht also grew close to Adams, who played his mentee Mike Ross on the series. Adams spoke about their relationship in a 2016 “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit , where he shared, “Gabriel is an amazing guy and a lot of fun to work with. He's [endlessly] patient and shoulders the weight of being number one a call sheet with a lot more grace than some people in this business. He really welcomes you into the process and we like to push each others buttons until the scene feels right.”

“Everyone has a different way of working but they are all total pros and are constantly looking to make the day easy and get the best version of the scene possible," Adams continued. “And that only happens when you have fun and take any and all ego out of it.”

In 2015, Macht and Adams joked to New Corp Australia that they are fully aware of fanfiction some fans have produced online that puts their characters in a romantic relationship. In fact, Macht would sometimes show Adams drawings that some fans had made — right before the pair were due to begin filming a scene.

Macht explained, “Right before we go on screen (to film) I’ve shown some of the superimposed images of Harvey and Mike to Patrick. ‘Hey Patrick, have you seen this? Let’s go! Action!’ ”

Adams immediately replied, “My question is, ‘Why does Gabriel spend so much time looking for it?’ There’s one in particular that he enjoys where he’s dominating me in the photo. I guess it’s great that people are so into the show and ... whatever floats your boat.”

Meghan Markle invited her former castmates to her wedding in 2018

Ian West - WPA Pool/Getty

When Markle and Prince Harry got married in May 2018, the actress invited her castmates from Suits to the royal affair.

Much of the core cast was at the wedding, including Adams and his wife Troian Bellisario , Rafferty, Macht, Torres, Hoffman and Spencer.

The group traveled to St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle and even sang The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love" as they rode in the shuttle.

Rafferty later spoke to Today about the big day. She said, “We were with each other longer than we went to college or high school with our friends, so we became family in a way. We're still family, so this is a wonderful family affair.”

Ross, who played Markle’s love interest on the show, also joked about the wedding day on Instagram , where he posted a photo of an article about Markle and captioned it, “I’m beginning to think she might not actually be out getting milk.”

Patrick J. Adams has defended Meghan Markle online

Alexandra Wyman/Getty

Adams has also come out in recent years to defend his former costar against bullying allegations, which the Duchess of Sussex has denied.

"Meghan Markle and I spent the better part of a decade working together on Suits," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet in 2021. "From day one she was an enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful and supportive member of our television family. She remained that person and colleague as fame, prestige and power accrued."

He went on to call Markle "a powerful woman with a deep sense of morality" and a "fierce work ethic."

Abigail Spencer considers Meghan Markle an "on-call friend”

Adams isn’t the only member of the cast who jumped to Markle’s defense in the wake of the onslaught of negative media attention. In March 2021, Spencer posted a photo on Instagram from 2015 of herself and Markle embracing while filming Suits .

In the caption, she explained that she "had known and worked with Meg for years" and called her costar "an on-call friend."

"She’s what I’d call ‘an on-call friend.’  At the ready. She’s modeled nothing but generous professionalism on sets and an even more generous friendship in private," Spencer wrote.

“I've learned so much from Meg. The power of a handwritten note. The loveliness of surprise flowers," the actress continued. "She’s been there for me - and physically held me - in my darkest hours. ... She’s always been a safe harbor for me, someone I can fall apart in front of... and with. And I have.”

Sarah Rafferty called Rick Hoffman her "brother" after the series wrapped

Jim Spellman/WireImage

Rafferty also grew close with Hoffman, who played Louis Litt on Suits . When the show concluded in 2019, she posted a teary-eyed photo on Instagram of the pair together and captioned it simply, “And that’s a series wrap on my brother @rickehoffman. No words for this one.”

While their characters might have been at odds more often than not on the show, it’s clear that in real life, their love for one another is genuine.

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We Loved 'Suits' Because Of The Friendships — Is That True For The Cast Today IRL?

What are the chances we'll see Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle, and Gabriel Macht in an Instagram photo together soon?

There are so many reasons why we love the USA Network series "Suits." The show, which ran from 2011 to 2019, was ostensibly about Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) accidentally conning his way into a position at a prestigious law firm — even though he never actually completed law school. But while it was sometimes tense and always entertaining to watch Mike deal with the ramifications of the secret, the show was also about the relationships between the people at the firm as they worked on legal cases.

The deep friendship between Mike and his boss Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht), the romance that sprung up between Mike and paralegal Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle), the close working relationship that blossoms into something more between Harvey and his legal secretary Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) ... these relationships made us root for the firm all the more.

But what about these relationships in real life, especially as the show has been off the air for years? Well, the good news is many of them do still keep in touch!

"Suits" fans likely already know Macht and Rafferty have been close friends for decades after meeting in drama school. In fact, Macht told " Blast Magazine " in 2012 that their daughters are even best friends. Macht has also had IRL family members appear on suits: His wife, Jacinda Barrett, played a love interest for him named Zoe Lawford, and his dad, Stephen Macht, plays Harvey's dad on the show.

As for his relationship with his best friend on the show, Mike? Well, in real life Macht and Patrick J. Adams share a deep connection.

"Gabriel is an amazing guy and a lot of fun to work with. He's endlessly patient and shoulders the weight of being number one a call sheet with a lot more grace than some people in this business. He really welcomes you into the process and we like to push each other's buttons until the scene feels right. Everyone has a different way of working but they are all total pros and are constantly looking to make the day easy and get the best version of the scene possible. and that only happens when you have fun and take any and all ego out of it," Adams wrote during an AMA on Reddit.

While reflecting on the finale in 2019, Macht revealed how much it meant to have Adams return to "Suits" for that momentous occasion.

"I always felt that my right arm was missing and part of the show was missing without Patrick there. So, to have him show up in three episodes of the season and have his energy back on set... I loved working with him. We fell right in stride the second he got back and that was the last scene we shot. We were talking about how this was the last scene we were going to be in this space, in this office, with these basketballs, with that couch, this desk, the records. We looked at each other like, 'Holy s**t, we've been through a lot together.' And you can count the ways — through marriages, deaths, divorces, more marriages and kids. He has a child now. It was a real moment for us and so, not only nostalgic for the viewer but for us in shooting that," he told " Yahoo ."

In the same interview, Rafferty reflected on how the "Suits" cast will always be tight.

"The castmates — honestly I never felt like I was saying goodbye to them because I know I'm going to see them. I just saw Gina two days ago, I'm texting with Patrick and I was texting with Rick [Hoffman] this morning," she explained.

At the time of shooting the finale, she even posted an Instagram dedicated to Rick Hoffman, who played Louis Litt, calling him her brother.

Of course, many may wonder how the relationship with Meghan Markle has changed. After all, she left "Suits" to marry an actual British prince and became one of the most famous women in the world.

Well, she actually invited many of them to her wedding to Prince Harry. Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres, and Abigail Spencer all attended the 2018 nuptials. Since then, many of them have stood up for Markle in light of her complicated relationship with the British monarchy and the media.

"Meghan Markle and I spent the better part of a decade working together on 'Suits,'" Adams, who has long maintained a close relationship with Markle,  tweeted  in her defense in 2021. “From day one she was an enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful and supportive member of our television family. She remained that person and colleague as fame, prestige and power accrued ... It sickened me to read the endless racist, slanderous, clickbaiting vitriol spewed in her direction from all manner of media across the UK and the world but I also knew that Meghan was stronger than people realized or understood and they would regret underestimating her."

Spencer, who played Dana Scott on "Suits," also defended Markle in a lengthy caption on Instagram, noting, "She’s what I’d call 'an on-call friend.' At the ready. She’s modeled nothing but generous professionalism on sets and an even more generous friendship in private," adding, " I can’t tell you the value of having another working mother I can lean on when with the pressures of visibility & child-rearing woes become overwhelming. She’s always been a safe harbor for me, someone I can fall apart in front of... and with."

You can watch all of "Suits" on Peacock or the USA Network app.

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Michael James "Mike" Ross is a former lawyer and junior partner at Specter Litt , a former legal consultant/supervisor at the Eastside Legal Clinic and a former investment banker at Sidwell Investment Group . He is the husband of Rachel Zane .

He was hired by Harvey Specter , a senior partner at Pearson Hardman , as an associate lawyer, despite Mike not having graduated college or having a law degree. Mike left Pearson Specter after accepting the job offer to work at SIG; however, he returns later in season 4 after Jonathan Sidwell fired him from his firm. Shortly after his return, Louis Litt discovered his fraud and leveraged it to become name partner, forming Pearson Specter Litt . After Jack Soloff and the other partners at PSL acknowledge Mike's worth to the firm, he is promoted from junior associate to junior partner.

He was arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud in the season 5 summer finale , and was involved in a trial against the U.S Attorney's Office for his illegal practicing of law. Although the verdict was not guilty, Mike plead guilty before the official verdict, and was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury in Connecticut. However, after being presented a deal by Sean Cahill , he helped keep Frank Gallo behind bars and have insider trader William Sutter arrested, and was freed from prison as a result.

He became a legal consultant and supervisor at the Eastside Legal Clinic in Queens, although his time there was brief as he attempted to get accepted into the New York State Bar to become a legitimate lawyer. In the season 6 finale , Mike becomes legitimate and resumes his position of junior partner at Pearson Specter Litt while also maintaining his ties to the legal clinic.

Soon after Mike helps arrange for the merger of Specter Litt with Robert Zane's resources from Rand Kaldor Zane, thereby creating Zane Specter Litt, he leaves New York to become founder of a public interest firm in Seattle with the help of Andy Forsythe.

• 1.1 Season 1
• 1.2 Season 2
• 1.3 Season 3
• 1.4 Season 4
• 1.5 Season 5
• 1.6 Season 6
• 1.7.1 Masterson Construction/Reform Corps.
• 1.7.2 Fighting Andrew Malek
• 1.7.3 Working with Rachel
• 1.7.4 Recruitment by Andy Forsythe
• 1.8 Season 9
• 2.1 Harvey Specter
• 2.2 Rachel Zane
• 2.3 Jenny Griffith
• 2.4 Trevor Evans
• 2.5 Edith Ross
• 2.6 Louis Litt
• 4 Appearances
• 5 References

Quick Answers

When Mike was eleven years old, his parents died in a car crash. He was then taken in by his paternal grandmother, Edith Ross .

At some point, Mike met Trevor Evans , his oldest and best friend. When he was 7, he met Tess who became his high school sweetheart before she left for college.

Mike found school incredibly easy due to his photographic memory, and rarely put any effort into studying. He got a scholarship into college and had planned to take up law, until he was expelled after Trevor convinced him to memorize a math test, as a way to make money, and unknowingly sold the answers to the Dean's daughter. Mike had been admitted as a transfer student to Harvard for the next year immediately before. The dean was forced to resign and his last act was to expel Mike and tell Harvard what he did so he would never get in.

Some time after his expulsion, Mike started smoking pot with Trevor. He eventually took a job as a bike messenger. During one of these bike messenger visits, he met Claire, an intern at a legal clinic. After giving her some suggestions on an immigration case and impressing her, the two went out on a date. Claire told Mike that the man she wanted to be in a relationship with would have to be more than a bike messenger, and so Mike lied that he went to Columbia; however, the lie was exposed by Nathan, Claire's boss, and Claire broke it off with Mike. Trevor, in order to pay back Mike for taking the fall for him at the cost of his college degree, rents an apartment in the city and offers to pay up to a year's worth of rent on his behalf. Although his Grammy vehemently opposed the idea, Mike told her he was going to move in anyways, with or without her approval. Realizing he was a grown man now, capable of making his own choices, Grammy told him she respected his decision and so Mike moved in with Trevor.

Mike and Trevor meeting Jenny and Nikki

Whilst at a bar with Trevor, he met two girls, Jenny Griffith and Nikki Sordel , and immediately hit it off with Jenny. However, it was Nikki who asked Trevor to set her up with Mike, so Trevor ended up asking Jenny out, and Mike with Nikki. After agreeing to go out with her, Mike discovered it was actually a ruse, as Nikki wanted Mike to take the LSATs for her. Although Mike was initially reluctant, he agreed to do so in exchange for money after he found out his grandmother would need full-time care. Mike began taking the LSATs for other people as a living, after he was recommended to others by Nikki. At one point, Mike also took the bar exam for a bet and passed.

Mike realized that he had been taking one too many LSATs when a proctor recognized him. After constantly declining Trevor's invitation to get into the business of selling pot with him, he discovered that his grandmother's medical bills were piling up, and agreed to a one-off job for Trevor, delivering a briefcase full of drugs.

Whilst making the delivery, Mike realized that it was actually a set up and took off with the briefcase in hand. Attempting to hide from the cops, he stumbled into the room where the interviews for Harvey Specter 's associate was being held. Although Harvey was impressed by his tactics, he expressed reluctance at hiring Mike as his associate, given that Mike hadn't attended any law school. However, Mike managed to convince Harvey to hire him anyway with his expansive knowledge of the law, and received a signing bonus that would cover his grandmother's medical bills.

After Trevor constantly badgered Mike about the briefcase full of marijuana, he eventually returned the briefcase to Trevor, revealing his business to Jenny in doing so, and took several of Trevor's suits along the way.

Rachel and Mike

Whilst working at Pearson Hardman , Mike fell in love with his co-worker Rachel Zane , a paralegal that gave him a rundown of the firm on his first day and showed him to his cubicle. Despite his feelings for Rachel, he was unable to pursue a full relationship with her, since he was dating Jenny, who had left Trevor after discovering his drug dealing affairs. Mike's job at Pearson Hardman was then put under threat when Trevor, who had discovered that Mike was dating Jenny, revealed to Jessica Pearson the truth about Mike's history. 

Although Mike's identity was revealed to Jessica, his position at Pearson Hardman was secured after Harvey threatened to leave Pearson Hardman if Mike was fired. The return of Daniel Hardman , however, put pressure on Mike's secret, as Daniel was searching for something to hold against both Jessica and Harvey, who together had blackmailed him into leaving five years prior for stealing from the company.

As he became more and more busy with his work at Pearson Hardman, Mike was unable to visit his grandmother Edith. After two months of not seeing each other, Edith decided to visit Mike herself at the firm. Feeling guilty for neglecting her, Mike decided to buy Edith an apartment in Manhattan, with some assistance from Rachel. However, just as he was about to take his grandmother to see her new apartment, Rachel informed him that Edith had passed away. Mike broke down in front of her and was unable to focus on work the following days.

Before Edith's funeral, Mike started smoking pot again. At her wake, Mike's childhood sweetheart, Tess, came to see Mike again and after sharing an intimate moment with him, revealed that she was married. Mike initially turned her away, but after being rejected by Rachel, he later called her and slept with her.

Mike ends things with Tess after Harvey tells him to "get his shit together." A man revealed to be Tess's husband beats him outside after finding about the affair. Harvey gets mad at Mike for not filing paperwork for him about the merger he didn't want, after Jessica threatened Mike with a letter revealing his secret. Mike is later seen in the filing room, when Rachel walks in, locks the door, and demands to know why Mike wouldn't send a letter to Harvard for Rachel, after Rachel was told by Louis that she didn't get in because of his relationship with Sheila Sazs . He told Rachel he couldn't sign it because he never went to Harvard. Rachel then slaps him twice, and he grabs her arm and they have sex in the filing room.

During season three, Pearson Hardman is merged with another law firm, Darby International , becoming Pearson Darby . Mike, whose relationship with Harvey is strained after the second season's events, ends up reuniting with his old mentor to fight a case involving client Ava Hessington. Jessica Pearson then discovers Mike's affair with Rachel, and forces Rachel to sign an affidavit declaring she knew Mike never went to Harvard. However, before signing, she asks to be allowed to apply for a job at the firm after graduation in exchange, even though she does not plan on going to Harvard. Mike contemplates a career change since he knows he can not legally be a lawyer. The firm also changes names two more times in the season, becoming Pearson Darby Specter when Harvey is promoted to name partner by Jessica, and again as Pearson Specter when Edward Darby is forced to leave. In the finale, Mike is arrested for collusion and bribery (he convinced Harold Gunderson who worked at Bratton Gould to represent people who were against Ava Hessington as well as Pearson Darby and had them settle the case financially), which cause Louis and Harvey to bail him out. To avoid causing further problems, Mike leaves Pearson Specter, taking a job as an investment banker. This new job makes Mike a client of the firm, and he jokes with Harvey, telling him that Harvey now technically works for him.

With Mike now working for Sidwell Investment Group , Harvey and Mike's relationship was put to the test because they were on opposing sides of a case. Mike was Harvey's client and when Mike came to Harvey with a plan, Harvey turned him down and chose Logan over him. Harvey's client Logan Sanders and his company wanted to initiate a hostile takeover over Gillis Industries to salvage and sell it for parts, but Mike wishes to save Walter Gillis's company because he made a promise to Walter to save his dream. They both get into a heated exchange after Harvey severed Mike's ties with Walter Gillis by revealing to him that he dealt drugs in the past, which was a problem for Walter because his son died of an overdose. There was also an offer that Mike got from Harvey regarding the takeover, but Mike refused it and stormed out of the conference room since he did not want Gillis's company to suffer such a fate.

Unfortunately, Mike's new job didn't last for very long, Mike made a deal with Charles Forstman in which he agreed to cut Sidwell out of a deal to get money to save Gillis Industries, despite Harvey telling him not to trust Forstman. Mike, however, thinks he has a way out of this because he thinks he can use the idea of Forstman's money as a threat to make Harvey back down, but Harvey sees through it. Mike is unable to save Gillis's company and the deal falls through, and to make it worse, Forstman tells Sidwell that Mike agreed to cut him out of a deal with his own company. Sidwell ordered Mike into his office, and after a heated exchange, Mike gets fired from the Sidwell Investment Group and packs up his things and leaves.

Mike gets a job offer from Forstman, with a million dollar signing bonus, which he almost accepts until he gets rehired by Louis Litt back to Pearson Specter, because Louis did not want Mike to take a job offer from Forstman because of the illegal deal the two of them made, as well as genuinely not wanting Mike to work for someone like him. Jessica was initially opposed to this, not wanting to harbor Mike's secret again, but Harvey managed to convince her that if she refuses, then Louis will know something is up and he will undoubtedly discover Mike's secret.

Meanwhile, Sean Cahill from the SEC along with Eric Woodall are after Mike and Harvey for collusion and the two must figure out a way to make them give up. Their task gets complicated when they find out that Louis had embezzled money from his deal with Forstman. However, after eventually figuring out that Woodall and Forstman are working together, they turn Cahill against Woodall and make him drop the case.

Sometime later Louis finds out Mike's secret and threatens to expose him if he doesn't get his name on the wall. Jessica agrees and the firm becomes Pearson Specter Litt . Louis and Mike's relationship is strained for a while, but Louis eventually forgives Mike, and gets back on the team.

In the season finale, he finally proposes to Rachel and she accepts.

Michael Ross - Junior Partner

Mike Ross helps Louis Litt retain McKernon Motors after they are fired by Dominic Barone.

Mike Ross works with Jack Soloff and earns his respect. In return, Jack Soloff nominates Mike Ross for partnership.

The senior partners officially vote in favor of Mike's partnership; Jessica however officially makes him junior partner before the vote and gives him his first case. His first case, however, is against Claire, an ex-girlfriend who is aware that he didn't go to law school.

Mike, not wishing to be exposed by Claire, has Rachel handle the case, but she fails twice, even insulting Claire in the process. In order to make things right, Rachel investigates Claire's client and proposes an acquisition deal through Claire. However, the company, GigaDyne, had just entered the defense contracting business and already gotten their first client, and by investigating and proposing a deal, Rachel had just triggered a background check on everyone involved in the case. Mike and Rachel remove his name off every case file, but Claire catches on. Rachel pleads her not to turn him in as she loves him and they are engaged, and she relents. Mike, however, goes to see her at the end of the episode, and she tells Mike that one day his secret will be exposed, and that if he really loves Rachel, he won't marry her.

Mike decides to call Trevor and invite him to their wedding. Trevor agrees to meet late night at a restaurant/bar, but Trevor tells him that he can't come, as much as he wants to, and adds that his wife didn't even want him to meet him. He tells Mike to quit, a suggestion Mike scoffs at. Trevor tells Mike that one day the money won't matter and he'd want to trade all that in just for a night of going to bed without the worry of being caught. Trevor tells Mike that he went to talk to someone. When Mike asks who, Trevor replies "you know who".

Mike takes the day off work to go see a priest from his childhood. He reveals his secret under confessional, but it turns out the priest is already aware of his fraud, due to Trevor confessing beforehand. Mike is afraid, but the priest reassures him that Rachel won't abandon him if he quits his fraud. Mike goes back to the office, handing a letter of resignation to Harvey, telling him that if he one day hopes to have a family of his own, he would not want his secret hanging over their head. Harvey and Mike hug, and Mike goes to deliver the news to Rachel. They then agree to meet at the elevators, after Mike clears out his old office, but as Mike approaches the elevators, he is arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud.

Mike enters the  Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury  to face his two-year jail sentence for fraud. In jail, Mike discovers a new enemy in Frank Gallo, an inmate who has a great deal of influence with the guards. Gallo tricks Mike into giving him Rachel's phone number, and promises trouble for Mike in his vendetta against Harvey. Mike meets his actual cellmate, Kevin Miller, and is wary of being tricked a second time. Mike gets into a fight with Gallo that leads to his visitation rights being revoked for two weeks.

Mike tries to stay out of trouble to please Julius, the prison psychologist, but Kevin gets attacked. Cahill offers a deal for Mike if he can get Kevin to inform on his father-in-law. Mike initially rejects Cahill's offer, but Harvey and Cahill covertly sneak him out of prison for a few hours. Cahill believes this is to give him a chance to convince Mike, but Harvey sends Mike to Rachel behind Cahill's back. Mike tells her about the deal and agrees to accept it.

Mike tells the prison warden Harvey's plan to get him out of prison early and is warned about the dangers of gathering evidence. Mike also confronts Kevin to get him to reveal why he's in prison. Kevin tells him about a drunk driving accident which followed an argument with his wife, but does not disclose the subject of the argument.

Mike has a nightmare that Kevin killed Rachel in a car crash. He is relieved the dream isn't true, but because of his parents' death, he isn't comfortable knowing Kevin did something similar. He continues to see counselor Julius Rowe, but Rowe isn't happy with Mike's mindset toward his imprisonment. 

Mike and Harvey eventually get Kevin's wife Jill to turn on her father, and Cahill agrees to an immunity deal that Mike drew up for her. As Mike brought this crucial witness forward, his own immunity deal finally goes through. However, Cahill seizes all of Jill's assets, leading to him and Mike clashing and Mike's deal being threatened. Mike eventually makes a deal with Harvey's old mentor Cameron Dennis to get Kevin released from prison in exchange for Mike testifying against Gallo at his parole hearing. With Kevin released, Mike dropped his suit and Cahill upholds Mike's deal. In order to get Gallo off of his and Harvey's backs permanently, Mike has Cahill delay his release until the next morning and works with Cahill and Harvey to get Gallo on camera trying to kill Mike in his cell which they are able to use as leverage against him.

After Mike gets out of prison, he looks for jobs with several legal clinics in the city, but ends up falling short because the application forms all ask if he is a convicted felon. The legal clinics looked into him, then phoned Anita Gibbs, presumably to ask about his character. She tanks his chances of working at all of them, following her promise of never letting him practice law again.

Out of luck looking for jobs with his tarnished reputation, Mike visits Fr. Sam Walker, tells him about his situation, and gets offered a two-week temporary teaching position in the church’s school. On the first day, the boys harass Mike by bringing up his time in prison. After school gets out for the day, Mike learns from Fr. Walker that Fr. Conroy, the pastor Mike was covering for, is dying of cancer. The following day, Mike makes peace with the boys by telling him about their dying teacher and reminiscing about their fond memories of him. Mike is fired shortly after because one of the boys told their parent that Mike was a convicted felon. The parent went over to the archdiocese, who makes Fr. Walker let Mike go.

Mike gets hired by Nathan from the Eastside Legal Clinic as a supervisor. This is the same legal clinic where Mike had previously posed as a lawyer to get a date with one of the associates he met while working as a bike messenger. Nathan tells Mike about Hector Suarez, the illegal immigrant that Mike helped not get deported all those years ago while he was trying to impress the associate he was trying to date. Nathan then that he's taking a chance on Mike because he told the truth about posing as a lawyer and although Mike may not have a license, he still has all the skills of a junior partner from one of the best firms in the city. Because of this and Anita's interference, Nathan can recruit those skills at minimal costs.

At his new job, Mike works with Oliver Grady and Marissa on a housing case for a Miss Sofia Price. During the case, he realizes that Oliver and Nathan are the only two people at the clinic who know he is unlicensed and went to prison for fraud as a result, while Marissa and the others believe that Mike was simply unable to succeed in corporate law and was using the legal clinic as a stepping stone to get back in. He decided to confess to the truth, bringing multiple copies of the Post's article on him for the clinic to see. Mike's working relationship with Marissa improved thereafter, although the group was ultimately unable to keep Sofia Price from being evicted with no place to go.

During Price's case, Harvey had contacted Mike with an opportunity to get him into the bar if they manage to sue Velocity Data Solutions and its CEO, James Palmer. After losing Price's case, in part due to Oliver's failure to perform in trial under pressure. Mike agrees to the plan so he never has to watch helplessly as someone loses their case. Mike recruits Oliver to work with the newly recruited associate class of Pearson Specter Litt to file 200 individual lawsuits for each miner employee who became sick while working for Velocity Data Solutions.

During the case, Oliver discovers that Mike is doing this because it could allow him to get back into the bar. He pressures Mike to tell Nathan about the deal. When other circumstances lead Mike to drop the arrangement, he tells Oliver that there's no longer any deal to tell Nathan about.

Harvey and Mike eventually get Palmer to settle with the miners for $200 million and offer Siedel a high-ranking position at Velocity Data Solutions next financial quarter. Mike returns to Siedel and tells him that the condition is more than it was before; Siedel has to set the hearing and fight to have the Committee approve Mike's application.

When Mike gives Nathan the clinic's $50,000 cut from the Velocity case, Nathan gives Mike a few days off without question, explaining that the $50,000 alone is enough to cover the clinic's expenses for the month. As Mike visits Harvey in his office, Anita Gibbs arrives to announce that she is on the Committee for Mike's hearing and will ensure that Mike never gets her vote. With Rachel's help, Mike invokes a rare provision of the Ethics Code that allows him to call one character witness on his behalf; he recruits Julius Rowe as that witness.

Mike learns that Harvey was unable to remove Anita Gibbs, who in turn offered Harvey "you for him" - she would agree to Mike joining the bar if Mike confessed at his hearing that Harvey knew Mike was a fraud when he was at Pearson Hardman, Pearson, Pearson Darby etc. Although Harvey wants Mike to take the deal, Mike refuses. He then goes to Nathan and admits to everything. Although Nathan originally fires Mike, he relents on Oliver's advice.

At the hearing, before Mike can say no one knew he was fraud, Jessica arrives and admits that she knew. She appeals to the board's sense of mercy, and how Anita's act of mercy for a med student years ago allowed that student to become a surgeon who saved lives. Mike decided to say he had "nothing further to add." Later that night, Harvey receives the call from Seidel; Mike Ross is now a member of the New York State Bar.

Harvey offers Mike a deal to return to Pearson Specter Litt. In addition to enough money to finance the Eastside Legal Clinic for a year, Mike's caseload will be "one for you, one for me" - one corporate, then one pro bono. Harvey explains that this way, Mike gets to continue to help people while still enjoying the challenge of taking on people like Palmer, Seidel, and every other lawyer he beat since joining the firm. Mike counteroffers with (1) over double the amount so he can finance the clinic for two years plus have some left over; (2) the right to outsource any pro bono case to the clinic; (3) the right to bring any clinic lawyer to join Pearson Specter Litt without worrying about the Harvard Rule or Harvey or Louis's veto; (4) Harvey Specter becoming sole managing partner of the firm and moving into Jessica's office; and (5) Mike inheriting Harvey's original office. Harvey accepts.

Per Harvey and Mike's agreement, Mike delivers a $500,000 check to Nathan while announcing that he is returning to Pearson Specter Litt but would love to work with the clinic on pro bono cases when the opportunity arises. At Pearson Specter Litt, Harvey recruits him to work with one of Jessica's former clients, Neal Stillman, an alcohol distributor interested in selling a manufacturing division. After an expensive party, Mike and Harvey are able to secure three buyers interested in bidding at least $100 million.

However, Mike discovers evidence that Stillman is selling the division to circumvent an ongoing investigation into allegations that he copied a competitor's recipe and asks Harvey not to let the sale go through. On the way home, Mike is confronted about the "one for one" deal by Oliver, particularly when Oliver asks him whether his current case is corporate or pro bono. The next day, Mike confronts Harvey about not stopping Stillman, convincing him to stop worrying about living up to Jessica and just go back to being fearless and taking no grief from clients, the way Mike remembers him

With Stillman settled and Mike now in Harvey's office, he takes his first pro bono case since his return to the firm. An insurance company refuses to payout a widower's insurance claim for his wife's death because his social media shows a cigarette in her mouth three months before her death despite her insurance application saying she was not a smoker. Mike defeats a motion to dismiss, but the opposing counsel, Bob Ackermann, receives permission to use Mike's history as a fraud at trial because honesty is a key element to the case. Knowing this could cost him the case, Mike asks Rachel to argue the case at trial. Although Rachel agrees, Harvey vetoes, telling Mike that it would force him to run every time after that in the future.

This inspires Mike to hire Holly Cromwell to search for evidence that the insurance company has a policy of denying claims for any minor reason they can find. When she finds an email to that effect, Mike threatens Ackerman with a class action lawsuit unless the company pays $50 million and issues an admission of guilt. When Ackerman says admission of guilt is off the table as Mike predicted, Mike says that Ackerman instead has to admit how Mike soundly bested him when a reporter calls him. Ackerman agrees but snarkily comments on how Mike traded guilt for self-promotion. Mike makes it clear he only did this so nobody tries to use his criminal history against his clients like Ackerman would have at trial.

Masterson Construction/Reform Corps.

After the case, he takes Harvey's second piece of advice and asks a reported from the New York Times interview him for an article about his rise from a fraud to a successful attorney fighting for those who need him. The day after the article's release, Harvey and Donna prank him by plastering his office with poster-sized version of the front page with spoof titles. Mike quickly resolves the next corporate case - discovering that the opposing party in a merger buried an escape clause in a last-minute amendment to the agreement - before he meets Oscar Reyes, a parent of a young man who died in Danbury, the same correctional facility where Mike served his sentence.

Mike begins the case and discovers that the prison was understaffed to cut costs on the day of the inmate's death. He files a lawsuit, but Harvey orders him to drop the case on behalf of the newest senior partner, Alex Williams. Alex's client Masterson Construction builds the prisons and uses the inmates as a workforce; while the case is not a direct conflict of interest, Masterson has made it clear that they will let Alex go if the firm does not drop the case. Angry about it at first, Mike eventually convinces Oliver Grady to take the case to Eastside Legal Clinic. Harvey orders Mike to give Alex an affidavit that promises he will not help the clinic at all in this case; Mike complies.

As an apology, Harvey gives Mike a new pro bono case instead of a corporate case. While Mike works on this, he learns that Harvey and Louis are being ambushed by Bratton Gould in retaliation for taking Alex and his client portfolio from them. Mike joins Harvey in a patent infringement case with evidence of the fee waiver agreement between Bratton Gould and the plaintiff to convince the judge to not accelerate the trial; this forces the plaintiff to drop the case.

Meanwhile, Oliver is able to use vague advice from Mike to coerce the prison into a substantial settlement offer for Oscar Reyes. Mike looks at the amount and realizes it's so high, they're paying to keep Oliver from finding something bigger. He convinces Oscar to reject the offer while Oliver looks for similar cases. Oliver finds enough to make a class, but it also makes the case too big for the clinic to handle alone. Eventually, Mike agrees to violate his affidavit and privately work with Oliver on the case, under the guise of it being a case against the Housing Authority. Nathan eventually learns what Mike is doing, but has no objection; this time, it's not the clinic Mike's lying to, but Harvey.

Just as Mike and Oliver are about to turn the tide at trial, Alex arrives in court with Mike's affidavit, having the clinic thrown off the case entirely. Mike confronts Alex about his actions, but Harvey sides with him. Without any option and after an angry confrontation with Oscar Reyes, Mike decides to approach Anita Gibbs about building a criminal case against the prison company, Reform Corp, and Masterson Construction. Mike tells Rachel that she deosn't have to lie about it - if Harvey asks what he's doing, she can tell him everything he wants to know.

Anita says that because Masterson is a client of Mike's firm, any evidence of the conspiracy has to come from Reform Corp's servers. Mike recruits Benjamin to hack into Reform Corp and obtain their financial information. Mike discovers that Reform Corp has a waiver that allowed them to use prisoners to work on approved projects for Masterson Construction at a lower cost, itself legal. However, while the workforce was completely prison inmates and therefore cheap, Reform and Masterson would agree on forged numbers showing only a fraction of the workforce was prisoners to inflate the cost. They then applied for reimbursement from the government and split the profits from the forged numbers. Extending prison sentences allowed them to keep that labor for longer.

When Mike gives this to Gibbs, however, he learns that Harvey, having caught wind of his plan, had signed Reform Corps as his own client. With both clients' information now covered by confidentiality, Gibbs cannot use any of the information, and angrily tells Mike to leave her out of any clashes between himself and Harvey moving forward. Mike confronts Harvey, asking what Alex could possibly have on Harvey that he would protect those who abuse innocent prisoners. He also points out that whatever secret Alex has will just be exposed by the next person to take the case against either client. Harvey says that at this point he cannot trust Mike enough to explain the issue, but gives an ultimatum; leave the case and Oscar Reyes alone entirely, or he's fired.

That night, Alex defies Harvey's orders and explains Mike everything in his apartment. Alex stumbled upon the conspiracy himself when a prison guard at Danbury gave him a letter about mistreated prisoners, especially after the guard was murdered for it. Unfortunately, Bratton, who was in on it, had tied Alex's bonuses to all the critical dates to make it look like Alex had been a knowing party the whole time. Alex could not blow the whistle without being arrested himself, on the heels of him having had his first daughter. Additionally, when Bratton Gould tried to retaliate for Pearson Specter Litt taking Alex and his clients, Alex convinced Bratton to stop by giving a signed affidavit saying Alex orchestrated the conspiracy without Bratton's knowledge.

Mike goes to Harvey's apartment and reveals that Alex had brought him up to speed on the situation. Mike suggests a way to get the inmates and their families justice while keeping Alex out of prison - quietly giving the case to Robert Zane to get a peaceful settlement from Reform Corps instead of Masterson Construction. Robert instead demands a higher sum than Reform Corps CEO Roger Shapiro is willing to pay, and to have Frank Gallo testify about the guard's murder if he doesn't. Mike attempts to pay Gallo to not testify, but Frank refuses. He explains that not only has Mike switched sides in the name of self-interest, but Robert has explained that giving his daughter Denise Gallo won't be enough for her to forgive him for what he's done - she needs to see him own up to the mistakes he's made.

Mike goes home to find an upset Rachel, less because Frank is involved in the case and more because Mike decided to leave Rachel out of the loop like she needs protecting. True to form, when Harvey arrives to discuss other options now that Frank is adamant on testifying, Rachel offers a solution that puts her in the crossfire. She had Harvey use pictures of her that he asserts Frank sent Robert to intimidate him into suborning perjury. Harvey is hesitant to do this until right before trial, with Mike explaining that Rachel has made it clear how she felt about being patronized. Mike convinces Harvey to go with the plan when Bratton appears in court, making it clear that if Gallo testifies, he'll take the case and use Alex's affidavit.

In the bathroom after the hearing, Robert confronts Harvey about slandering him with Rachel's pictures in open court. Mike intervenes, telling him it was Rachel's idea and that Harvey didn't want to do it. Robert is still mad at them for letting it happen.

After Robert and Harvey use Gallo's death and his recorded interview with Robert to coerce a settlement out of Reform Corp and force Bratton into retirement, Mike goes to Robert and apologizes for slandering him. It may have been Rachel's idea, but Mike should have been dignified enough to convince Rachel and Harvey not to hurt Robert like that. Robert accepts his apology, and the two toast to Frank Gallo, acknowledging that while Frank did at one point threaten Mike using Rachel, he was in the end a man who wanted to make things right with his daughter and was robbed of that chance. Later that night, Mike drops off Frank's payment at Denise Gallo's apartment, saying only that Frank "was a decent man."

Fighting Andrew Malek

As an apology for forcing Harvey to spend his opening months protecting Alex, Mike offers him a chance to build a reputation as managing partner. The newest state attorney, Andrew Malek, has been pursuing cases against many Wall Street companies; Mike has signed on the most recent target as a client and wants Harvey to personally go against Malek and have the client acquitted.

Upon realizing that Malek and Harvey worked together in the District Attorney's office and that Malek has a vendetta against Harvey for it, Mike advises Harvey to walk away before the personal factors influence the case against them. Harvey refuses and even accuses Mike of wanting to drop the client because he knows she's guilty and doesn't want to violate his moral code. Mike explains that he knew she was guilty when he signed them, but because this was a case where the victim was another big company instead of the defenseless common man, his conscience was clear. Eventually, the two get Malek to drop the case when they threaten to show he gave the key "evidence" to Holly Cromwell himself so he could use it later.

Working with Rachel

As thanks for helping resolve Masterson Construction and Tommy Bratton's blackmail against him once and for all, Alex gives Mike a chance to become the attorney of record for one of Alex's Fortune 500 clients, Quality Foods. The company was pursuing compensation from longtime distributor Arctic Storage for spoilage of $90 million worth of product mid-transport; Arctic, in turn, was claiming the "act of god" defense based on excess heat causing the cooling units in trucks to fail.

As Rachel is too busy to work on the case, Mike asks Donna for help getting an associate assigned to his case. During this conversation, Donna reveals that in retaliation for defeating him, Malek has had Jessica disbarred from the state of New York. Mike angrily asks Harvey why they're not fighting this, particularly because Mike was responsible for giving Malek the grounds based on Jessica admitting she knew Mike was a fraud when he first worked at the firm. Harvey explains that Jessica has moved on and that his priority now is protecting the firm she left behind. When he advises Mike to focus on the Quality Foods case, Mike realizes that Harvey told Alex to give it to him so Harvey could keep him busy once he caught wind of Jessica's disbarment.

Mike goes to Arctic and points out that "act of god" cannot apply to seasonal activities like warm weather. Arctic offers $30 million to settle the dispute, but Mike declines the offer, thinking it was too easy and suspecting there was more to the case. Alex later advises him that it's a fair settlement, made not out of an intent to cover things up like Masterson, but in the hopes of preserving the relationship with Quality Foods. Mike asks if he's being undercut, particularly as Arctic went to Alex instead of Mike and Alex is selling him out. Alex responds that he did back Mike's decision publicly in the name of firm solidarity; he's just telling Mike privately this is a mistake.

Mike updates Rachel on the situation, but Rachel agrees that not every attempt at settlement is an attempt to hide something. Michael becomes upset that Rachel isn't supporting him, but afterwards decides to listen to her advice. He convinces Arctic to increase the settlement offer to $38 million. Before it closes, however, Rachel gives Mike evidence that he was right. Arctic was deliberately destroying Quality products just before reaching the plant of its main competitor, pretending it was an Act of God, then selling the freed transportation space to the competitor. Mike and Rachel approach counsel for Arctic and threaten to turn over the evidence to Shawn Cahill unless Arctic agreed to stop doing that and pay Quality Foods $120 million instead; Arctic agreed.

Alex promises to trust Mike's judgment moving forward, particularly as Quality Foods' CEO was beyond impressed, but Mike admits that it wouldn't have happened without Rachel's intervention. That night, he asks if Rachel would be open to working more cases together to spend more time together. Rachel instead convinces Mike to finally spend time together on what they've delayed up to this point - planning their wedding.

The next day, with Pearson Specter Litt now restructured into Specter Litt, Oliver meets Mike to ask for a favor involving a case between General Mills (SL) and Feed the Heart Food Bank (Eastside Legal Clinic). General Mills had reneged on a long-term understanding to sell Feed the Heart protein packs at cost, doubling the price from $2.00 per unit to $4.00. Mike agrees to see if he can convince General Mills to lower the price, with no guarantees as to how much. Harvey warns him against taking the case, particularly as Oliver was at the center of the prison case which nearly cost the firm everything, but Mike asserts that he trusts Oliver.

Mike convinces Perkins to lower the price to $2.60 per unit, but Oliver rejects the offer, trying to rebuild his reputation in the clinic after being kicked off the prison case. Rachel learns about the matter, including how Mike admires Oliver for doing what he's done so many times - making a deal to lower the other side's guard, then changing it at the last minute. Rachel agrees to help Mike do what Harvey had to do in those cases - teach Oliver to stay in his lane.

Oliver deposes Perkins, asserting that because General Mills made a commercial featuring the deal with Feed the Heart that it then used to close other deals, the understanding was in fact a contract that Feed the Heart could enforce. Once Perkins admits that the commercial exists, Mike increases the settlement offer to $2.20 per unit, but Oliver again refuses. He asserts that while he is always 100% behind the little guy, Mike says he is but often renegs on it.

Mike later finds a bill of sale showing that Feed the Heart resold the protein packs; if the understanding was a contract, Feed the Heart broke it first. Mike hesitates to use it against Oliver, but Rachel advises him that, duties to the client aside, Harvey and Robert would both say that going easy on Oliver does more harm than good. Encouraged, Mike uses the bill of sale to rescind both settlement offers and force Feed the Heart to buy the protein packs at the market rate or go without. He also tells Oliver that this isn't about supporting the little guy. The prison case taught him he cannot fight for both sides at once; he will always fight for whoever his client is in that moment, and Oliver needed to understand that.

Mike then informs Harvey the case is over, though he admits that teaching Oliver a lesson like Harvey had with Mike was harder than he thought. Harvey then admits that Alex nominated Mike for senior partner, but the firm decided against it. Mike reassures him that with making time for Rachel his current priority, he's not bothered by that. At Mike's apartment, Oliver thanks Mike for treating him with respect by holding nothing back, and the two agree to never pull punches if on opposite sides again.

Recruitment by Andy Forsythe

In Tiny Violin , Nathan from the legal clinic approaches Mike in the morning about a class action case involving children with lead poisoning. Since, the clinic does not have the resources to work on the case, he asks Mike for help from Specter Litt. After getting Donna's blessing, Mike goes to the legal clinic to find that the opposing counsel is filing for a motion to dismiss because the paperwork for class certification was never filed due to miscommunication between Oliver and Nathan. At the hearing, Mike brings up the history of the opposing counsel - who has a history of creating situations where clinics without resources have difficulty meeting deadlines - and prompts the judge to extend the deadline for the paperwork. Later, Mike is approached by Andy Forsyth with an offer to build a new firm, that is dedicated to taking on cases considered indefensible against larger corporations, in Seattle.

In Good-Bye , Mike saves the firm from Stanley Gordon 's plot and marries Rachel. Although he is offered a promotion to senior partner by Harvey, Mike refuses as he's decided to take Andy up on his offer.

Mike returns representing Jeremy Wall , but Harvey gives the case to Samantha Wheeler instead who fabricates evidence in order to win when Mike comes close to beating her. This leads to a blowout fight between Mike and Harvey and Samantha getting fired for her actions. Louis later visits Mike and asks him not to let his anger destroy Mike and Harvey's friendship. Before leaving, Mike gives Louis a gift for his and Sheila Sazs 's baby and the two share a hug. [1]

Mike returns to support Harvey after the death of Lily Specter and takes on Samantha Wheeler as a client, suing Faye Richardson for wrongful termination from Specter Litt Wheeler Williams which pits Mike against both Harvey and Louis as Faye had promised to leave the firm if they won the case fairly. Eventually, Harvey admits the truth to Mike and they team up together with Sam, Louis, Donna, Katrina Bennett , Alex Williams and Gretchen Bodinski to pull one last con to get rid of Faye and save the firm, a move that works.

Later, Mike attends Louis and Sheila Sazs ' wedding. When Harvey and Donna decide to get married, Mike jokes that he would offer to officiate, but they don't want to reopen the can of worms about him being unlicensed. Harvey and Donna subsequently reveal to Louis that they've decided to resign from the firm and move to Seattle to work with Mike and Rachel. Having remembered his love for crossing lines and working in the gray, Harvey wants to do use his talents for the good guys by helping Mike out. Before Harvey leaves the renamed Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett , he and Mike playfully reenact their very first meeting in reverse.

Relationships

Harvey specter.

Mike was Harvey's associate. Despite Mike's lack of a law degree, Harvey hires him, impressed by his wit and knowledge. Harvey mentors Mike, similar to how Jessica had mentored him. Mike, who never had any responsible paternal figures in his life, except his grandmother, after his parents' deaths, comes to regard Harvey as an older brother and a best friend. While he, inherently, is forced to put his trust in Harvey since the revealing of Mike's secret could get him fired, he grows to do so willingly as Harvey proves to be an excellent mentor.

Mike is fiercely loyal to Harvey and often goes to great lengths to achieve the impossible on Harvey's behalf. This loyalty also comes with an element of dependency, both in a professional and emotional manner -- when Mike makes mistakes, Harvey unfailingly comes to his aid, as Harvey feels responsible for his associate. In "Shelf Life," Harvey bails Mike out when Mike is caught looking through files of a rival firm, and in "Bail Out," he protects Mike from the threat of Trevor's moneylenders. Harvey is protective of Mike in an older-brotherly way; when Jessica learns of Mike's fraud and demands that he be fired, Harvey refuses to do so. In "Blood In The Water," when Mike comes into work with a black eye after being beaten by Tess's husband, Harvey demands to know who did it so that he can "kick his ass."

Mike is devoted to Harvey like no one else in the office, and their playful banter and teasing becomes a trademark aspect of their relationship. They have similar taste in movies and often challenge each other to quote-offs. At times, Harvey becomes less of a father-figure or older brother and more of a friend. In "High Noon", he joins Mike in an evening of drinking and smoking, and the two even try to sabotage the office to get back at Louis. 

In "War," Jessica puts a rift in Mike and Harvey's relationship after telling Mike that if he files his motion she will tell the district attorney that he is a fraud. Mike and Harvey eventually reconcile, after Donna tells Harvey to forgive him.  

In season 4, Harvey and Mike's relationship is put to a test again, when Harvey takes a case against Mike in a takeover battle. But after Mike gets fired and finds out that Rachel kissed Logan, Mike goes to Harvey for help.  

Though Harvey and Mike's relationship is tested by obstacles, their unbeatable teamwork and unspoken bond with one another proves to triumph again and again. 

At the end of season 7, Harvey attends Mike's wedding with Jessica noting that Harvey is the only family that Mike has. Although Harvey offers to make Mike a senior partner for saving the firm, Mike refuses as he's decided to move to Seattle with Rachel to take on Fortune 500 companies.

In season 8, Harvey considers calling Mike for help on a case before instead figuring out a solution for himself by thinking about what Mike would do if he was there.

In the series finale, after Mike and Harvey team up together for one last con to save the firm, Harvey decides to move to Seattle with Donna in order to work with Mike and Rachel, this time putting his talents to work helping the good guys. Before leaving, the two playfully reenact their very first meeting in reverse.

Rachel Zane

Rachel and Mike's relationship started off as rocky. Rachel showed disdain for Mike for being a show off and also for, according to her, trying to hit on her. But throughout the course of the first season, their relationship grew to trusted working partners. When Rachel was suspended after being wrongfully accused of leaking a confidential document, Mike went out of his way to help Rachel get back her job. When Mike and Jenny started dating, it put a hidden strain on their growing relationship.

After working together on a case, Rachel kissed Mike in the library, an act witnessed by Louis. Later on, Rachel accused Mike of toying with her when he kept on flirting with her even though he was officially with Jenny. This argument led them to breaking off their friendship and partnership, causing Mike to have much difficulty with some of his cases. After sharing several drinks with Donna, Rachel left Mike a voicemail telling him that she couldn't stop thinking about their kiss. Mike did not receive the message until much later, due to Trevor intercepting the message.

When Mike finally received Rachel's message about their kiss, he kissed her and told her that he wanted them to happen. After their first official date, Rachel mentions how she appreciates honesty in a relationship. Because of this, Mike decides that he wants to tell Rachel his secret. He visits Harvey that night to ask advice on the matter, but Harvey objects. After a talk with Donna about his discussion with Harvey, Mike decided to not tell Rachel and ended their relationship before it got too complicated and before he hurt her. Later that day, Mike went to Harvey's place to inform him that he didn't want to keep any secrets from Rachel if they started a relationship, but Harvey discouraged him from doing so, stating that after what just happened (Jessica finding out and Harvey saving his job by threatening to "go if he goes"), Mike should know better than to let another person know the truth. Mike came to the conclusion that both Harvey and Donna's opinions were plausible, so by the end of the episode, he told Rachel that he could no longer continue their relationship.

Mike later managed to mend his friendship with Rachel, and she helped Mike pick out an apartment for his grandmother. She was also the one to inform him that his grandmother had died. Rachel helped him through everything that needed to be done in accordance to his grandmother's death. In his grief, Mike kissed an old flame that was present during his grandmother's wake but left after finding out that she was married. Once Mike managed to find a way to take down Hardman, he kissed Rachel, but she insisted that they shouldn't do it since his grandmother had just died, and she didn't think that people make smart choices when something like that happens. Mike stormed away stating that "being smart [hadn't] made either one of [them] very happy." The last scene of the episode showed Mike opening his door for Tess, and after they have sex, there is someone at the door; Mike hurried to open the door thinking that it was the pizza boy. It turned out to be Rachel who says that he was right but is crestfallen when she sees Tess.

In the last episode of season 2, Mike finally tells Rachel he never went to Harvard. She slaps him, and they have sex in the filing room.

At the start of Season 3, Rachel is still angry that Mike withheld his secret, however when he tells her the full story she forgives him and they begin a sexual relationship. Later, Rachel gets accepted to Stanford for law school, but does not tell Mike as she fears that he'll break up with her. Mike is initially angry at this revelation, but comes to realise that Rachel deserves to be happy and study where she wishes. Instead of ending their relationship, Rachel approaches Jessica Pearson and asks her to make an exception to the Harvard rule for due to her stellar performance and work ethic. Jessica allows it, and Rachel instead enrols at Colombia. Eventually Mike and Rachel move in together, moving into the apartment that Mike had originally purchased for Grammy.

In season 4, their relationship begins to intensify when Logan Sanders comes to Pearson Specter. Rachel tells Mike that she had an affair with Logan while he was married. Mike ignores this as a thing of the past. However, Rachel kisses Logan and ultimately tells Mike about it, prompting him to punch Logan. Mike subsequently breaks up with Rachel after she tells him that she still has some feelings for Logan, though they later reconciled. In the Season 4 finale, Mike proposes to Rachel and she accepts.

Jenny Griffith

Jenny and Mike

Mike was in love with Jenny when she was still dating Trevor. When Mike revealed to Jenny that Trevor dealt drugs, she became angry at Mike and broke up with Trevor. Trevor then lied to Jenny that he had stopped, but Mike wanted Jenny to know the truth. Mike later kissed Jenny but realized that it was not a good idea, considering Trevor was his best friend.  but while in the progress of asking Jenny for help it turned into a full on sex affair. Eventually, they start dating anyway, but Jenny becomes very suspicious of Mike's relationship with Rachel when Louis tips her off.

After Trevor discovered that Mike was dating Jenny, he told Jenny about Mike's kiss with Rachel, and Jenny promptly left Mike.

Trevor Evans

Trevor was Mike's best and oldest friend who is considered an "anchor" by Edith and Harvey, and they advise Mike to cut him off. 

He started dealing drugs around the time Mike began being paid to take the LSATs for other people. Mike agrees to do the same when it becomes clear he needed money to let his grandmother stay in a private home. Trevor later attempts to start anew after Mike saves his life with Harvey's help.

Their friendship is strained when Trevor learns that Mike had been dating Trevor's ex-girlfriend Jenny during Trevor's absence. As a result, he tells Jenny that Mike and Rachel had kissed and informs Jessica of Mike's lack of a degree.

When Trevor threatens to ruin Mike's life more than he already has, Mike reveals that he knows Trevor's social security number and will use the information against Trevor if the need arises.

Edith Ross was Mike's grandmother who took him in after his parents died in an accident. She passed away during the Season 2 episode "Asterisk." By then, Mike had purchased an apartment for her which, unfortunately, she had never seen. Her death obviously saddened Mike, who returns to using marijuana in order to ease his misery.

According to Mike, she was happy that he finally found a job that fully engages him.

The relationship between Mike and Louis Litt has always been a rocky one. In Season 1, Louis tricked Mike into taking marijuana, which could have cost him his job. Mike retaliates by taking a client away from him. In season two Louis and Mike work on a case together, Mike tells him that actions have consequences and that Louis's actions were the reason why Mike and Louis never got along well. However just as they are starting to bond, Louis bugs Harvey's office and figures out that Mike and Harvey have been keeping something important from him, Mike and Louis's relationship is strained again. However, when Louis is about to leave Pearson Hardman and Mike shows up battered and bruised, Louis tends to Mike's wounds and helps Mike with his case. In season 3, Louis wants Mike to work as his personal associate and Mike accepts but after Harvey and Mike get back together, Louis ends up being mad at Mike again. This season also showed how Louis triggered Mike's job as he doubted Mike having gone to Harvard. In season 4, Mike uses Sheila against Louis during the Gillis takeover, and that puts a rift in their relationship again. However, after Mike gets fired and goes to take the job with Forstman, Louis puts his anger towards him aside and hires him back at Pearson Specter.

After Louis finds out that Mike never went to law school, their relationship becomes strained. He makes him memorize every case that he ever did and he even uses Rachel to break him. Eventually, Harvey takes Mike and Louis on a road trip to McKernon motors, and forces them to talk to each other. On a gas station, Mike and Louis start to fight each other, with Louis nearly choking Mike to death. After that, Louis and Mike talk to each other and their conversation ends with Louis saying; "You're not a fraud, Mike. You just never went to law school." Louis is the one that offers to teach Mike to drive at the end of the episode.

• Mike has an eidetic memory.

Mike Ross, as a child, with his parents

• Mike tells Nick Rinaldi that he was 11 when his parents died in a car crash due to a drunk driver back in 1992, which puts his birth year around 1981.
• Following the nomination, Jessica Pearson promoted Mike to junior partner before the official vote, thereby making Mike the youngest junior partner in firm history.
• While Mike is the youngest to ever make junior partner, Harvey Specter is the youngest to make senior partner. Mike, however, is the youngest to make partner overall.
• Mike attended a P.S. 092 elementary school and set the single-game scoring record in sixth grade.
• Mike attended St. Anthony's High School.

Appearances

• ↑ If the Shoe Fits
• 1 Mike Ross
• 2 Harvey Specter
• 3 Louis Litt

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Ten times I’ve gone Awww… at Mike and Harvey’s friendship

One of the things that makes Suits so popular is how it can appeal to every type of fan. There’s witty dialogue, legal drama, kick-ass women, and juicy romance, but one reason we keep tuning in is to see the amazing friendship between Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Check out some of the moments where we were most envious of Mike and Harvey’s bromance.

• Harvey doesn’t open up to many people, but he let Mike in, which shows just how much he values Mike’s friendship. And it was Mike whom Harvey confided in about his mother cheating on his father back when Harvey was a kid.
• When Mike and Harvey were on the outs, it felt like we were watching a serious breakup and it hurt to see. But like true friends, they’ve told each other some harsh things and gotten closer as a result.
• Harvey gives Mike the best advice, such as the time he warned his protegé, “Don’t be cocky.” That only works for one guy at PSL — Harvey Specter.
• Mike asked Harvey to be his best man at his wedding. This is a tremendous honor given to your best friend, and it carries even more of a significant weight given that Mike has no family left.
• The two have some of the best witty banter anywhere on television. Harvey knows Mike is his intellectual equal, and gets to have some fun with Mike around. Plus, they are movie-quoting equals. You can build an entire friendship on that alone!
• Harvey is always there for Mike in his deepest times of need. When Mike’s beloved grandmother passed away, Harvey was essentially the first member of Mike’s new family at PSL.
• The enemy of my friend is my enemy, and so believes Mike. When Harvey punched Tanner, Mike thought that was one of the coolest things and wanted to know all about it.
• But sometimes, even though he knows Mike can handle the truth, Harvey will lie to protect him. When Harvey originally told Mike that the jury found him guilty, he did it to help Mike and Rachel’s relationship, and it takes a great friend to do a thing like that.
• Mike literally went to jail to protect Harvey. Yes, Mike lied about being a lawyer and committed fraud, but he only took the deal that gave him jail time to save Harvey’s back.
• You could see how much it tore up Harvey the day he had to drop off Mike at the gates of the prison. He couldn’t bear to let his friend down, and hours later he visited Rachel to commiserate.

Watch the upcoming Suits Season 7 which is scheduled to air in India July 14th onwards, only on Comedy Central .

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Mike & Harvey Are SO Not What They Used To Be In The Final 'Suits' Season

The end is near Suitors. Season 9 of Suits , premiering July 17, will be the legal show’s last season. The stories of Harvey, Donna, and Louis have been a winding road filled with lies, deceit, crises, explosive fights, pain, and vulnerability as they worked together in the tough New York legal arena and fought to keep their firm (whose name is ever-changing) in tact at all odds. The trio watched Mike Ross, whose broship with Harvey was the centerpiece of the series, and Rachel Zane get married and leave NYC and bid their leader Jessica Pearson farewell after she returned to her hometown in Chicago. It’s certainly been a different show without these beloved characters but there will be at least one reunion because Patrick J. Adams is returning to Suits for a final farewell, per USA Network.

It’s not clear how many episodes Adams will appear in, but the network confirms that Mike Ross will be in Episode 5 , which falls right in the middle of Season 9’s 10-episode arc. Mike made his last appearance in the Season 7 finale when he revealed to his BFF Harvey that he and Rachel were moving to Seattle to start their own legal clinic. Now, according to USA, he will face his mentor and Samantha Wheeler in the courtroom on a case.

It’s always uncomfortable yet entertaining to see Harvey and Mike at odds, but it makes sense to have them go through a battle of wits one more time before they hopefully find common ground and remember that they love each other. And, Samantha is sure to bring some cutthroat drama to the mix, but she may not be ready for the inevitable tricks that Mike always has up his sleeves.

Mike and Harvey may be battling in the courtroom, but the actors actually shared a warm embrace when Adams stepped back on the Suits set in Toronto. Gabriel Macht, who portrays Harvey, and Adams spoke to Entertainment Weekly about their joyous reunion. “We haven’t worked together in a year and a half, but it feels like there has been not a second that has passed,” said Macht.

“There was a moment in the first scene as I walked up to him where I was like, ‘Holy s**t, this is the energy. This is what we had for seven years.’” Adams chimed in and said it was “a gift” to return for more laughs and to playfully push his co-star’s buttons one last time.

Of course, Meghan Markle will not reprise her role as Rachel alongside Adams because, well, she is very busy being royalty and all, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be mentioned in the final season. Per CinemaBlend, Adams confirmed that Mike will talk to Rachel over the phone to ensure fans that their once-rocky relationship is on very solid ground. “There’s phone calls with Rachel saying, ‘Goodbye, I love you,’ and, you know, I think there’s some obvious acknowledgement that she’s still there and a part of the show.”

So, never fear Suits lovers – Mike may be a pain in Harvey’s side this season, but things are all good with Rachel Ross. Something

Will Harvey and Mike still be friends after a courtroom battle? Will Mike get Litt Up by Louis? The drama is going down in a few weeks and it’s sure to be entertaining.