I was wondering why this was the case; it seemed pretty shady. I'm guessing the commercial real estate in NYC is so expensive (most likely even more so than residential).
Also, yeah, another poster wondered why the lawyer felt the need to lie to his client about seeing a movie with his family, when he was by himself. Nothing wrong with being single.
Every character in this movie is flawed (maybe except for the teacher). The lawyer, Platzer, appears to be struggling in his life and career, with references to losing 10 years of his life to partying and marital issues. He works out of his car, and he may not even have a place to live, he was sleeping in a 24 hour all night theater. He looks like more of a bottom feeding lawyer scraping through life,and this case is his personal salvation.
shareI began to question whether he was really a lawyer, but I remembered Dahlia, I think, telling her friend on the phone about him and that he had gone to law school and graduated high in his class (am I right about all that? Can't remember the details), according to her husband. But I don't think he ever showed her any credentials. And after the last time he appeared in the movie, the scene in the theater (again, not entirely sure), we never saw him again, which made him seem a little suspect also.
share We see him again at the building when the body is found. I agree that he seems to be living rough-- at one point he mentions his own divorce-- and is sleeping in the theater. I think maybe there was some idea of him being a romantic alternative (he's clearly crushing on her) but his character sorta slips through the cracks at the end.
He did have a nice car-office though.