5 reasons why we’ll miss Peter Stone

4. He represented the legal profession well

No matter what show he was on, Peter Stone was a heck of a lawyer. During the all too brief run of Chicago Justice, he fought some tremendous battles with the federal government (“Friendly Fire”) and against social media (“Lily’s Law”). When he appeared on SVU, his first case meant he had to prosecute the man whose job he’d take over (“The Undiscovered Country”).

It didn’t matter what the crime was, or what kind of opposition he was facing; Peter was always ready to take whatever case came across his desk and prosecute it to the best of his ability. While he didn’t always win, of course, it was admirable to see how hard he worked. Every prosecution got his full attention even if it was uncomfortable, unpopular, or just plain difficult.

At the same time, Peter Stone was no loose cannon. Philip Winchester imbued him with class and integrity. So many times on TV, the lawyers have a sort of “ends justify the means” attitude where they’ll bend the rules or pull off some crazy stunt, because what matters to them (and also what makes entertaining episodes) is winning the case. Peter wasn’t like that; while he always wanted to win, it was also important to him that he do things the right way.

There were times when he had to get a little more creative than others, of course. But when it came to his job, Peter never did anything that made the audience lose respect for him. He showed up for work, treated every one of his coworkers and opposing attorneys with respect (even when they didn’t do the same for him), and left a good reputation in his wake.