David Shore

David Shore says some things can be “idiotic and courageous” at the same time – such as quitting law and moving to Los Angeles in the hope of starting a writing career. In the end, he made the right choice, and he has the Emmy Award to prove it.

Shore was executive producer and head writer of the acclaimed medical drama House, which ran for eight seasons. He has also written for NYPD Blue, The Practice and Law & Order.

But he began his career in the legal profession, articling in London, Ont. after graduating from U of T law and then practising corporate and municipal law for almost five years at a Toronto law firm, making partner.

In an interview with U of T Magazine, Shore remembers telling his partners that he was off to L.A. “And it got the reaction you’d expect from everybody. They thought I was insane.”

Shore told the Faculty of Law graduating class in 2009 that if he “failed miserably” in L.A. he could always return, well-tanned, and practise law.

"I was surrounded by really smart people at the Faculty of Law. That forced me to think harder about things, to push yourself, to think critically."

Like the character Gregory House, Shore refuses to play by conventional rules. “I’m a rebel in the sense that I do look at things and say ‘give me a break’,” Shore comments. “I am just in a situation where I’ve got a pulpit to say ‘give me a break’ to 19 million people.”

Published Nov. 28, 2013