I asked one of the writers about this awhile back after another episode seemed to mirror a "case" I was involved in. The off the record answer was that instance was a total coincidence but the research assistants for the writing team use a lot of real life stuff as inspiration, but rarely delve more than skin deep. They borrow headlines, but that's it. It's like Oliver Stone's JFK - a mirror of reality, but nothing is quite right.
TL;DR: Probably a trick, but James Spader's voice will make me forget that.
