I disagree, I don't think anything in that speech was motivated from a desire to protect anyone, except for Chuck's ego. If Jimmy was able to pass the Bar exam with just an online course, then there is the sliver of a possibility that he is actuallysmarterthan Chuck, who had to bust his ass in a good school to prepare for it. If that's true, then it might just be that the only reason he wasn't already a better lawyer than Chuck was due to his capricious attitude--which was probably just youth, mixed with lack of drive and high intelligence.
Once Jimmy got scared straight, all the evidence we have is that he played it straight. He worked the mail room, and passed the bar--that showed enormous capability. I mean, lets face facts--from what we know, the time frame between Slipping Jimmy and Lawyer Jimmy was probably several years, and from what we've seen with Jimmy's work ethic, in that ENTIRE time he didn't have a single fuck up. So I seriously doubt this is about some chronic problem that kept coming back which Chuck was scared of. The reality is probably that Chuck just could not fathom that his little brother, which he had always viewed as a screw up, might actually be really skilled, maybe even with the potential to surpass Chuck himself now that he was dedicated. And so Chuck needs another reason to set himself apart, and that reason is going to be that "Jimmy only achieved this because he cheats! Nyah!".
It's just like anything else when someone is super dedicated and pours a ton of effort into something, only to see someone else with a lot more raw ability come in and get it with far less effort. It drives peoplewild, it happens all the time--and nearlyeveryonereacts like Chuck does. They try to reason out why he isn't as good, and then they use that to justify how shitty they are towards that person. It's a classic "beginners luck" reasoning--like someone who has dedicated so much less time can't possibly already be showing signs of surpassing you, there has to be some unfair advantage or some reason why they don't deserve it.