The Practice

Bobby defends Rachel Reynolds, a young woman facing drug charges. She is not a drug dealer, but was trying to cover for her brother. Lindsay represents Emerson Ray, who is suing a tobacco company in a wrongful death suit. Lindsay's favourite law professor, Anderson Pearson, represents the defence. Eugene represents "Free Willy", a man who exposes himself in public.

Bobby represents a man facing armed robbery charges. His strategy is to plead out to lesser charges. Eugene's client fears for her and her 11 year old son's safety, at the hands of her ex-husband. Eugene makes several attempts to get a restraining order. The situation has deadly consequences. Bobby tries to secure a loan and pays a visit to Jimmy Berluti, his friend and banker.

Bobby plans to represent Gerald Braun in a wrongful death suit against Ronald Martin. Eugene's "Free Willy" returns, after being arrested in a peculiar position with a hooker. Defence Lawyers in the Emerson Ray case make a motion to have the case dismissed. Bobby fears that the judge is biased. Jimmy, Bobby's friend the banker, is fired for approving a construction loan under false pretences and Bobby decides to hire him.

Bobby's judgment is called into question by the firm's other members when he becomes romantically involved with a beautiful, icy client who shot to death a male neighbor she claims was attempting to rape her. The prosecution says it was murder.

The firm defends Joey Heric, a colorful client on trial for the murder of his lover. Jimmy is tried on solicitation charges by a vengeful district attorney.

Bobby and Gamble clash in and out of the courtroom when an emotional assisted-suicide case forces them to confront painful memories. Meanwhile, Lindsay goes head-to-head with her ex-boyfriend when she defends an elderly bookie.

Bobby is hit by a car while his mind is involved on other matters. Meanwhile, Ellenor becomes disillusioned with the law when she comes to the realization that underhanded behavior has become second nature to her. Eugene defends a young man on murder charges. Bobby visits his father. Rebecca shocks the firm when she announces she's passed the bar exam.

Helen and Lindsay move in together. Rebecca tries her first case. Anderson Pearson calls on Lindsay to defend him when he's arrested for the murder of a stalker.

Bobby and Lindsay lay the groundwork for the Pearson trial. George Vogelman, the podiatrist that answered Ellenor's personal ad (episodes #5, #12), comes into the office with a severed head in his medicine bag. Ellenor and Eugene try to determine what to do with Vogelman. Jimmy and Rebecca defend Jesse Manning, an elderly man accused of plotting to murder his wife. The prosecution's case is based solely on evidence of his step-by-step drawings of the murder and an intricately devised plan for the perfect murder.

Bobby and Jimmy defend a dentist accused of murdering a frequent patient... but eventually discover he's hiding a sordid secret. Ellenor dines with George Vogelman.

Bobby gets a murderer off on a technicality when the arresting officer illegally searches the car and finds a corpse. Jimmy goes against Henry Olson's wishes and confronts Olson's son to try to convince him to confess to the murder. Lindsay decides to move in with Bobby, leaving her possessions...including her answering machine, at Helen's.

Tensions flare when the 'male nun' starts infiltrating the office. Ellenor buys a gun for protection. Rebecca suspects that a wealthy man has bought a client's guilty plea.

Bobby doesn't want a client to testify to avoid introducing an incriminating videotape. Helen and Richard Bay may have coached a witness in the same trial. Ellenor and Lindsay represent a parent whose three children have all contracted learning disabilities.

Bobby struggles to overturn the guilty verdict in the Scott Wallace case. Bobby's refusal to allow Wallace to testify may be grounds for a new trial. Ellenor and Lindsay continue their attack against the EPA, but a hostile judge may thwart their efforts. Helen faces a crisis when doing the right thing over Richard's coercion of a witness may cost her a job.

Ellenor continues the Jamison case, challenging Judge Aldrich's decision to cut her client's award. Jimmy is upset when he learns that former client Jennifer Cole is pregnant and has been arrested for possession of cocaine. He conspires with the D.A. to install Jennifer in a rehab program. Bobby continues to work Scott Wallace's appeal. Helen faces alienation from her colleagues in the wake of her unpopular actions in the Wallace trial.

A sensational murder case embroils a charismatic state senator, on trial for killing the man purported to be his wife's lover. Part 1 of two.

Courtroom skirmishes and contentious strategizing mark the murder trial of state senator Keith Ellison. Conclusion.

A parole hearing for a convicted killer who maintains he's innocent vexes Eugene and a death-row inmate who accepts his fate troubles Rebecca.

The strain of Lindsay's incarceration begins to affect her marriage and she lashes out at Bobby. Meanwhile, a zealous law-school grad who seeks to join the firm has a run-in with Ellenor; and Jimmy is embroiled in a 16-year-old child-kidnapping case that hinges on lawyer-client confidentiality.

Lindsay's murder conviction tries Rebecca, who's handling the appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court; Jimmy's kidnapping case turns confrontational, in and out of court.

A resolution reached in Lindsay's murder conviction has emotional repercussions; and First Amendment issues figure oddly in Jamie's first trial, the defense of an accused flasher.

Eleanor defends a man accused of killing his wife and unborn son. He contests that it was suicide. Eugene and Jimmy defend a woman who shot a crack dealer on her street. Alan Shore comes to Eleanor looking for a job after he was fired for embezzlement. He is given a case where a woman files charges against a homeless man who "Halle Berry'd" her (came out of nowhere and kissed her). He uses insurance fraud to coerce her into dropping the charges.

Alan Shore agrees to help friend Sheila Carlisle, a successful attorney who claims God speaks to her, and who has subsequently been fired from her law firm for being mentally incompetent. Meanwhile there are startling new developments in the case of Brad Stanfield, whom Ellenor and Jamie are defending for allegedly poisoning his pregnant wife.

Eccentric attorney Sheila Carlisle, whom Alan Shore hired on a temporary basis without consulting anyone else, takes on a lawsuit on behalf of the firm; and Ellenor finds herself in a moral dilemma when faced with the truth about her client.