Synopsis

When her partner is hospitalized after a breakdown in court, criminal defense attorney Kathleen Maguire's already bulging caseload doubles. Will Froman, a P.D. who's eager to go into private practice, convinces her to take him on as a partner to save the firm.

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Kathleen's pursuit of the man stalking her results in a fender-bender, a new and unsavory client for Will, and an unpleasant confrontation in the D.A.'s office. A woman seeks Kathleen's help in obtaining protection from her abusive husband, and another client tries to negotiate a plea by offering up the name of the Red Door murderer.

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A drunken bar brawl brings Kathleen's father into court on assault charges, creating the opportunity for her to show Patrick where fighting at school could lead him. Will has a creative proposal to keep a stripper out of jail, and Kathleen presents an enlightening argument while defending a magician charged with drunken driving.

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With Patrick's unwitting aid, Dan foils Kathleen's attempt at a voluntary surrender for Hank Tyler, a client released in a jailhouse mixup. To curry favor with Dan, Lisa decides to take a hard line on prosecuting Tyler -- that is, until Will charms her into changing her mind.

Synopsis

Kathleen represents a client with poor impulse control, is forced to exchange favors with Judge Hawes to get another client released in time for his mother's funeral, and has a nice moment with her mother. Will's tactics in defending another attorney on assault charges are irritating, but effective; he and Lisa go their separate ways.

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Kathleen starts out her day in tears -- it's the 12th anniversary of her marriage to Dan, and she grieves over the sad end to which the marriage came. Later, Kathleen runs into Dan in the courthouse. He's grieving over the end of the marriage as well, and they have a nice moment on the stairs, which ends with Dan giving her a small peck on the cheek and saying ""Happy Anniversary"". A bad day gets worse when Kathleen is unsuccessful in her defense of Janice Bonner, a female corrections officer charged with institutional sexual assault on a prisoner. Kathleen then miscalculates when she asks Judge Hawes for an immediate sentence so that she can file an immediate appeal. After the trial is over, he lets her know that he would have given her client a lighter sentence had she waited for the sentencing reports and psychological evaluation. On another matter, she appears before Judge Armstrong, who can't seem to make up her mind about whether or not the photo array used to identify Kathleen's

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The Turner Case Engrossed in conversation with Trish on her cell phone one evening, Kathleen is on her way into a convenience store when she is knocked on her feet by her client, Richie Turner, as he rushes out the door. After Richie apologizes and then runs down the street carrying a paper bag stuffed with money, a stunned Kathleen realizes that he has just robbed the store. When she finds out that the store's surveillance camera wasn't working, she gives the cops Richie's description, but doesn't give them his name. As it happens, Richie is scheduled to appear in court the next morning on a hijacking charge, and Kathleen is successful in working out a plea for him with Teena. After the hearing, Kathleen confronts Richie and tells him that she cannot lie if the cops put him in a line up. Since she is a potential witness against him, she also tells Richie that she can't be his attorney any longer. Richie apologizes profusely, swearing that he's not a stick-up guy -- he just needed some

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Kathleen's defense of a disturbed teen hinges on the testimony of another, less-innocent client; Will's dad visits the city to see his son and Judge Brennan before joining his wife for the holidays.

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The Flores Case The court assigns Kathleen to defend Diego Flores, a serial rapist who boasts about getting away with his crimes. Since all of the evidence that would convict him was recovered without a proper search warrant, Kathleen will be compelled to make a motion to have the evidence suppressed and have him released from custody. Since she knows that he will rape again as soon as he gets out of jail, she succumbs to the intense pressure everyone is exerting upon her not to represent Flores by submitting a petition to withdraw from the case, which Judge Ripley denies. She then agrees to Dan's request that she ask for a continuance to give the police more time to gather new evidence. Judge Ripley refuses her request, forces her to proceed with the motion to suppress, and releases Flores on $1 bail. Two hours later, Flores is shot and killed after pulling a gun on a police officer who stopped him and asked to see his identification. The Wyatt Case Kathleen represents Teresa Wyatt, w

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A dying man's confession gives Kathleen what she needs to get a convicted rapist a new trial; Will and Erin clash in court over a wife charged with assaulting her husband with a frozen steak; and a Maguire & Froman client takes a dramatic leap of faith to avoid a certain prison sentence.

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Kathleen races to get her wrongfully convicted client a new trial after finding that evidence may have been swept under the rug. Meanwhile, the owner of escort service recruits Maguire & Froman to clear her name in a prostitution case that could ruin her career—and her clients; and Will defends a high-school teacher accused of sexually molesting a student, who may have a darker secret to protect

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Kathleen's escort owner client, Tabitha Davenport, goes on trial. Teena has evidently told Terry about seeing Kathleen and Ripley kissing in the garage stairwell, so Terry asks Ripley to recuse himself from the case on the grounds of his involvement with Kathleen. Ripley denies the involvement and refuses Terry's request. Kathleen discovers that Davenport's prosecution is politically motivated after Judge Hawes confesses that he and several other highly connected politicians are Davenport's clients. Fortunately for all concerned, Davenport is acquitted. Will and Lisa get stuck in the court house elevator, and Lisa's claustrophobia begins to get the better of her. Hot, sweaty and breaking out in hives, she removes her blouse, despondent that she is putting on such a freak show for Will. In a gesture of solidarity, Will removes his shirt and pants. Unfortunately for the both of them, at that point the elevator lurches, Will falls on top of Lisa, and the doors open, giving everyone in the

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Kathleen represents an innocent client who happened to be in the wrong car at the wrong time and is now charged as an accessory to murder. Tommy Cabretti, the prosecutor assigned to the case, knows that he doesn't have enough evidence to convict, but his ego gets in the way and he refuses to negotiate a plea in good faith. Despite warnings from Judge Armstrong and Dan, Kathleen brings Cabretti up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct. Before the hearing begins and Cabretti will be forced to testify, Dan forces Cabretti to withdraw all charges against Kathleen's client. To punish Kathleen for bringing Cabretti up on charges, Dan's boss (who is also Cabretti's uncle) orders Dan's office not to negotiate with Kathleen or Will. This has disastrous consequences for Will's client, when Terry is forced to withdraw a generous plea offer that Will's client had accepted. The case goes to the jury, and Will's client is found guilty on multiple felony counts, including rape, which will send him t

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Ripley comes under fire after Chris Maguire is busted for falsely claiming to have bribed the judge involved with his sister, while Dan sees the whole investigation as a plot to keep him from running for office. Meanwhile, Will puts his life on the line to get firsthand proof that his client has reliable testimony about a wanted killer.

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Kathleen defends a man who kidnapped his children and kept them hidden for nine years because he lost custody to his drug-addicted, neglectful ex-wife; Will asks Kathleen to call in a favor with Victor Tommasino to keep his client from getting killed by the wiseguy he robbed; Julian gets fired after posing as Will; Patrick and Jack get to know each other; Terry and Erin hook up; Dan declares his candidacy for District Attorney.

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Will's client takes him and the judicial system for a ride when he is charged with assault after his girlfriend dumps him on a tabloid TV show for another man. Kathleen faces an uphill battle in defending a woman who is unrepentant about killing the man who raped and tortured her after he is released on a technicality and threatens to rape her again. Will's never forgetting a pretty face foils Cabretti's attempt to dig up some dirt on Dan.

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Clyde assists Will in proving that a client has been framed for a robbery at the strip club where she works, and discovers evidence that will doom Cabretti's bid for District Attorney. Terry seems to be taking the case of Kathleen's client accused of the mercy killing of his wife a little too personally when he refuses to work out a deal with her and reacts emotionally in the courtroom. After he blows up at Erin about the case, he apologizes to her and reveals the secret from his past that has made him react so strongly to the actions of Kathleen's client. Lisa breaks up with Will, while Erin and Terry grow closer together.

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Kathleen represents a storeowner who shot and paralyzed the boy who robbed him; Dan wins the race for District Attorney; a mentally unbalanced woman, believing that she is Jack's wife, confronts Kathleen and threatens Jack's life; Will's client, a witch accused of fraud, has a mesmerizing affect on the participants in her trial, and later helps Will to discover some hard truths about himself; and Jack gives Kathleen an early, and very romantic, birthday present.