L.A. Law (1986–1994): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Princess and the Wiener King - full transcript
McKenzie takes a dim view of future lawyers after his guest lecture at a law school which is filled by questions from the students dominated by self-interest. McKenzie's secretary, Iris, takes a dim view of her future with the firm and of the new law clerk, Jeffrey Sullivan, whom McKenzie hires. Meanwhile, Irving Lewis follows Becker's advice concerning his divorce, then blames him when his young wife won't return to him. Victor goes to bat for a young girl facing charges after she shot her brother who tried to rape her. Kuzak meets with Grace's fiancé while continuing to try to win her affections, and Markowitz wows Kelsey with his private life. Abby tries to continue working despite not knowing the whereabouts of her son.
- Previously on L.A. Law...
- If the IRS determines
that Mrs. Lewis's
show business career
constituted a hobby
rather than a
legitimate business,
that's $2.8 million
plus penalty.
- When they see her new video,
they're gonna wind
up owing us money!
- She's gone!
Leland, she left me.
- Mr. Perkins is
enjoined from coming
within 100 yards of either
Mrs. Perkins or the minor,
Eric Perkins.
- Eric went home already.
- What do you
mean, he went home?
- His father picked him up.
- He can't. There's
a restraining order!
- Mr. Kuzak, I have three rules,
two of which being
I never date lawyers
and I never date
anyone I work with.
How did you get into my car?
- I worked my way through
law school as a car thief.
- You're getting pushy again.
- That's not pushy.
If I was to kiss you,
that would be pushy.
- Look, Stuart,
come home with me.
- It was the sexiest
night of my life.
- The truth is, I
don't remember.
- Often the problems we confront
in our pro bono cases
are not legally complex
but are nonetheless critical
to those experiencing them.
And the satisfaction
they will bring you
cannot be measured in dollars.
I would urge you never
to forget that, as lawyers,
we have an
historical responsibility
to represent the
needs of all the people,
not just those
who can afford us.
Whatever our aspirations,
I'm afraid my generation
cannot lay claim to having
been very good caretakers.
More people will
awaken this morning
in the state of
poverty and despair
than populated the planet
in the year I was born.
You are the
privileged of our youth
and our hopes reside
with you that you
will profit from our mistakes.
So that during your watch,
you will realize a fairer,
more just society.
God knows, there's
never been a greater need.
- Let's open the
floor to questions.
- You, sir?
- Mr. McKenzie, we
are aware that many of
the New York law
firms have raised
their starting associate salary
levels to $65,000 per annum.
And what I'd like to know
is, in your opinion, you feel
that the Los Angeles
firms will follow suit
in the near future.
And specifically, will
McKenzie, Brackman
move to increase their
starting salary levels
commensurately?
- Well, I assume we'll
offer something compatible
with what's being
offered elsewhere.
- Mr. McKenzie?
- The young lady in the front.
- In that vein,
what impact would
the new tax laws have on
such things as perk packages,
company cars and other forms
of non-salary compensation?
- Mr. McKenzie?
- Sir?
- Sir?
- Mr. McKenzie?
- Good morning, Mr. Brackman.
- Who are all those people, Liz?
- Oh, in answer to
your ad in The Times.
You're interviewing
housekeepers today?
- Ah. I'll see them all at once.
- Mr. Brackman?
Mr. Sifuentes says that
you have to spend at least
five minutes with each one
before you turn them down.
- Well, they can't wait
in reception all day.
Put them somewhere
out of the way.
- Where?
- You're a smart
woman. You figure it out.
- Where the hell is that
letter from Ralph Moorewood?
Oh.
Ugh! That's so strong!
I'll be jumpy all day.
And how many times have I
told you I don't like these cups!
The handles.
You can't... they're too small!
- Did we get out of bed on
the wrong side this morning?
- Oh, damn it, Iris.
I tried to communicate
a sense of responsibility,
a sense of pride in the law.
And all those little snots
could see were dollar signs.
- Well, I'd be most
grateful if you didn't vent
your fiscal outrage
on me, thank you.
- Miss Kelsey, could I
see you for a moment
in Mr. Chaney's office, please?
- What's up, Stuart?
- Please?
- If you don't give me
a wet one right now,
I'm gonna be
forced to use force.
- Stuart?
- Hmm?
- So I would argue, Your Honor,
this case should be dismissed.
There being no probable
cause for the police to stop
and question my
client in the first place.
- Defendant was
walking naked down
Hollywood Boulevard, Your Honor.
- Freedom of
expression, Your Honor.
First Amendment, backbone
of the personal freedoms
our Constitution holds so dear.
- Counsel's under
the misapprehension
it's his client's backbone
that's the particular bone
of contention here.
- There being sufficient and
probable cause to believe
a crime has been committed,
defendant will
be held to answer.
Trial is set in Department 137,
November 3 at 9:00 a.m.
Released O.R.
See that he keeps his pants on
until that time, Mr. Pomerantz.
- Hi.
- Don't they give you
enough work to do, Mr. Kuzak?
- As a matter of fact,
I'm unexpectedly free.
Would you care
to get some lunch?
- You don't take
no for an answer.
- Well, strictly speaking,
you haven't said no.
- No.
And, frankly, you are
pestering me beyond
the limits of good taste.
- I plead guilty to
one count with time off
for good behavior.
- Ah, the but the court
has yet to see evidence
of this good
behavior, Mr. Kuzak.
- If I have gone
too far, I apologize.
- I accept.
- Actually, I just wanted
you to know that this is
not some high school crush.
- I'm flattered. Thank you.
But I'd feel better
if you gave me
your assurance
that, from now on,
you will leave me alone.
- You got it. Absolutely.
- Thank you.
- I hope you'll be happy
with what's-his-name.
Oh.
- Thank you, Mickey.
- Mr. McKenzie?
Jeffrey Sullivan, sir.
I apologize for trying to see
you without an appointment.
I tried to get a few minutes
with you after your talk,
but you left in such a
hurry, I didn't get a chance.
- Well, I'm rather pressed
for time, Mr. Sullivan.
If this is an
application for a job,
you may leave your
resume with my secretary.
- No, I'm not here about a job.
And I don't want to take
up much of your time either.
I... I just wanted to tell
you how much I appreciated
what you had to
say to us yesterday.
I just wanted you to
know that not everybody
in law school just
cares about money.
I mean, if defending
the ruling class interests
is what it's all
about, I don't think
I wanna be a part of it.
I mean, if being a good
lawyer necessitates
having to competently argue
either side of the same case,
how do you do a good job
and still hold onto your values?
- I don't eat.
I got no pep for the business.
The doctors put me on sedatives.
- Divorce is a
dislocation, Mr. Lewis.
Like an injury, it
takes time to heal.
- You don't understand.
Without her, I can't
get up in the morning.
I wanna cancel this
settlement meeting.
- Let me give you
a couple of reasons
why that's not a good idea.
I had one of our
private detectives do
a check on your
wife's boyfriend.
His rap sheet.
We also found this.
A pawn ticket for a piece
of your wife's jewelry.
- She pawned the gold
Rolex with the diamonds?
You know what I paid for that?
- They're paying
their hotel expenses
on your credit card,
their room service.
- She's infatuated.
It'll burn itself out!
- Human nature is a pretty
tricky piece of machinery.
See, you think if you
treat her like a princess,
you hand over the cookie
jar, she'll be devoted to you.
But she's like a child.
She wants you to set limits.
- I don't know
anything about that.
All I know is I
want my wife back!
- And I want you
to have her back.
Look, you're older and you're
wiser than I am, Mr. Lewis.
But in this one area,
I do know my stuff.
You're gonna have to
shut down the gravy train.
- Otherwise, she's
got your money,
she's got the guy.
There's nothing to motivate her.
- So how do we do that?
- Well, briefly, Irving,
the reason we settled
with the IRS was to
characterize those moneys
you placed in service of
your wife's holding corporation
as personal loans.
Bottom line and depending
on which set of figures
they go with, if she
insists on divorcing you,
either you won't
owe her anything
or she's gonna owe you
nearly a million bucks.
- This is legal?
- Absolutely.
You just paid $1.8
million dollars to assure it.
- Scoundrels. This'll
get us back together?
- Believe me, Mr. Lewis,
we know what we're doing.
- Tomorrow?
- Day after, 2:00.
- Now I feel better.
- Oh, Iris, Mr. Sullivan
will be joining us a clerk.
He'll be working here
afternoons after school.
- How nice.
- He'll need paper,
pens, supplies.
Oh, a telephone.
Anything at all you need,
Iris will be happy to assist you.
- That'll be great.
- And after observing
the dead body
of Billy Simmons, age
18, did you have occasion
to arrest his sister, Tracy
Simmons, for the murder?
- Yes, I did.
- And then what happened?
- I read the defendant
her constitutional rights
at which time she
waived her rights
and told me she wanted to
talk to me without a lawyer.
- And did she make a statement?
- She said she killed her
brother with her father's gun.
- Thank you. No
further questions.
- Cross?
- Thank you.
Officer Castellano,
did Tracy tell you why
she killed her brother?
- Something about having
an argument with him.
- Did she mention
his trying to rape her?
- She said a lot of
things kind of rambling on.
It was hard to understand her.
- Isn't it true, officer,
that she said that
when her brother
tried to assault her,
she shot him in self-defense?
- No, not in those words.
- But that was the
gist of it, wasn't it?
- Yes.
- Thank you. No
further questions.
- People rest.
- Mr. Sifuentes, any defense?
- Yes. I'd like to call Tracy
Simmons to the stand.
And who was home
that night, Tracy?
- My mom and dad were out
and my baby sister was asleep.
- Where was your brother?
- He was out.
- What time did he come home?
11, 11:30.
- And then what happened?
- He, um, he came after me.
- How exactly?
- He, um, pushed me
down on the couch.
Then he, um, pulled
the zipper on my pants.
- What did you do?
- I tried to get him off me.
I told him I wasn't gonna
let him do it to me anymore.
- Then this had happened before?
- Yes.
- I know this is painful, Tracy.
But could you tell the judge
the first time it happened?
- About two years ago.
He came into my
room and he put a pillow
over my face to shut me up.
And he did it to me.
- Did what exactly, Tracy?
- Had, um... Had
sexual intercourse.
- Did it ever happen again?
- Yes.
- How often?
- At least once a week
until I decided no more.
- And what happened the
night you decided to say no?
- He started hitting me around.
Then he got on top of me.
He yanked me by my hair
and told me if I didn't
let him do it to me,
he'd beat me up real bad.
- What did you do then?
- I socked him as hard as
I could between the legs.
And I tried to get away.
He was real mad saying
what he was gonna do to me.
I ran to the closet and I
got my daddy's gun down.
I told him to get out
and I told him no more.
But he kept coming at me.
So I shot at him
and I kept shooting
until he stopped coming at me.
- Thank you, Tracy.
No further
questions at this time.
- Cross?
- Tracy, did you
ever tell anyone
about what your
brother was doing?
- No.
- You say that you and
your brother had sex
at least once a
week for two years
and you never told anyone?
- No.
- Well, why not?
Was it because you
liked what he was doing?
- Objection.
- Withdraw the question.
- Did you not bring it up
because it never
really happened?
- I tried to tell my mother,
but she didn't believe me.
- When did you tell your
mother that your brother
was having sex with you?
- I never exactly told her that.
- Well, I thought you
just said that you did.
- No, I said I tried.
- Did you tell your
mother about your brother?
Yes or no?
- No.
- Well, I'm confused, Tracy.
See, first you said
yes, now you say no.
Were you lying then
or are you lying now?
- Objection.
The question has been
asked and answered.
The D.A.'s
badgering the witness.
- Sustained.
- I have no further
questions, Your Honor.
- Defense rests, Your Honor.
- Kendall, what the hell
were you trying to do in there?
- In there? My job.
- Bullying a little girl who's
been raped and brutalized
by her 18-year-old brother
goes beyond the job profile.
- Mr. Sifuentes, you're so
intent on winning your case,
you're not even thinking
about what's truly
in your client's best interest.
- It's not juvenile hall.
- Well, it beats
the alternative.
- The alternative is
a reasonably stable
home environment.
- 18-year-old boys who
rape their little sisters
don't usually learn
their moves in a vacuum.
Now you send
that little girl home
and a month's salary
says she's only killed
half the problem.
- Bringing us to Farmer versus
Continental Systems Technology.
That's our leverage
buyout situation.
Miss Kelsey, have
you had a chance to dip
into those interrogatories
I left out for you?
- Douglas, you just dumped
15 tons of documents
on my desk a half an hour ago.
- Should she deign to
honor us with her presence
at some point,
Dragoon Ms. Perkins.
That's what she was hired for.
What's State versus Simmons?
- Oh, that's mine.
13-year-old girl
who'd been molested
by her brother, killed him.
- Pro bono?
- What's the problem, Doug?
You worried it's gonna
interfere with the green card
that I'm getting for
your housekeeper?
- Sleazy tabloid,
low-rent pro bono cases
may stimulate your viscera.
But let us not lose
sight of your commitment
to generating billable hours.
- Now that's enough.
I'm sick and tired of
this obsession with fees!
If Mr. Sifuentes or any
other attorney in this firm
sees fit to offer his or
her services and time
for the public good,
that's good enough for me!
Now move along.
- Before we adjourn, may
I point out that this firm's
consumption of 8 x 14 yellow
legal pads has increased
over the last six months
by a factor of 37%.
Whereas our work output
has increased a mere 8%.
The most benign
interpretation of this disparity
is that some or all of
us are wasting paper.
The most malignant is that
you're taking them home.
At $1.19 a unit, might I
suggest at the very least
that you use both sides.
We stand adjourned.
- Hi.
It's almost 12:30.
- I'm sorry.
I was going crazy
waiting for Angela Sipriano
to call me back.
So I tracked her
down at her office.
- Why don't you just
let her do her job?
- I just needed to check, okay?
I'm sorry.
- Douglas has given
us the Farmer buyout.
I've divided it up by
year. Start on '83, '84.
I'm gonna want them
back tomorrow morning.
- All of them?
- I can't do it alone.
- Ann, I'm going through
a very tough time.
- I understand.
If you need a week
off, two weeks, say so.
But don't tell me you'll
be here to do the job
and then not do it.
- Why are you being this way?
- Because I have to
be able to count on you.
You didn't show up yesterday.
You missed an important
meeting with Farmer
and you leave me
holding the bag.
- You don't have children
and you don't know
what I'm going through!
You think you can
drown out your problems
by working all the time!
- We are not talking about me.
- I am paralyzed.
It takes all my strength
just to get out of bed
in the morning!
It would be easier
if he were dead.
At least then I would know
and I could get on with it!
- Abby, you can
either let this thing
destroy your life or inform it.
The reality is, you may
get Eric back tomorrow.
You may not find
him for six months.
Or you may never see him again.
- I can't think in those terms.
- You don't have
any choice, Abby.
You just don't have any choice.
- When do you want these by?
- Tomorrow, first thing.
- I'll have them for you
tonight by the time I leave.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Can you give me a
minute with her, okay?
How are you, Tracy? You nervous?
- A little.
- It's gonna be fine.
Let me ask you something,
Tracy, about your father.
Did he try to have sex with you?
If he did, Tracy,
I can help you.
But you gotta trust me.
- What would happen to him?
- Well, we could get
him out of the house.
- We finally gonna
get a verdict today?
- On the facts presented,
I found the testimony
of the minor child
to be credible.
And along with physical
evidence of struggle,
I find that she acted
in self-defense.
Accordingly, the petition
will not be sustained.
Young lady, you may go home.
- Your Honor, a return
to the home at this time
could be highly destructive.
Studies have shown...
- Counselor, unfortunately,
I cannot decide a case
on the basis of studies,
probabilities and maybes.
However, if you have
any substantive evidence
of an unfit home environment,
I would encourage you to file
a petition at which time a
determination can be made.
Call the next case.
- Well, you won the battle.
Stay tuned for the war.
- Mr. Simmons, can I
talk to you for a second?
- What about?
- Come into my office.
- This gonna be about money?
- It's about you
and your daughter.
- Let me tell you something
about my daughter, okay?
She lies. She makes up stories.
- No, Mr. Simmons,
I'll tell you something.
If what I think is true,
and I'm pretty sure it is,
I'm not gonna
turn my back on it.
- Listen, mister,
nobody interferes
with how I raise
my family, nobody!
Now I'm walking out this door
and I'm taking her
home where she belongs.
You got a problem with that,
you go live in the
freakin' Soviet Union.
'Cause you got no
right threatening people
and breaking up their families.
We straight on that?
- Mr. Kuzak? Kevin Crenshaw.
- Hi.
- I'm sorry I'm late.
- No problem.
I appreciate your making time
for me on such short notice.
- I can't tell you how
pleased I am that
the Trial Lawyers Association
wants to give Grace Van Owen
a favorable evaluation.
- Oh, we've had our eye
on her for some time now.
- I brought you some additional
information on the candidate.
- I can keep these?
- Please.
- You know, I think I remember
hearing your name first
in connection with Skelley's
campaign for the Senate.
I was very impressed
with what you did there.
- Imagine how impressive
it'd had been if he'd won.
- Well, win or lose,
your campaigns
almost always
take the high road.
Frankly, I was surprised to
hear your name in connection
with a local judicial election.
- I have a personal
involvement with the candidate.
We're getting married
in three weeks.
- Congratulations.
- The truth is, marriage
aside, I wouldn't have taken
this on if I didn't feel that
she's uniquely qualified.
- Sorry I'm late.
- Speak of the
devil, the candidate.
Grace?
You're not gonna believe
that I didn't set this up.
But I didn't.
- Excuse me.
Kevin?
- Meet Michael Kuzak.
He's with the Trial
Lawyers Association.
- What a genuine pleasure it
is to meet you, Miss Van Owen.
I am a great admirer of yours.
- Mr. Kuzak?
- Can you join us?
- I really can't.
- Just for a minute?
- Uh, what's this about anyway?
- You.
The Trial Lawyers
Association is giving you
a favorable evaluation.
- Is that so?
- Well, your case
work is exemplary.
You have one of the
best conviction rates
in the D.A.'s office.
And you're given high
marks by your fellow attorneys
on both sides of the aisle.
In short, Miss Van
Owen, you have substance
without sacrificing style,
humor or compassion.
- That's lovely.
You have really put
your finger on this woman.
- Thank you.
I love eating my lunch at 4:00.
- Try thinking of it
as an early dinner.
- I'm gonna get a
soda. Do you want one?
- Hi.
I just wanna make sure
we're still on for tonight.
- I've still got so much
to get through here.
Maybe tonight's a bad idea.
- Well, come to my house.
You can come
right from the office
and I'll cook something up.
- I don't even know
where you live.
- Well, I'm gonna tell you.
Got a little house in Brentwood.
- Are you sure? I
mean, I may be a while.
- Well, you'll get there
when you get there, okay?
- Assuming we're agreed
on formula, my client
is prepared to accept
a lump sum settlement
of $7.35 million plus
alimony of $40,000 a month
for a period of three years,
half the number of the
years of the marriage.
What is this?
- Corporate records
prepared by Nat Oppenheim,
an accountant hired by
the Lewis's to oversee
a personal holding
company known as
Denitra Loves Irv, Incorporated.
- Irving handled all that.
- Nevertheless, those
are your signatures
on those documents,
are they not?
- Yes. So?
- Directing your attention
to the column on the right,
you'll notice in the
years 1980 to 1986,
Mr. Lewis deposited
nearly $8.1 million dollars
into that corporation
effectively financing
every aspect of
his wife's career.
- A business investment.
- No, sir.
Loans personally guaranteed
by Mrs. Lewis due and payable
upon dissolution
of this marriage.
Additionally, you'll
see there a copy of
Mr. Lewis's recent
settlement with the IRS.
- Really, you can't expect
to ride roughshod over us
with this flimsy
bookkeeping trick.
In any event, these are
all community obligations.
- I strongly disagree, as
does our tax department.
The way we see it, Mrs.
Lewis owes Mr. Lewis
close to a million dollars.
- Well, we're
wasting our time here.
We'll see you in court.
- No!
- Attagirl!
The hell with the lawyers.
You come back, we'll
take a nice cruise.
- I'd rather kill myself.
- How do I deserve
this after all I did for you?
I gave you everything!
- You bought me everything,
the house, the car, the jewelry.
I couldn't go anywhere,
I couldn't do anything!
You had television
cameras installed
in every room of our house so
you could keep an eye on me!
- That was for security!
- That was to keep me prisoner.
- I'll take 'em down!
Denitra, give me another chance.
I can change.
- The only person
who can change is me
and I'm doing it.
- So that's it, huh?
You and the pretty boy?
You're gonna run off
into the sunset together?
- That's history.
I kicked him out.
All he wanted from me was money.
And all I wanted from him
was an excuse to get out
of a lousy marriage.
- Oh, some lousy marriage.
I gave her millions
to make her happy.
She treats me like dog poo!
Will someone please explain
to me why I still want her?
- Please don't
do this to yourself.
I don't want you.
- But you'll take
another $7.35 million
and $40,000 a month, huh?
- I don't want you
or your money!
- Hold on here.
- So be it! She gets nothing!
- Fine.
Draw up any kind
of paper you want,
and I'll sign it.
- I strongly advise
against this.
You don't know what
you're giving up here.
- I know what I'm giving up.
You don't know what I'm getting.
- Don't worry. Everything's
gonna be just fine.
- Sure. If I'm lucky, I'll
get a disease and die.
- Where's Michael
Kuzak's office?
Thank you.
- Excuse me?
- You're excused.
- Grace?
- I have one question.
What were you trying to prove?
That you could get back
at me by trying to humiliate
a decent, good man?
- Well, I had no idea
you were gonna be there.
And I wasn't trying
to humiliate anyone.
I just wanted to
meet my competition.
- There is no competition.
And for your information,
you haven't put
your finger on me.
And you will never
put your finger on me.
And you can keep your
damn fingers to yourself!
- Well, it was a
metaphorical finger.
- It was a metaphorical
finger, my butt!
What I ought to do is go into
your senior partner's office
and seek a formal admonishment
and if I have any
more trouble from you,
I will do exactly
that. Is that clear?
- Entirely.
- Fine.
- Hi, Gracie.
- Go to hell, Victor!
- Girl trouble?
Anything you wanna talk about?
- I hear you won
your pro bono case.
- Yeah. Look, let me
ask you something.
You ever had one of these cases
when you were
with the D.A.'s office?
- More than I care to remember.
This one time, I couldn't make
the case against the father.
The daughter who was being
molested wouldn't cooperate.
The wife was useless.
So since she was 16, we had
her declared an emancipated minor.
- My kid's too young.
- So, we got her
out of the house.
Then the father moves in
on the younger sister who,
six months later,
tries to commit suicide.
Nice, huh?
- How old was the sister?
- 10. Believe it?
- This is your little house?
- Yeah, well, you know.
It's not a lot of
rooms really. Yeah.
- It's stunning.
It's like something out
of House and Garden.
- Yeah. Oh, excuse me.
My clams are opening.
Oh, boy.
I hope you brought
your appetite.
- Stuart, this is amazing.
Are you a bank
robber on the side?
- Well, I have a
confession to make.
I'm rich.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Well, my grandfather was rich.
And then my father, he was rich.
And then I didn't hurt myself in
the real estate boom, you know.
And a little parsley
and we're eating.
You wanna grab the cheese?
To us.
- I thought I knew you.
It's like all this time,
you had a secret life.
- It's no secret.
I just never had anybody
I wanted to share it with.
Ann, perhaps I'm
being a little forward,
but would you consider
moving in with me?
- Can I just visit for now?
- Sure.
Would you like to see my shower?
- Actually, you know what
I would really love to do?
Do you dance, Stuart?
You wanna dance with me?
- I'm urging you to file
charges, Mrs. Simmons.
- That's crazy.
My husband's not a criminal.
- Your husband is sick!
He's destroying your
children, and you're letting him!
Now, please, I want to help you
but I can't unless
you file charges.
- I can't do that. I just can't.
- There's no one
else who can do it.
- Tracy could.
- Who is the wife
in this family?
You or your daughter?
Now you've lost one child by
turning your back on the truth.
How many more are
you willing to sacrifice?
- Stop!
- How can you live
with yourself knowing
that this man puts his
hands on your children?
He forces them
into adult sex acts!
- Please, please, just leave.
- He molested your daughter.
I wouldn't be surprised if he
did the same thing to your son.
What is to stop him from
turning on your youngest?
- My home phone
number's on the back.
I'm begging you, call me.
- You mis-cited
State versus Vogel.
- Really?
- We use state court citations,
not the Pacific Reporter.
- You wouldn't happen to
know that offhand, would you?
- Why don't you look it
up yourself, Mr. Sullivan?
- Right.
- How's our young man?
- Careless.
- Oh. Is there a problem?
- I'm not an eskimo, Leland.
- Excuse me?
- You can't just loan
me out to strangers.
- Shall we discuss this inside?
- I did some
checking in the files.
Mr. Sullivan's singularly
undistinguished resume
has been in our file for months
along with dozens of other
far more qualified applicants
who can't get through the door!
Face it. He's conned you.
- If so, we'll know soon enough.
- I know it now.
- What has set
you off like this?
- I have been sitting
out there taking orders
from this impertinent squirt!
One more lawyer
I have to break in.
One more kid with
a blazing future
who doesn't know
half the law I know!
And I begin to see
I've spent the better part
of my entire adult life
devoted to furthering
your aims and your career
at the expense of my own!
- Do you feel that you
deserve more money or...
- I deserve your attention!
I deserve answers to questions.
I deserve not to be made
to feel like some functionary,
like a stick of furniture.
Maybe I don't have the right
to your passion any longer.
But I insist on your respect.
- You have it and my gratitude.
But I think you'd be
well advised to start
living your own life, not mine.
- Maybe if you'd given me
this little speech 15 years ago,
I would have been able
to do something about it.
- If you're unhappy
with your life
and you're unwilling
to change it,
that's your fault, not mine.
- Always the consummate
lawyer, aren't you, Leland?
Always twisting facts so
they come out your way.
Well, what do you
advise me to do?
Join a circus? Go to law school?
- Why not?
- Because it's
late. I'm not a kid.
Besides, you couldn't
survive without me.
- Go to night school.
- It's that easy?
- No. Blaming others for
your frustration is easy.
Doing something
about it, that's hard.
- Mr. Hardball,
huh? Mr. Trust-Me?
Mr. Know It All? You
destroyed my marriage.
- I did what I thought
was in your best interests.
- If that's your best, you're
incompetent to practice law!
I'm firing the
whole bunch of you.
And I'm not gonna
sign this agreement.
I'm gonna make sure
she doesn't either.
- She already has.
- What?
- Mr. Lewis, couples don't
break up because of lawyers.
And they don't get back
together because of lawyers.
- Stop with the psychology!
I listened to you,
I lost a princess!
- All right.
I had occasion today to see
Denitra to get her signature.
Your princess is
hustling her cakes
at a strip joint off
Western Avenue.
- I ought to knock you
down for that, sonny!
- You got your car here?
- Yes.
- Come on. Let's go for a ride.
- Yeah?
Okay, I'm coming.
- I wanna do the right thing.
- Come on in. We'll
make a few calls.
It's gonna be all right.
- You boys ready
for some more drinks.
I said, you boys ready
for some more drinks.
- Bring it down here,
honey. I'm near-sighted.
- Get your hands
off her, you slob!
- What's your problem, pal?
- Come on! You
wanna piece of me?
- All right, that's enough!
- Get off that stage!
You look like a whore!
- Irv? Irv?
- It's what I told you
at the get-go, honey.
No boyfriend, no trouble.
- I know, Jerry.
- If I make an
exception for you,
then I gotta make
it for everybody.
Okay, sweetheart?
- Okay.
Why did you come here?
- Because I love you.
- I don't want you
to love me anymore.
I need to make it on my own.
- This is making it?
Letting guys grope you?
Touch you?
- It's my life. It
doesn't affect you.
- Okay, so you made your point.
Stop torturing me and come home!
I can change. I swear I'll try.
- I know you will, Irv.
And maybe even for
two or three weeks,
you'll do a pretty good job.
But you're 66 years old.
You're too old to
learn new tricks.
I need to find out who I am,
and I can't do it living
in your fantasy world.
- Denitra... I can't
live without you.
- You're gonna have to.
I love you, Irving.
Probably always will.
Please believe that.
But I can't live
with you anymore.
What are you doing?
- What does it look like, huh?
Here, take it.
- Irving, this is half
a million dollars.
- That's all right. Take it.
- You're still trying to buy me!
Haven't you heard
a thing I said?
- Now you listen, kiddo.
You think it's brave to
be on your own, huh?
Parading naked for garbage.
It's not brave. It's foolish.
You wanna be
somebody? Go to college.
- Irving, no more gifts.
- It's not a gift.
You've earned it for six
wonderful years of marriage.
- All right. Thank you.
- You be a good girl.
- I will.
- Don't you think you're
taking this pride thing
a little bit too far?
- I never had a
chance to be proud.
I kind of like it.
- You know, it's a lot tougher
out there than you realize.
- Except for my marriage,
I've worked every day
of my life since I
was 14 years old.
- You got a lot of guts.
- Look out for him, okay?
- Yeah.
- Coming!
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Uh, I know it's late,
but I couldn't sleep.
- Well, come on in.
- No, I can't.
I just wanted...
I wanted to apologize
for the other day.
- Excuse the mess.
- I... I acted immaturely.
- Well, guess I did too.
- Well, whatever our
differences may have been,
we're gonna cross paths
socially and professionally.
And I just don't want
this to be a source
of ongoing embarrassment.
- Um, nor do I.
- Truce?
- Yeah.
- No, don't, please.
I have to go.
- Well, there's the door.
- Stop.
Stop.
- You stop.
- I have to go.
- Stay.
- I can't.
- Stay.
- If I stay, I might
never leave.
- If the IRS determines
that Mrs. Lewis's
show business career
constituted a hobby
rather than a
legitimate business,
that's $2.8 million
plus penalty.
- When they see her new video,
they're gonna wind
up owing us money!
- She's gone!
Leland, she left me.
- Mr. Perkins is
enjoined from coming
within 100 yards of either
Mrs. Perkins or the minor,
Eric Perkins.
- Eric went home already.
- What do you
mean, he went home?
- His father picked him up.
- He can't. There's
a restraining order!
- Mr. Kuzak, I have three rules,
two of which being
I never date lawyers
and I never date
anyone I work with.
How did you get into my car?
- I worked my way through
law school as a car thief.
- You're getting pushy again.
- That's not pushy.
If I was to kiss you,
that would be pushy.
- Look, Stuart,
come home with me.
- It was the sexiest
night of my life.
- The truth is, I
don't remember.
- Often the problems we confront
in our pro bono cases
are not legally complex
but are nonetheless critical
to those experiencing them.
And the satisfaction
they will bring you
cannot be measured in dollars.
I would urge you never
to forget that, as lawyers,
we have an
historical responsibility
to represent the
needs of all the people,
not just those
who can afford us.
Whatever our aspirations,
I'm afraid my generation
cannot lay claim to having
been very good caretakers.
More people will
awaken this morning
in the state of
poverty and despair
than populated the planet
in the year I was born.
You are the
privileged of our youth
and our hopes reside
with you that you
will profit from our mistakes.
So that during your watch,
you will realize a fairer,
more just society.
God knows, there's
never been a greater need.
- Let's open the
floor to questions.
- You, sir?
- Mr. McKenzie, we
are aware that many of
the New York law
firms have raised
their starting associate salary
levels to $65,000 per annum.
And what I'd like to know
is, in your opinion, you feel
that the Los Angeles
firms will follow suit
in the near future.
And specifically, will
McKenzie, Brackman
move to increase their
starting salary levels
commensurately?
- Well, I assume we'll
offer something compatible
with what's being
offered elsewhere.
- Mr. McKenzie?
- The young lady in the front.
- In that vein,
what impact would
the new tax laws have on
such things as perk packages,
company cars and other forms
of non-salary compensation?
- Mr. McKenzie?
- Sir?
- Sir?
- Mr. McKenzie?
- Good morning, Mr. Brackman.
- Who are all those people, Liz?
- Oh, in answer to
your ad in The Times.
You're interviewing
housekeepers today?
- Ah. I'll see them all at once.
- Mr. Brackman?
Mr. Sifuentes says that
you have to spend at least
five minutes with each one
before you turn them down.
- Well, they can't wait
in reception all day.
Put them somewhere
out of the way.
- Where?
- You're a smart
woman. You figure it out.
- Where the hell is that
letter from Ralph Moorewood?
Oh.
Ugh! That's so strong!
I'll be jumpy all day.
And how many times have I
told you I don't like these cups!
The handles.
You can't... they're too small!
- Did we get out of bed on
the wrong side this morning?
- Oh, damn it, Iris.
I tried to communicate
a sense of responsibility,
a sense of pride in the law.
And all those little snots
could see were dollar signs.
- Well, I'd be most
grateful if you didn't vent
your fiscal outrage
on me, thank you.
- Miss Kelsey, could I
see you for a moment
in Mr. Chaney's office, please?
- What's up, Stuart?
- Please?
- If you don't give me
a wet one right now,
I'm gonna be
forced to use force.
- Stuart?
- Hmm?
- So I would argue, Your Honor,
this case should be dismissed.
There being no probable
cause for the police to stop
and question my
client in the first place.
- Defendant was
walking naked down
Hollywood Boulevard, Your Honor.
- Freedom of
expression, Your Honor.
First Amendment, backbone
of the personal freedoms
our Constitution holds so dear.
- Counsel's under
the misapprehension
it's his client's backbone
that's the particular bone
of contention here.
- There being sufficient and
probable cause to believe
a crime has been committed,
defendant will
be held to answer.
Trial is set in Department 137,
November 3 at 9:00 a.m.
Released O.R.
See that he keeps his pants on
until that time, Mr. Pomerantz.
- Hi.
- Don't they give you
enough work to do, Mr. Kuzak?
- As a matter of fact,
I'm unexpectedly free.
Would you care
to get some lunch?
- You don't take
no for an answer.
- Well, strictly speaking,
you haven't said no.
- No.
And, frankly, you are
pestering me beyond
the limits of good taste.
- I plead guilty to
one count with time off
for good behavior.
- Ah, the but the court
has yet to see evidence
of this good
behavior, Mr. Kuzak.
- If I have gone
too far, I apologize.
- I accept.
- Actually, I just wanted
you to know that this is
not some high school crush.
- I'm flattered. Thank you.
But I'd feel better
if you gave me
your assurance
that, from now on,
you will leave me alone.
- You got it. Absolutely.
- Thank you.
- I hope you'll be happy
with what's-his-name.
Oh.
- Thank you, Mickey.
- Mr. McKenzie?
Jeffrey Sullivan, sir.
I apologize for trying to see
you without an appointment.
I tried to get a few minutes
with you after your talk,
but you left in such a
hurry, I didn't get a chance.
- Well, I'm rather pressed
for time, Mr. Sullivan.
If this is an
application for a job,
you may leave your
resume with my secretary.
- No, I'm not here about a job.
And I don't want to take
up much of your time either.
I... I just wanted to tell
you how much I appreciated
what you had to
say to us yesterday.
I just wanted you to
know that not everybody
in law school just
cares about money.
I mean, if defending
the ruling class interests
is what it's all
about, I don't think
I wanna be a part of it.
I mean, if being a good
lawyer necessitates
having to competently argue
either side of the same case,
how do you do a good job
and still hold onto your values?
- I don't eat.
I got no pep for the business.
The doctors put me on sedatives.
- Divorce is a
dislocation, Mr. Lewis.
Like an injury, it
takes time to heal.
- You don't understand.
Without her, I can't
get up in the morning.
I wanna cancel this
settlement meeting.
- Let me give you
a couple of reasons
why that's not a good idea.
I had one of our
private detectives do
a check on your
wife's boyfriend.
His rap sheet.
We also found this.
A pawn ticket for a piece
of your wife's jewelry.
- She pawned the gold
Rolex with the diamonds?
You know what I paid for that?
- They're paying
their hotel expenses
on your credit card,
their room service.
- She's infatuated.
It'll burn itself out!
- Human nature is a pretty
tricky piece of machinery.
See, you think if you
treat her like a princess,
you hand over the cookie
jar, she'll be devoted to you.
But she's like a child.
She wants you to set limits.
- I don't know
anything about that.
All I know is I
want my wife back!
- And I want you
to have her back.
Look, you're older and you're
wiser than I am, Mr. Lewis.
But in this one area,
I do know my stuff.
You're gonna have to
shut down the gravy train.
- Otherwise, she's
got your money,
she's got the guy.
There's nothing to motivate her.
- So how do we do that?
- Well, briefly, Irving,
the reason we settled
with the IRS was to
characterize those moneys
you placed in service of
your wife's holding corporation
as personal loans.
Bottom line and depending
on which set of figures
they go with, if she
insists on divorcing you,
either you won't
owe her anything
or she's gonna owe you
nearly a million bucks.
- This is legal?
- Absolutely.
You just paid $1.8
million dollars to assure it.
- Scoundrels. This'll
get us back together?
- Believe me, Mr. Lewis,
we know what we're doing.
- Tomorrow?
- Day after, 2:00.
- Now I feel better.
- Oh, Iris, Mr. Sullivan
will be joining us a clerk.
He'll be working here
afternoons after school.
- How nice.
- He'll need paper,
pens, supplies.
Oh, a telephone.
Anything at all you need,
Iris will be happy to assist you.
- That'll be great.
- And after observing
the dead body
of Billy Simmons, age
18, did you have occasion
to arrest his sister, Tracy
Simmons, for the murder?
- Yes, I did.
- And then what happened?
- I read the defendant
her constitutional rights
at which time she
waived her rights
and told me she wanted to
talk to me without a lawyer.
- And did she make a statement?
- She said she killed her
brother with her father's gun.
- Thank you. No
further questions.
- Cross?
- Thank you.
Officer Castellano,
did Tracy tell you why
she killed her brother?
- Something about having
an argument with him.
- Did she mention
his trying to rape her?
- She said a lot of
things kind of rambling on.
It was hard to understand her.
- Isn't it true, officer,
that she said that
when her brother
tried to assault her,
she shot him in self-defense?
- No, not in those words.
- But that was the
gist of it, wasn't it?
- Yes.
- Thank you. No
further questions.
- People rest.
- Mr. Sifuentes, any defense?
- Yes. I'd like to call Tracy
Simmons to the stand.
And who was home
that night, Tracy?
- My mom and dad were out
and my baby sister was asleep.
- Where was your brother?
- He was out.
- What time did he come home?
11, 11:30.
- And then what happened?
- He, um, he came after me.
- How exactly?
- He, um, pushed me
down on the couch.
Then he, um, pulled
the zipper on my pants.
- What did you do?
- I tried to get him off me.
I told him I wasn't gonna
let him do it to me anymore.
- Then this had happened before?
- Yes.
- I know this is painful, Tracy.
But could you tell the judge
the first time it happened?
- About two years ago.
He came into my
room and he put a pillow
over my face to shut me up.
And he did it to me.
- Did what exactly, Tracy?
- Had, um... Had
sexual intercourse.
- Did it ever happen again?
- Yes.
- How often?
- At least once a week
until I decided no more.
- And what happened the
night you decided to say no?
- He started hitting me around.
Then he got on top of me.
He yanked me by my hair
and told me if I didn't
let him do it to me,
he'd beat me up real bad.
- What did you do then?
- I socked him as hard as
I could between the legs.
And I tried to get away.
He was real mad saying
what he was gonna do to me.
I ran to the closet and I
got my daddy's gun down.
I told him to get out
and I told him no more.
But he kept coming at me.
So I shot at him
and I kept shooting
until he stopped coming at me.
- Thank you, Tracy.
No further
questions at this time.
- Cross?
- Tracy, did you
ever tell anyone
about what your
brother was doing?
- No.
- You say that you and
your brother had sex
at least once a
week for two years
and you never told anyone?
- No.
- Well, why not?
Was it because you
liked what he was doing?
- Objection.
- Withdraw the question.
- Did you not bring it up
because it never
really happened?
- I tried to tell my mother,
but she didn't believe me.
- When did you tell your
mother that your brother
was having sex with you?
- I never exactly told her that.
- Well, I thought you
just said that you did.
- No, I said I tried.
- Did you tell your
mother about your brother?
Yes or no?
- No.
- Well, I'm confused, Tracy.
See, first you said
yes, now you say no.
Were you lying then
or are you lying now?
- Objection.
The question has been
asked and answered.
The D.A.'s
badgering the witness.
- Sustained.
- I have no further
questions, Your Honor.
- Defense rests, Your Honor.
- Kendall, what the hell
were you trying to do in there?
- In there? My job.
- Bullying a little girl who's
been raped and brutalized
by her 18-year-old brother
goes beyond the job profile.
- Mr. Sifuentes, you're so
intent on winning your case,
you're not even thinking
about what's truly
in your client's best interest.
- It's not juvenile hall.
- Well, it beats
the alternative.
- The alternative is
a reasonably stable
home environment.
- 18-year-old boys who
rape their little sisters
don't usually learn
their moves in a vacuum.
Now you send
that little girl home
and a month's salary
says she's only killed
half the problem.
- Bringing us to Farmer versus
Continental Systems Technology.
That's our leverage
buyout situation.
Miss Kelsey, have
you had a chance to dip
into those interrogatories
I left out for you?
- Douglas, you just dumped
15 tons of documents
on my desk a half an hour ago.
- Should she deign to
honor us with her presence
at some point,
Dragoon Ms. Perkins.
That's what she was hired for.
What's State versus Simmons?
- Oh, that's mine.
13-year-old girl
who'd been molested
by her brother, killed him.
- Pro bono?
- What's the problem, Doug?
You worried it's gonna
interfere with the green card
that I'm getting for
your housekeeper?
- Sleazy tabloid,
low-rent pro bono cases
may stimulate your viscera.
But let us not lose
sight of your commitment
to generating billable hours.
- Now that's enough.
I'm sick and tired of
this obsession with fees!
If Mr. Sifuentes or any
other attorney in this firm
sees fit to offer his or
her services and time
for the public good,
that's good enough for me!
Now move along.
- Before we adjourn, may
I point out that this firm's
consumption of 8 x 14 yellow
legal pads has increased
over the last six months
by a factor of 37%.
Whereas our work output
has increased a mere 8%.
The most benign
interpretation of this disparity
is that some or all of
us are wasting paper.
The most malignant is that
you're taking them home.
At $1.19 a unit, might I
suggest at the very least
that you use both sides.
We stand adjourned.
- Hi.
It's almost 12:30.
- I'm sorry.
I was going crazy
waiting for Angela Sipriano
to call me back.
So I tracked her
down at her office.
- Why don't you just
let her do her job?
- I just needed to check, okay?
I'm sorry.
- Douglas has given
us the Farmer buyout.
I've divided it up by
year. Start on '83, '84.
I'm gonna want them
back tomorrow morning.
- All of them?
- I can't do it alone.
- Ann, I'm going through
a very tough time.
- I understand.
If you need a week
off, two weeks, say so.
But don't tell me you'll
be here to do the job
and then not do it.
- Why are you being this way?
- Because I have to
be able to count on you.
You didn't show up yesterday.
You missed an important
meeting with Farmer
and you leave me
holding the bag.
- You don't have children
and you don't know
what I'm going through!
You think you can
drown out your problems
by working all the time!
- We are not talking about me.
- I am paralyzed.
It takes all my strength
just to get out of bed
in the morning!
It would be easier
if he were dead.
At least then I would know
and I could get on with it!
- Abby, you can
either let this thing
destroy your life or inform it.
The reality is, you may
get Eric back tomorrow.
You may not find
him for six months.
Or you may never see him again.
- I can't think in those terms.
- You don't have
any choice, Abby.
You just don't have any choice.
- When do you want these by?
- Tomorrow, first thing.
- I'll have them for you
tonight by the time I leave.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Can you give me a
minute with her, okay?
How are you, Tracy? You nervous?
- A little.
- It's gonna be fine.
Let me ask you something,
Tracy, about your father.
Did he try to have sex with you?
If he did, Tracy,
I can help you.
But you gotta trust me.
- What would happen to him?
- Well, we could get
him out of the house.
- We finally gonna
get a verdict today?
- On the facts presented,
I found the testimony
of the minor child
to be credible.
And along with physical
evidence of struggle,
I find that she acted
in self-defense.
Accordingly, the petition
will not be sustained.
Young lady, you may go home.
- Your Honor, a return
to the home at this time
could be highly destructive.
Studies have shown...
- Counselor, unfortunately,
I cannot decide a case
on the basis of studies,
probabilities and maybes.
However, if you have
any substantive evidence
of an unfit home environment,
I would encourage you to file
a petition at which time a
determination can be made.
Call the next case.
- Well, you won the battle.
Stay tuned for the war.
- Mr. Simmons, can I
talk to you for a second?
- What about?
- Come into my office.
- This gonna be about money?
- It's about you
and your daughter.
- Let me tell you something
about my daughter, okay?
She lies. She makes up stories.
- No, Mr. Simmons,
I'll tell you something.
If what I think is true,
and I'm pretty sure it is,
I'm not gonna
turn my back on it.
- Listen, mister,
nobody interferes
with how I raise
my family, nobody!
Now I'm walking out this door
and I'm taking her
home where she belongs.
You got a problem with that,
you go live in the
freakin' Soviet Union.
'Cause you got no
right threatening people
and breaking up their families.
We straight on that?
- Mr. Kuzak? Kevin Crenshaw.
- Hi.
- I'm sorry I'm late.
- No problem.
I appreciate your making time
for me on such short notice.
- I can't tell you how
pleased I am that
the Trial Lawyers Association
wants to give Grace Van Owen
a favorable evaluation.
- Oh, we've had our eye
on her for some time now.
- I brought you some additional
information on the candidate.
- I can keep these?
- Please.
- You know, I think I remember
hearing your name first
in connection with Skelley's
campaign for the Senate.
I was very impressed
with what you did there.
- Imagine how impressive
it'd had been if he'd won.
- Well, win or lose,
your campaigns
almost always
take the high road.
Frankly, I was surprised to
hear your name in connection
with a local judicial election.
- I have a personal
involvement with the candidate.
We're getting married
in three weeks.
- Congratulations.
- The truth is, marriage
aside, I wouldn't have taken
this on if I didn't feel that
she's uniquely qualified.
- Sorry I'm late.
- Speak of the
devil, the candidate.
Grace?
You're not gonna believe
that I didn't set this up.
But I didn't.
- Excuse me.
Kevin?
- Meet Michael Kuzak.
He's with the Trial
Lawyers Association.
- What a genuine pleasure it
is to meet you, Miss Van Owen.
I am a great admirer of yours.
- Mr. Kuzak?
- Can you join us?
- I really can't.
- Just for a minute?
- Uh, what's this about anyway?
- You.
The Trial Lawyers
Association is giving you
a favorable evaluation.
- Is that so?
- Well, your case
work is exemplary.
You have one of the
best conviction rates
in the D.A.'s office.
And you're given high
marks by your fellow attorneys
on both sides of the aisle.
In short, Miss Van
Owen, you have substance
without sacrificing style,
humor or compassion.
- That's lovely.
You have really put
your finger on this woman.
- Thank you.
I love eating my lunch at 4:00.
- Try thinking of it
as an early dinner.
- I'm gonna get a
soda. Do you want one?
- Hi.
I just wanna make sure
we're still on for tonight.
- I've still got so much
to get through here.
Maybe tonight's a bad idea.
- Well, come to my house.
You can come
right from the office
and I'll cook something up.
- I don't even know
where you live.
- Well, I'm gonna tell you.
Got a little house in Brentwood.
- Are you sure? I
mean, I may be a while.
- Well, you'll get there
when you get there, okay?
- Assuming we're agreed
on formula, my client
is prepared to accept
a lump sum settlement
of $7.35 million plus
alimony of $40,000 a month
for a period of three years,
half the number of the
years of the marriage.
What is this?
- Corporate records
prepared by Nat Oppenheim,
an accountant hired by
the Lewis's to oversee
a personal holding
company known as
Denitra Loves Irv, Incorporated.
- Irving handled all that.
- Nevertheless, those
are your signatures
on those documents,
are they not?
- Yes. So?
- Directing your attention
to the column on the right,
you'll notice in the
years 1980 to 1986,
Mr. Lewis deposited
nearly $8.1 million dollars
into that corporation
effectively financing
every aspect of
his wife's career.
- A business investment.
- No, sir.
Loans personally guaranteed
by Mrs. Lewis due and payable
upon dissolution
of this marriage.
Additionally, you'll
see there a copy of
Mr. Lewis's recent
settlement with the IRS.
- Really, you can't expect
to ride roughshod over us
with this flimsy
bookkeeping trick.
In any event, these are
all community obligations.
- I strongly disagree, as
does our tax department.
The way we see it, Mrs.
Lewis owes Mr. Lewis
close to a million dollars.
- Well, we're
wasting our time here.
We'll see you in court.
- No!
- Attagirl!
The hell with the lawyers.
You come back, we'll
take a nice cruise.
- I'd rather kill myself.
- How do I deserve
this after all I did for you?
I gave you everything!
- You bought me everything,
the house, the car, the jewelry.
I couldn't go anywhere,
I couldn't do anything!
You had television
cameras installed
in every room of our house so
you could keep an eye on me!
- That was for security!
- That was to keep me prisoner.
- I'll take 'em down!
Denitra, give me another chance.
I can change.
- The only person
who can change is me
and I'm doing it.
- So that's it, huh?
You and the pretty boy?
You're gonna run off
into the sunset together?
- That's history.
I kicked him out.
All he wanted from me was money.
And all I wanted from him
was an excuse to get out
of a lousy marriage.
- Oh, some lousy marriage.
I gave her millions
to make her happy.
She treats me like dog poo!
Will someone please explain
to me why I still want her?
- Please don't
do this to yourself.
I don't want you.
- But you'll take
another $7.35 million
and $40,000 a month, huh?
- I don't want you
or your money!
- Hold on here.
- So be it! She gets nothing!
- Fine.
Draw up any kind
of paper you want,
and I'll sign it.
- I strongly advise
against this.
You don't know what
you're giving up here.
- I know what I'm giving up.
You don't know what I'm getting.
- Don't worry. Everything's
gonna be just fine.
- Sure. If I'm lucky, I'll
get a disease and die.
- Where's Michael
Kuzak's office?
Thank you.
- Excuse me?
- You're excused.
- Grace?
- I have one question.
What were you trying to prove?
That you could get back
at me by trying to humiliate
a decent, good man?
- Well, I had no idea
you were gonna be there.
And I wasn't trying
to humiliate anyone.
I just wanted to
meet my competition.
- There is no competition.
And for your information,
you haven't put
your finger on me.
And you will never
put your finger on me.
And you can keep your
damn fingers to yourself!
- Well, it was a
metaphorical finger.
- It was a metaphorical
finger, my butt!
What I ought to do is go into
your senior partner's office
and seek a formal admonishment
and if I have any
more trouble from you,
I will do exactly
that. Is that clear?
- Entirely.
- Fine.
- Hi, Gracie.
- Go to hell, Victor!
- Girl trouble?
Anything you wanna talk about?
- I hear you won
your pro bono case.
- Yeah. Look, let me
ask you something.
You ever had one of these cases
when you were
with the D.A.'s office?
- More than I care to remember.
This one time, I couldn't make
the case against the father.
The daughter who was being
molested wouldn't cooperate.
The wife was useless.
So since she was 16, we had
her declared an emancipated minor.
- My kid's too young.
- So, we got her
out of the house.
Then the father moves in
on the younger sister who,
six months later,
tries to commit suicide.
Nice, huh?
- How old was the sister?
- 10. Believe it?
- This is your little house?
- Yeah, well, you know.
It's not a lot of
rooms really. Yeah.
- It's stunning.
It's like something out
of House and Garden.
- Yeah. Oh, excuse me.
My clams are opening.
Oh, boy.
I hope you brought
your appetite.
- Stuart, this is amazing.
Are you a bank
robber on the side?
- Well, I have a
confession to make.
I'm rich.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Well, my grandfather was rich.
And then my father, he was rich.
And then I didn't hurt myself in
the real estate boom, you know.
And a little parsley
and we're eating.
You wanna grab the cheese?
To us.
- I thought I knew you.
It's like all this time,
you had a secret life.
- It's no secret.
I just never had anybody
I wanted to share it with.
Ann, perhaps I'm
being a little forward,
but would you consider
moving in with me?
- Can I just visit for now?
- Sure.
Would you like to see my shower?
- Actually, you know what
I would really love to do?
Do you dance, Stuart?
You wanna dance with me?
- I'm urging you to file
charges, Mrs. Simmons.
- That's crazy.
My husband's not a criminal.
- Your husband is sick!
He's destroying your
children, and you're letting him!
Now, please, I want to help you
but I can't unless
you file charges.
- I can't do that. I just can't.
- There's no one
else who can do it.
- Tracy could.
- Who is the wife
in this family?
You or your daughter?
Now you've lost one child by
turning your back on the truth.
How many more are
you willing to sacrifice?
- Stop!
- How can you live
with yourself knowing
that this man puts his
hands on your children?
He forces them
into adult sex acts!
- Please, please, just leave.
- He molested your daughter.
I wouldn't be surprised if he
did the same thing to your son.
What is to stop him from
turning on your youngest?
- My home phone
number's on the back.
I'm begging you, call me.
- You mis-cited
State versus Vogel.
- Really?
- We use state court citations,
not the Pacific Reporter.
- You wouldn't happen to
know that offhand, would you?
- Why don't you look it
up yourself, Mr. Sullivan?
- Right.
- How's our young man?
- Careless.
- Oh. Is there a problem?
- I'm not an eskimo, Leland.
- Excuse me?
- You can't just loan
me out to strangers.
- Shall we discuss this inside?
- I did some
checking in the files.
Mr. Sullivan's singularly
undistinguished resume
has been in our file for months
along with dozens of other
far more qualified applicants
who can't get through the door!
Face it. He's conned you.
- If so, we'll know soon enough.
- I know it now.
- What has set
you off like this?
- I have been sitting
out there taking orders
from this impertinent squirt!
One more lawyer
I have to break in.
One more kid with
a blazing future
who doesn't know
half the law I know!
And I begin to see
I've spent the better part
of my entire adult life
devoted to furthering
your aims and your career
at the expense of my own!
- Do you feel that you
deserve more money or...
- I deserve your attention!
I deserve answers to questions.
I deserve not to be made
to feel like some functionary,
like a stick of furniture.
Maybe I don't have the right
to your passion any longer.
But I insist on your respect.
- You have it and my gratitude.
But I think you'd be
well advised to start
living your own life, not mine.
- Maybe if you'd given me
this little speech 15 years ago,
I would have been able
to do something about it.
- If you're unhappy
with your life
and you're unwilling
to change it,
that's your fault, not mine.
- Always the consummate
lawyer, aren't you, Leland?
Always twisting facts so
they come out your way.
Well, what do you
advise me to do?
Join a circus? Go to law school?
- Why not?
- Because it's
late. I'm not a kid.
Besides, you couldn't
survive without me.
- Go to night school.
- It's that easy?
- No. Blaming others for
your frustration is easy.
Doing something
about it, that's hard.
- Mr. Hardball,
huh? Mr. Trust-Me?
Mr. Know It All? You
destroyed my marriage.
- I did what I thought
was in your best interests.
- If that's your best, you're
incompetent to practice law!
I'm firing the
whole bunch of you.
And I'm not gonna
sign this agreement.
I'm gonna make sure
she doesn't either.
- She already has.
- What?
- Mr. Lewis, couples don't
break up because of lawyers.
And they don't get back
together because of lawyers.
- Stop with the psychology!
I listened to you,
I lost a princess!
- All right.
I had occasion today to see
Denitra to get her signature.
Your princess is
hustling her cakes
at a strip joint off
Western Avenue.
- I ought to knock you
down for that, sonny!
- You got your car here?
- Yes.
- Come on. Let's go for a ride.
- Yeah?
Okay, I'm coming.
- I wanna do the right thing.
- Come on in. We'll
make a few calls.
It's gonna be all right.
- You boys ready
for some more drinks.
I said, you boys ready
for some more drinks.
- Bring it down here,
honey. I'm near-sighted.
- Get your hands
off her, you slob!
- What's your problem, pal?
- Come on! You
wanna piece of me?
- All right, that's enough!
- Get off that stage!
You look like a whore!
- Irv? Irv?
- It's what I told you
at the get-go, honey.
No boyfriend, no trouble.
- I know, Jerry.
- If I make an
exception for you,
then I gotta make
it for everybody.
Okay, sweetheart?
- Okay.
Why did you come here?
- Because I love you.
- I don't want you
to love me anymore.
I need to make it on my own.
- This is making it?
Letting guys grope you?
Touch you?
- It's my life. It
doesn't affect you.
- Okay, so you made your point.
Stop torturing me and come home!
I can change. I swear I'll try.
- I know you will, Irv.
And maybe even for
two or three weeks,
you'll do a pretty good job.
But you're 66 years old.
You're too old to
learn new tricks.
I need to find out who I am,
and I can't do it living
in your fantasy world.
- Denitra... I can't
live without you.
- You're gonna have to.
I love you, Irving.
Probably always will.
Please believe that.
But I can't live
with you anymore.
What are you doing?
- What does it look like, huh?
Here, take it.
- Irving, this is half
a million dollars.
- That's all right. Take it.
- You're still trying to buy me!
Haven't you heard
a thing I said?
- Now you listen, kiddo.
You think it's brave to
be on your own, huh?
Parading naked for garbage.
It's not brave. It's foolish.
You wanna be
somebody? Go to college.
- Irving, no more gifts.
- It's not a gift.
You've earned it for six
wonderful years of marriage.
- All right. Thank you.
- You be a good girl.
- I will.
- Don't you think you're
taking this pride thing
a little bit too far?
- I never had a
chance to be proud.
I kind of like it.
- You know, it's a lot tougher
out there than you realize.
- Except for my marriage,
I've worked every day
of my life since I
was 14 years old.
- You got a lot of guts.
- Look out for him, okay?
- Yeah.
- Coming!
- Hello.
- Hi.
- Uh, I know it's late,
but I couldn't sleep.
- Well, come on in.
- No, I can't.
I just wanted...
I wanted to apologize
for the other day.
- Excuse the mess.
- I... I acted immaturely.
- Well, guess I did too.
- Well, whatever our
differences may have been,
we're gonna cross paths
socially and professionally.
And I just don't want
this to be a source
of ongoing embarrassment.
- Um, nor do I.
- Truce?
- Yeah.
- No, don't, please.
I have to go.
- Well, there's the door.
- Stop.
Stop.
- You stop.
- I have to go.
- Stay.
- I can't.
- Stay.
- If I stay, I might
never leave.