The Practice (1997–2004): Season 3, Episode 15 - Lawyers, Reporters and Cockroaches - full transcript

WOMAN: Previously
on "The Practice"...

- We'd be looking for you
to handle litigation

in Massachusetts,
state and federal.

Your firm, particularly you,
come highly recommended.

- Well, that's nice to hear.

- My recommendation is that

we don't take this client
at all.

- Excuse me?

- Ellenor,
it's asbestos defense work.

I mean, this company
killed a lot of innocent people.

I'm not crazy about--



- The only difference
between them

and half our other clients

is that this one
didn't intend to kill anybody,

and they're willing
to pay us 20 times

the amount to defend them.

- I decide tiebreakers.

We reject the client.

REBECCA:
You getting two votes, okay,

but you also getting
to be tiebreaker?

- It's in the partnership
agreement, Rebecca.

- Maybe so, but this alliance
with Lindsay is--

- Lindsay's free to vote
her way, and I'll vote my mine.

- This new client is exactly
our ticket to admission

to the other world
that you want,



and by you voting
to turn it down tells me

that you are either more
concerned with your own success

than that of the firm's
or you are suddenly

under the influence
of Bobby's bedcovers.

- I understand
your disappointment

in our not taking your new
client, but to accuse Lindsay--

- Oh, what?
She go running to her boyfriend?

- I'm entitled
to some respect from you.

Not just because
I'm senior partner

but because I think
I've earned it.

- I'm sorry.

- This should be
a two-day trial tops.

- Two days?

- We're putting up
two witnesses.

They're calling one.

We'll be going to a jury
by the end of the week.

- Listen, closing arguments.
I think I should do it.

- Why?

- Well,
you're doing the witnesses,

and I'll have more time to--

- That's not what you meant.

- Sorry?

- No, you said you should do it,
like you'd be better.

Not like you'd have
more time to prepare.

- No, I didn't mean it
like that.

- Yes, you did.
- No, I didn't.

- Lindsay,
I know your little inflections.

I know when you said
that you meant

you'd be more qualified
to do the closing.

Now, you can either
tell me why you think

you're more qualified or not,

and if you don't,

I have to take that as a lie.

Are you a liar?

- That was really good.

You're just
such a clever lawyer.

So good, it's just hard
to imagine that I can believe

that I'm more qualified
to do the closing,

but I am.

- You know, maybe it's...

not smart
to try cases together.

- Maybe not.

[clanking]

- Oh, please.

[funky music]

♪ ♪

- He's Swedish, blond,

doesn't speak a word of English,

and he is gonna deep tissue
my thigh till I--

- Don't rub it in, Helen.

- You can still come with.

Facial following the massage,
seaweed wrap.

- I'm in trial.
You know I'm in trial.

- Settle it.

- Sorry,
there's a little more involved

than somebody's dead pet.

- Supposedly this guy
gives a standing massage too.

You move with it.

- Funny,
I get that rub from Bobby.

- Funny.

- They tell me it's
because of our popularity,

because of the cuisine,

because everybody in the city
wants to eat there.

That was the nature
of the piece,

and that's why I gave them
full access to do the piece.

- And what happened?

- Instead of doing
a positive feature

as they promised,

they ambushed me
with this big story

on bugs.

BOBBY: Bugs?

JACOBS: Bugs in the kitchen,
bugs on the floor.

They condemned
my restaurant as unsanitary.

It's the lead story on the news.

My restaurant is closed.

My reputation is destroyed
by those liars.

- Objection.
- Sustained.

- Mr. Jacobs,
had they not represented to you

that this would be
a positive news story,

would you have granted
the interview

and let the cameras in?

- Of course not.

Their ticket
to admission was a lie.

- Thank you.

- Do you deny
that they discovered bugs?

- Any restaurant has bugs.

You got food, you get bugs.

It's not like we serve them.

WEILAND: And if I'm a patron
sitting in your restaurant

and I ask if you have bugs,

is that the answer you'd give?

- I haven't been asked
that question in 20 years,

and if you were
in my restaurant, sir,

you wouldn't ask it.

You'd only be thinking
of how good the food is.

- You could be more humble,
for God's sakes.

- It would be false.
Humility isn't something I do.

- Once in 20 years,
you could try it.

JACOBS: Oh, don't talk
to me like that, Pamela.

- This is our life's work.
- Look, she's right, Dad.

If the jury doesn't find you
sympathetic--

- Don't you talk to me either.
This is my--

[all yelling at once]

- All right, quiet!

Listen to your wife, Mr. Jacobs.

We need those jurors
to feel sorry for you.

- No, no.
I don't want pity for me.

I want anger against
that news station.

- They're not gonna
punish the news station

if you behave like an ass.

- He doesn't mean to...

This restaurant means
everything to our family.

- I know.

I know.

- I got a B&E.

It's gonna go fast.
You want it?

- You mean can you
dump it on me?

- Rebecca, it is a trial.

There are six-year associates
across the street

still waiting
for their first jury trial.

Do you have any idea--

- I can hear the sweet song
of the Lujack.

- It'll be good experience.

- I have to finish
this payroll crap,

which I was supposed to finish
by the first of the year,

which I would have finished
but for a few Lujacks

dumped on me
with the best of intentions.

- Doesn't Lucy take care
of all this stuff now?

- Do we really want Lucy
to know how much we all make?

LUCY: I heard that.

- Well, how much money
do we all make?

I'm a partner.

I get access to the books now,
remember?

- I have to run that by Bobby.

- Rebecca, I'm a partner.

Of course I can see what people
are making in my partnership.

REBECCA: Okay.

That's salary
plus partnership draw.

Doesn't include benefits
or insurance.

- Is that right?

- Yeah, why?

- Lindsay makes twice my salary?

- Well, Ellenor,
she brings in a lot of business.

Her percentage--
- Twice?

- Ellenor, she makes almost
as much as Bobby.

You should know that--

- Where's Bobby?
- He's in trial.

- With Lindsay.
- Ah.

EUGENE: What's the matter?

- Nothing.

- I don't believe you.

- It'll have
to wait till tomorrow.

I'm off to enter a plea,
then I'm having a spa day.

Yeah, lucky me.
My first day off in a year.

All right, bye.

Hello.

- Miss Gamble?

I'm Sylvie Tyler.

It was my cat who was killed.

- Oh, I'm terribly sorry.

Please.

- I was curious.

You don't plan
to call me a witness?

- Well,
there's not going to be a trial.

The defendant's pleading guilty.

- I see.

So he'll go to jail?

- No, he'll probably
be put on probation.

- What does that mean?

- That...

he'll be on probation,
probably for a year.

- So nothing will happen to him?

I don't mean to sound
like a doddering old loon,

Miss Gamble,

but I was widowed 13 years ago.

For the past 11 years,

Candy--

that was her name,

Candy--

she's been my dearest friend.

The boy knew that.

He was a neighbor.

He knew what...

It's not so bad

to murder somebody's cat?

- I have a massage.

- Instead of balsamic vinegar
and paprika,

we found these little guys.

Or I should say these big guys,

and they were everywhere.

Wondering what gives
the clam chowder

that little extra tang?

Well, it just
might be his sister.

- After this aired,
business went down?

- It died.

Our gross went
from 70,000 a week to 23.

After two months,
we had to close our doors.

BOBBY: Had you made
any other changes?

The menu?
The chef?

Anything else
that could possibly account

for your sudden plunge
in popularity?

- There were no changes
in personnel or substance.

It was that broadcast.

It destroyed us.

- You are the manager?

- I am.

- As well as the son
of the chef?

- It's a family business.

- Yes,

and you don't actually deny

the allegations contained
in that broadcast, do you?

- I certainly dispute the charge

that our corn chowder gets
its flavor from a cockroach.

- But the substance
of that broadcast

was that the place
was bug-infested,

and neither you nor your
father take issue with that,

and here you are suing
a news company--

BOTH: Objection.
- Argumentative.

- Sustained.

- Was my client guilty

of any factual inaccuracies,
to your knowledge?

- They were guilty of lying
to us about the nature of--

- In the broadcast
that we just saw on the monitor,

were there any factual
inaccuracies, to your knowledge?

- The statements
were exaggerated.

- Why didn't you sue
for defamation?

BOTH: Objection.

- Your lawyers told you you had

no case for libel or defamation.

BOTH: Objection.
- Sustained.

- You are not here today
disputing the truth

of my client's broadcast,
are you, sir?

- No.

- Thank you.
That's all.

JUDGE: Counsel?

- The plaintiffs rest,
Your Honor.

- The witness may step down.

- Your Honor, at this time,
we move for a directed verdict

in favor of the defendant.

- I'll hear arguments
after lunch.

Adjourned.

- What's going on?
What is this directed verdict?

- They're basically arguing
that we haven't made a case

and they shouldn't even
be forced to put on a defense.

- We haven't made a case?

- We've got some
First Amendment problems.

- Which Lindsay will address.

I don't expect this
to set us back,

but we only have an hour,
so we need to prepare,

and we'll meet you
right back here.

Come on.
- I'll address it? Me?

- Well, you're
the constitutional expert.

- I'm also second chair.

- Just think of it
as a closing, all right?

- Oh. Oh, funny, Bobby.

- Oh, never mind.

- I want time.

- Excuse me?
- I'll give you a year.

Six months suspended,
six served.

- Ha, ha, ha.
- Best offer, Billy.

- Best offer?

Last night, we had a deal.

You were gonna spend
the day in seaweed.

- I changed my mind.
- Helen, it was a cat.

- I met the owner.

When I said probation,

I had trouble
looking her in the eye.

- I'm giving you a guilty.

At trial, you could lose,
and then you'll really--

- Billy.
Six months served or no deal.

- He starts college in the fall.

I'm not about
to agree to six months.

- Then we go to trial.

- It was a cat!

- 242,000?

- Am I overreacting?

I mean,
I know she brings in business,

but to be making twice
what we do?

- Well, the partnership
agreement is pretty clear.

The formula is--

- Yes, the formula favors
who brings in the business,

but when we vote
on new business

and Lindsay getting one vote

and Bobby getting two
plus the tiebreaker,

with only three other
voting partners,

the two of them control--

- Ellenor.
- They sleep together, Eugene.

Who are we kidding?
She makes twice what we make!

- You forget
that we became partners

because of her power play.

It went to our benefit,
and then--

- You're forgetting
that it was a power play.

Look at these numbers.

Numbers are numbers.

They are not subject
to interpretation.

- I am not comfortable
having this conversation.

- Why?

- I did not show you
those salaries

to start up some revolt.

- It's not a revolt.
We have an issue here.

Are we all gonna just ignore it?

- Look, Ellenor,
I don't like making

half of what she earns either,

but the idea that there's
some evil conspiracy going on?

- I'm not saying that. I'm--
- Yes, you are.

That's why we're having
a secret meeting.

- It's not secret, Rebecca.

- Okay, fine.
Then where's Bobby?

Where's Lindsay?
- In trial.

- Well, then
why can't we wait till then?

I mean, if you have a problem
with somebody, go face-to-face.

I don't like the smell
of this meeting,

and I'm no longer in it.

- She's gonna back Bobby
no matter what.

- I'm backing him too,
at least until I speak to him.

As for Lindsay,
you're making her

into something
that she isn't.

- She's good.

Am I making her into that?

- Nothing
in the broadcast was untrue.

- This isn't a libel case.
It's fraud.

The truth of the broadcast
isn't the issue.

It's the truth of the promise

that got them access
to the rest--

- You cannot decide
whether that promise was broken

without first evaluating
the content of the broadcast.

This is a complete end around
the First Amendment.

- This has nothing to do
with the First Amendment.

- Have you read
the Bill of Rights lately?

- Yes, and I've also
read the Food Lion case,

and ABC made the same
"freedom of the press,

flag-waving" defense.

It didn't work there,
and it's not gonna work here

because the issue here is fraud.

Did the defendant commit fraud
against the plaintiff?

Did the plaintiff
sustain injuries

as a result of the fraud?

The answers
to both questions is yes.

JUDGE: Come on, Counsel.

Whichever way you phrase it,
you are suing a news station

over the content of a broadcast.

- The conduct
for the basis of the suit

is the misrepresentation--
JUDGE: Yes, yes.

You continue to frame
the issue very nicely,

but the net result is the same.

A news station is being sued
for undercover reporting.

- They can do undercover work,

but they just can't commit fraud
against somebody when they're--

JUDGE: And suppose they snuck
in uninvited

and filmed the cockroaches.

Then you'd sue for trespass

and claim a harm
from trespassing.

Nothing to do
with the First Amendment, right?

- These are good questions
from an appellate court judge,

but you're a trial court judge.

The only question
you should be asking

is, have we set forth facts
to support our claim,

and under existing law,
under Food Lion, we have.

- First of all,
this is not Food Lion.

Here, we have an assault
on the freedom of the press,

not to mention
the integrity of journalism.

- Gee, I'd hate to attack
the integrity of journalism.

Your client should've
saluted those cockroaches

out of professional courtesy.

- Oh, you're very clever.

JUDGE: All right, all right.

Look, I'm not gonna
pretend I like this case,

but for now,
I'll let it continue.

Let's bring in the jury.

Mr. Weiland,
you may begin your defense.

- Ready for trial?
- Yes, Your Honor.

- This is the dead animal case?
- Yes.

- I thought
there was gonna be a plea.

- We couldn't come
to an agreement

on sentencing, Your Honor.

- She wants time.

- What do you mean,
she wants time?

- She wants time.
- Time served?

- Yes, for extreme abuse
towards a domestic animal.

Yes, Your Honor,
I believe time is warranted.

- Serious?
- Serious.

- Huh. All right.

Let's impanel--

- Your Honor, the defense

is still willing
to plead guilty,

so we can go right
to sentencing now.

- Excellent.
- Wait a second.

I'd like a trial.
- What?

- I'd like to go forward
with the trial.

JUDGE: Forgive me, Counsel,

I skipped my ginkgo
this morning.

I've got a defendant
wanting to plead guilty

and a prosecutor
demanding a trial?

What the hell is going on?

- He wants to proceed
to sentencing

because he detects
a predisposition on your part

not to give time.

I sense the same predisposition.

I'm confident after you hear
eyewitness testimony

of what actually happened,

that predisposition will change.

- Oh, you want to enflame me?

- I want you to get
a true picture.

JUDGE: I get the picture.

The defendant killed a cat.

If he's pleading guilty,

we're not going
through the charade

of a trial for color commentary.

A guilty finding is entered.

- I'd like
to be heard on sentencing

before you rule, Your Honor.

- One hour.
We're back in.

Blast it.

- My intent was to do
a positive piece.

That is not something
that I was just saying.

- But at some point,
you obviously changed the focus.

- That point came
when we discovered

how unsanitary the kitchen was.

This was a revered
North End family restaurant,

the chef was practically
an icon,

and that's the story
we wanted to tell,

but when I saw
how filthy it was back there,

it became a bigger story

and a more important one

for people to hear given
the health issues.

- But to be clear,

after you were given permission
to come in and film,

your intent was
to do the positive story?

- Yes.

BOBBY: You never would've lied
to get access?

- No.

- When you decided
to switch the focus

to attack the restaurant
on sanitary grounds,

did you tell anybody
at the restaurant?

- No.

- You just continued to film.
- Yes.

- Were you being honorable

when you changed the focus
and didn't tell my client

you were now
out to trash his restaurant?

- I'm a news reporter,
Mr. Donnell.

- You're a news reporter.

Does that mean
you were being honorable?

Or is that the justification
for being dishonorable?

WEILAND: Objection.
- Overruled.

- At the time
you changed your focus,

why didn't you tell my client?

- He would've thrown us out.

BOBBY: You didn't want him
to know the truth.

- At that point, no.

- Do you know whether or not
my client's restaurant

received any code violations?

- To my knowledge,
they have not.

- Did you mention that
in your broadcast?

- Just because a restaurant
hasn't been cited doesn't mean--

- The question before you is,

did you report
in your broadcast

that my client's restaurant

has never been cited
for sanitary code violation?

- We did not report that.

- Mr. Sawyer,
what did you think

would happen
to my client's restaurant

after you aired this piece?

- I knew it would be
detrimental.

- You knew it would be
detrimental?

Did you consider that
it might destroy his business?

- Of course.

I had to consider that.

- So you knew
you were being deceptive,

and you knew they'd get hurt
by relying on your deception.

That's pretty much it.
Right, Mr. Sawyer?

- Exposé reporting is a
tough business, Mr. Donnell.

- Yeah.

Tougher on some than others,
I guess.

- Basically, I'll just ask you
to talk about the loss you feel.

You can do it in a narrative,

but I think I can make it
more effective with a Q&A.

- Okay.

- And then with the witness,
Mr. Patterson,

I'll ask him to describe
how he saw the cat killed.

- Okay.

- You might want to leave
the room for that part.

- This judge...

he doesn't seem to care much.

- You have to realize
these judges deal with

rapists and murderers
on a daily basis.

- She was ruining the fabric.

Some of my friends said,

"Get her declawed."

I couldn't do it.

I thought, "What if
she gets chased by a dog

and wants to defend herself?"

I never thought to protect her
against teenagers.

- How you doing, Jimmy?

- Not bad.

How's things with you?

- Good.

- Good.

- Listen.

I think the time is right
to bring you up for partner.

Bobby said to wait a year.

It's been a year,
and with your big win

over Tommy Silva--

You know,
timing's everything, they say.

So I just wanted you to know
I fully support it.

- Thank you, Ellenor.

- Sure.

- I think you did some damage.
- I hope.

- So I'll close, right?
- Why?

- Because I've been
preparing it.

I thought we discussed that.

- You keep dodging my question.

Why do you think that
you're better at closing

than I am?

- Look, can't we just skip that?

- No, I'd really
like to know.

- Okay.

Okay, your strength when
it comes to closings is passion.

You know, my strength is more
like clinical persuasion.

- And?

- And standing up and banging
the righteous sympathy drum

isn't gonna sell the jury.

I mean, I saw all those bugs.
I mean, there's--

- I don't bang
the sympathy drum, Lindsay.

I mean, that's not my style.

- I meant that as a compliment.
It's very persuasive.

- That's a compliment?
Banging the sympathy drum?

- Why are you so sensitive?

- No, because, you know,
you make me sound

like I'm Johnnie Cochran
or something.

- Johnnie Cochran's
a good lawyer.

- If you like pulpit-thumping
closings.

I don't do that.

- All I'm saying
or trying to say

is, neutral legal reasoning
works best here.

- You mean dry?

- Excuse me?
- Nothing.

- You think I'm dry?
- No, I don't.

- My closings are not dry.

- Lindsay,
you're a great lawyer,

but Clarence Darrow you're not.

- Oh, and you are?

- No, the jury is bored

by the time summations
roll around.

If you don't stir things up--

- Bored? It's a one-day trial.

- I'm talking in general.
- I'm talking here.

If you go in there and rant
out of anger or outrage,

we'll lose.

A velvet glove is better here,
damn it, and I am not dry.

- Is this the velvet glove
I'm hearing?

- Oh, shut up.
- Fine, you do the closing.

- Fine.

What are you doing?

- Well, I was about to knock.

I never know what I'm
gonna interrupt.

- What's up, Ellenor?

- There are some
partnership issues.

I'd like to talk,
maybe after this trial

is over or whenever
you come up for air.

- What's that supposed to mean?

- Nothing.

- I think she needs
a big vacation, Bobby.

With three votes,
we can give her one.

- This is a sentencing hearing.

- And you can call witnesses
at a sentencing hearing.

- This is a cheap stunt

to exploit your sympathy,
Your Honor, and I--

- I object
to the insulting accusation

that you would be
manipulated by a witness.

A judge should get
a little more credit than that.

- Thank you for your support,
Counsel.

I'm touched.

- I won't take up much
of the Court's time.

- I'll hear from one person
only, the owner of the pet

or the eyewitness, your pick.

- If I promise
to be brief with both?

- One witness only.

- I call Chris Patterson.

- I was in the middle lane.

I was probably
traveling around 60

when this green
station wagon passed me.

- Did you see who was inside?
- Not then.

When the car pulled
into my lane in front of me,

it looked like three kids,
high school age about.

I never really saw their faces.

- Could you tell us
what happened next?

- The driver
reached out his side window

holding something.

I thought it was
a stuffed animal.

It was orange-colored.

Then I saw its legs moving.

I could tell it was alive.

I thought, "What's going on?"

Then after five or ten seconds,

he let it go,

and it hit my windshield,

and it stuck there
for a few seconds.

- Could you tell
what it was then?

- Yes. It was a cat.

- What happened then, sir?

- Well, I swerved.

My windshield was broken.

I managed to get it into
the breakdown lane and stop.

I got out of my car,

and it was still kind of
plastered to my windshield.

- What was?
- The cat.

- What happened next, sir?
- I called the police.

I gave them
a description of the car

plus the first three numbers
of the license,

and then I...

I removed the remains
from my car.

- Hey, Jimmy.
- Ellenor.

- Did you give any thought
to what I said before?

- Actually, I've done nothing
but think about it.

Mainly my thought is,
to what do I owe

this lightning bolt
of good will?

- Sorry?

- A sixth partner would tip

that little power scale,
wouldn't it?

The Bobby-Lindsay block
would no longer control,

and you being my champion,

I'd have these pulls
of loyalty, wouldn't I?

- It isn't about that.

- Really?

Timing really
is everything, I guess.

- You know what, Jimmy?
Forget it.

And forgive me
for looking out for you.

- I don't want to be partner
here, Ellenor.

Too much politics for me.

- When I got my first apartment,

I had cockroaches all over.

Gross.

I hate cockroaches.

Don't we all?

I mean, who here
would go into a restaurant

if they were told

the kitchen was infested
with those gross bugs?

It was a no-brainer.

That broadcast would put
my client's restaurant under.

They knew it.

They aired it anyway,

freedom of the press.

They had a duty,
they might argue.

"Warn the public."

But this case,
it's not about free speech.

It's about fraud.

They made a promise.
They breached that promise.

As a result of that breach,

a family business
has been destroyed.

You want to wrap an American
flag around their conduct?

Stand up and salute
the Constitution?

You can do that.

But freedom of speech
is never a defense to fraud.

Never.

And let's ask ourselves
that dirty little question

we've all secretly been asking.

Do we really, really believe

they went in there
to do a puff piece?

We don't have any evidence
to the contrary.

The truth lies
in their minds only,

but when you look
at the landscape of news today,

you see a lot of fluff features
on restaurants?

Today it's about scandals
and hidden cameras

and catching people.

Every kitchen has bugs.

It's not a big deal, really,

but add some good copy,
some dramatic reporting,

vivid footage,
throw in a health scare,

tease it during prime time.

"Could you be eating
a cockroach tonight?"

That's a great hook.

Easy to manufacture
a story like that

if you've got the footage,
and if you don't?

Well, lie to get it.
Lie proudly.

Declare journalistic integrity.

Look what's happening today.

Forget the tabloids.

We have reporters
at major newspapers

including "The Boston Globe"
right here

getting caught
making up stories.

Writing stories about people
who don't really exist,

plagiarizing.

CNN, "TIME" magazine
reporting

about Tailwind
and germ warfare.

Don't let the facts
spoil a good story.

You can just print
the retraction on weekends

or put it in a footnote.

Anything to get the story
and to get it first.

Who cares who gets hurt?

These people got hurt.

They were defrauded.

It cost them everything they had
worked their whole lives for.

Hail, hail freedom of the press.

I think it's time
to send a little message

to all the cockroaches.

- It's just open season
on the press these days,

isn't it?

And why shouldn't it be?

I mean, look at what
the press has done lately.

We all know it was the media

that planted that intern
in the Oval Office.

We know that it was the press

that caused all
those Republican congressmen

to have that sudden explosion
of conscience,

and it was the journalists
who convinced Kenneth Starr

that his true calling
was pornography.

- I'm sorry,

but we've wandered a little
off the path, haven't we?

- You went into Tailwind.
- All right.

Mr. Weiland.

- Journalism
is like every profession.

Some of it's good.
Some of it stinks.

But for it to be good,

it has to be unflinching.

Yes, there was
a representation made here

that the article
would be favorable,

but that was based
on the assumption

that the kitchen
was not bug-infested.

Should we have written
a puff piece anyway?

The place is crawling in germs,

but we promised to be nice,
so...

Is that the kind
of press we all want?

What if we'd found body parts?

Promised to be kind?

Don't air it.

Who are we kidding?

They made a discovery,

and it was news.

They would have you believe
that some deal was made here,

a deal which should be
prioritized over the truth.

Who are we kidding?

When news is uncovered,
reporters report it.

That is the essence
of a free press.

We don't clear it
through publicists.

What if you bit
into a cockroach one night

and then found out
that we sat on that story?

Yes.

Send us a message.

- I was showing off
for some friends

like I was cool,

and I did a terrible thing,

and I know that it was cruel.

I know that it was stupid.

I just--

I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry.

- What were you thinking?

- Just that my friends
were all laughing and daring me,

and I guess I just felt that--

like they were all looking
at me like, "Wow."

You know, "You're crazy."

- You know that woman
over there, Mrs. Tyler?

- Yes.

- Is she your neighbor?

- Yes.

- You knew that was her cat,

her pet.

- Yes.

- Counsel, statements?

- I'd like to address
the Court briefly, yes.

- Tomorrow morning, 10:00.

- Hey, how'd it go?
- Okay, I think.

Wow, look at you.

- I have a date with a Celtic.

- A Boston Celtic?
- Mm-hmm.

Now they're getting paid again
and looking to date.

- Closing was good.

- Thank you.

- So we're still fighting?

- Bobby,
I wasn't putting you down.

I was talking about styles.

- I know.
- And you called me dry.

You said I give dry closings.

- I didn't say that.
- Yes, you did. Don't deny--

- Lindsay, as arguments go,
this is a silly one.

Maybe my feelings got hurt
a little, then I hurt yours.

Whatever, but this really
isn't worth a grudge.

- Okay.

- Let's go home,
get some sleep.

That summation made me drowsy.

- Funny.

- Hey. How's things?

- Jury's deliberating,
can't really tell.

- When are you gonna deal
with Ellenor?

- I'll get to her.

- Bobby, she is still reeling
from losing the asbestos client.

She learned how much
Lindsay makes.

Okay, that was my fault.

She's now urging Jimmy
to make a play for partner

so you two won't be able
to control the votes.

We have a little cancer
growing here.

I think you need
to get to her now.

- Let's schedule a meeting.

I want everybody.

- Okay.

- I am so sick of this.

- Okay, I guess
we should just open it up.

- I'm not a partner.

I don't think I should be here.

- This is more like
a team meeting, Jimmy.

I want you here.

Ellenor, let's begin with you.

- Bobby? Sorry.

Steven Weiland's here.

- Excuse me a sec.

Lindsay?

- How was your date
with the Celtic?

- Slam dunk.

I'm seeing him again.

- You're dating
a basketball player?

- They're the most law-abiding

of all professional
athletes, Ellenor.

- Yeah, but doesn't your head

come up to his, you know, knee?

- Nice.

You know, if somebody
makes the slightest remark

about your weight
you're quick to jump,

but it's okay to make fun
of the short-statured.

- I was making fun
of the tall-statured.

- Absolutely sealed,
no admission of liability.

Not even a hint of it.

- I think my client's gonna want
a public apology, otherwise--

- Your client
is gonna turn down $400,000?

- They put him out of business.

- Which means
he must need money.

$400,000.

Something tells me
he's gonna take it.

- We'll bring it to him.

- Quickly.
Jury's out.

- Yesterday,
I just wanted to plead this out

and get to a spa

and have some Swedish sex god
rub the cellulite

out of my glutes,

but then I met
Mrs. Tyler over here,

and suddenly I became horrified

at my not being horrified
over this.

That young man grabbed her pet

and hurled it out of a car

going 60 miles an hour
on a highway.

Imagine, and imagine you, me,

and Mr. Marino not even
batting an eye.

It was somebody's pet,

and if he gets to just
throw on a tie, stand contrite,

say he's sorry

and that's the end of it,

well, who are we?

What he did was depraved.

It was sick,

and if we don't
punish him, well,

maybe we get
the society we deserve.

I'm not saying lock him up
forever, Your Honor, but...

for everybody's sake,
even his,

lock him up some.

- I'm not gonna stand here
and defend what Brent Jones did.

It was sick,

and we should be horrified,

but as Ms. Gamble admitted,

she changed her mind

and decided against probation

only because she met
the owner of the pet,

and suddenly this case
has a human face on it,

but let's be honest.

This is not a case
about a crime against a person.

It was an animal.

I don't mean
to sound cold,

and again, let me reiterate
my own personal condemnation

for this young man's
act of cruelty,

but this is about
killing an animal,

and the killing of animals?

We slaughter cows, pigs,

in cruel ways.

Nobody gets arrested.

A cat is an animal.

Yes, a companion animal.

One that's more loved by humans.

If this was a bobcat caught

and tortured in a spring trap,

we wouldn't be here,
but a domestic cat?

We have to recognize
the hypocrisy, don't we?

We're here not because
of some unusual act of cruelty

but because it happened
to a person's pet.

However much we might want
to look at this

as a crime against humanity,

it isn't.

This is a good young man.

No record.

Honor student
from a good home,

and he did something very stupid

for which he is hugely sorry,

but we have to keep things
in perspective.

- $242,000.

That's my problem.

- You know the pay structure.

Percentage of
the business brought in.

- I know that we take
her clients, not mine.

I know that.

- We voted
on that asbestos client.

- Right,
three hands for, two against,

and since yours count double--

- Is that why you went to Jimmy?
To put a hand in your pocket?

- $242,000.

- Since when did you take
such a strong interest

in math, Ellenor?

- Certain equations
fascinate me.

- Try adding two plus two.

You couldn't do that
with your asbestos clients.

- What is that supposed to mean?
- "They're good people.

They didn't know their stuff
was killing people."

That's crap.

They knew at the turn
of the century

that asbestos kills,
but if they pay

their legal bills,
we'll just ignore it

and pretend
that they're saints--

- All right.

- This isn't gonna
solve anything.

- Bobby?
ALL: What?

- Hey!

You know, it's a small head,
and you can all bite it off,

but there's just not
enough to go around.

The Jacobs family's here.

- Let's pick this up in ten.
- I'm not picking this up.

I'm sick of this.
- What's your problem?

- The problem
is this partnership.

We used to be lawyers
just taking the cases

we felt like taking.

Ever since we became partners
splitting up pieces of the pie,

it's all about that.

All about money.

- Nobody's forcing you, Eugene.
You can divest.

- But the rot is already
in the wood.

- So you might as well
take your cut.

- You pissy little bitch.

EUGENE: You know what, Lindsay?
- Oh, come on.

- I've been trying
to defend you,

but it's getting
harder and harder.

- Defend me against what?

Her? Help somebody who needs it.

- Is this what happens to women

when you insert your penis?

I'm just curious because

they become greedy
little witches--

- Hey! Lindsay!

[all yelling]

Lindsay!

Stop!

- Stop that!

- You've gone crazy!

Get off me! You're crazy!

Ahh!

- Hey! No, no, no.

Lindsay, get off her!

- It's fine.

They're just strategizing.

[all yelling]

[phone ringing]

- No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- Come on.

- Donnell, Young,
Dole & Frutt.

Hey!

Hey! Verdict.

- Come on.
There's an offer on the table.

We can--we can discuss it
on the way.

Let's go!

- It's none of my business,

but you got
a big morale problem here.

- Mr. Marino's point
is well taken.

We drop live lobsters
in hot, boiling water.

We chop off chickens' heads
and then happily enjoy the meal.

To actually put a person
in jail for killing an animal

is...

But I agree with Ms. Gamble.

This was an act against decency,

and to trivialize it would be
a crime against humanity.

There has to be a consequence

for the sake of society,

for the sake of Mrs. Tyler,

and for the sake
of an innocent cat.

I sentence you
to one year in county,

nine months suspended,
the remaining three

to be served starting now.

Bailiff,
take the defendant into custody.

Adjourned.

[gavel bangs]

- [mouthing words]

- It's still not too late.

The offer's still on the table.

- I said no.

- Joseph, it's $400,000.

Take it.

- I want them to say
that they are wrong.

- They won't do that.

- Then we don't settle.

- Members of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- Your Honor, one second
to confer with Counsel?

One second.

- Hurry up.

- 1.5, still no admission.

- No. I want the admission.

- Unsealed.
- Okay.

- If it's unsealed,
the public sees the amount.

That's the same as an admission.

1.5, Joe.
Take it.

- They're afraid it'll be more.
- Maybe, but that kind of money?

- No.

- Counsel?

- Go ahead.
- Thank you.

What say you?

- Jacobs versus
WYPR Broadcasting Company,

on the grounds of fraud,

we find in favor
of the plaintiff

and order the defendant
to pay damages

in the amount of $200,000.

We further order the defendant
to pay punitive damages

in the amount
of $18 million dollars.

- What?

- 18 million?

- What?
- Wow.

- Did she say $18 million?
JUDGE: Order.

- Yes.
- Yes.

JUDGE: Order!

[gavel banging]

Order!

You got to be kidding me.

You jackasses.

- Your Honor,
I'm not sure that's appropriate.

- $18 million?

What the hell is that?
You find for the plaintiff?

Okay. Personally, I disagree.

But I was prepared
to let it stand.

But 18 million?

That sounds to me
like there's bias going on.

You seem like very nice people,
but--

I'll let the verdict stand,
tempted as I am to vacate it,

but I'm cutting the damages
to $2 million.

You, sir,
should accept it and smile.

- Yes.
- Now, I'm gonna go for a walk.

Any luck, I'll be nicked
by a bus, sprain a knee,

file a claim, get rich,
and retire to the Bahamas.

Adjourned.

- 2 is nice.

18 is better, but 2 is nice.

- It sure is.

- We can open up
a new restaurant now.

Mahogany tables,
curtains.

- Bug spray.

- I don't know
how to say thank you.

- Congratulations, Lindsay.

- Thank you.
- A toast.

Wait, wait, wait.

Can we take a picture?

I'd like to take a picture
of us with our lawyers.

Come on. Ms. Washington, please.

- Sure.

- $2 million.
Unbelievable.

- Tell me about it.

- That's almost $700,000

to the firm on contingency,
you realize that?

- Wow.
- And Lindsay's client too.

She could make over
a million this year.

- Yep.
[cork pops]

[laughter]

- Smile.

- All right.

[laughs]

Great, great.

Oh, boy.

[indistinct chatter]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪