Original subtitles

BERLUTI: Previously on The Practice.

FRUTT: Are you trying to get disbarred?

As self-destructive as--

All right, all right, on that note.

We've decided to let you go.

Go where?

YOUNG: Here's a check

representing two weeks' severance pay.

I've generated fees in excess of $6 million.

You've handed me a check for $15,000.

YOUNG: Alan Shore seemed to know this was coming.

Did you tell him? Yes.

YOUNG: Your employment here is terminated.

Wherever you take your business,

I would urge you again not to take it to Alan Shore.

It is our belief that he is unstable.

FRUTT: I can't bear the idea

of going back to work with you not being there.

SHORE: I need to be able to bring Tara back.

My presence is so powerful,

I don't even have to talk.

Sometimes I'm better when I don't talk.

This was my thinking.

I'm Denny Crane, damn it.

You hired him.

Why didn't you stop me?

You need to argue this motion.

GLEASON: I'm scheduling an evidentiary hearing

for next week.

We'll take off our gloves

and have at it.

(clears throat)

What's up?

This is Noah Burke.

He'll be representing us in our labor dispute.

FRUTT: Wow.

So, we are going outside.

Yes.

Just a thought, but shouldn't I have been included

in that decision?

Well, that's the very issue we need to talk about.

BURKE: Look, Ms. Frutt, I can walk you through the legals,

but cutting to the chase, this thing is close.

I mean, Mr. Shore's estoppel claims are colorable.

I mean, we have an associate here

whose financial contributions grossly exceed

those of the partners.

He's hired an extremely deep and talented firm.

I mean, we're in--we're in for a fight here,

a difficult fight. So, all this really

is to preface one question, which is,

"Where do you stand?"

Can I get you a cup of coffee?

Okay, look (clears throat)

the guts of our case

will be that Alan Shore is a bad guy.

Now, you will need to testify.

You will need to get in the witness chair

and not only support the idea that he's a bad guy

but actually sell it. I mean, see,

this man has a personal animosity towards Mr. Shore.

I mean, his bias will be exposed and lanced

like a giant boil.

This man looks like he hates everybody,

and his emotions will make him anything but impartial.

The only objective and fair-minded voice we have--

if we're to have one is you.

All right, once again,

it's you.

So as I told Mr. Young and Mr. Berluti,

you will have to win this case for us.

You will have to take Alan Shore down.

So let me put to you

the great interrogatory once posed

by the leader of the free world--

are you with us,

or are you against us?

(music playing)

BILLINGS: Whether or not we go forward all depends.

Of course we're going forward.

Not so fast.

Then slow down.

I canceled your 10:00.

I had to tell the beast, and she's in a mood, so...

Tell her she looks beautiful

and the meeting will be rescheduled.

Well, she won't believe she's beautiful

unless you tell her. Then tell her I said so.

Goodbye.

Who's the beast?

Sara Lipp,

wicked senior partner of the east.

Denny Crane.

Yes, I know you're Denny Crane.

Why do you always tell me your name?

Is it so you won't forget?

Well, let me tell you something, soldier.

I've learned from experience that people can't believe

they're actually in the room with Denny Crane.

They think it can't be true,

so I let them know it is true.

I look them in the eye--

"Denny Crane."

Gives them something to tell their grandkids.

Denny Crane.

You know, I wanted him because he knows the judge.

I'm having deep concerns now that the judge knows him.

Okay, first of all, he did win the motion last week.

Second, I'll first-chair. He'll be second.

But he talks aloud.

I'll rein him in.

He's an asset.

We want him at our table.

Trust me.

Denny Crane.

STRINGER: Tara, hey.

What's new?

Don't even ask.

You doing okay?

Yeah.

FRUTT: Tara, thanks for coming in.

Let's go in my office.

Listen,

Eugene, Jimmy, and I, we realize

that we put you in an impossible situation,

asking you to protect a firm confidence

to the detriment of a friend.

And we appreciate that maybe,

we were unfair.

Anyway, we're offering you your job back.

We consider you an extremely valued member

of this practice, and we hope

that you will consider rejoining us.

You're offering me my job back?

Yes.

And you're actually sorry

for putting me in a difficult situation?

Yes.

Is Eugene sorry?

Yes.

Well, could Eugene apologize in person?

That would help me decide.

He's obviously under a lot of stress, Tara.

Let's not make-- WILSON: Ellenor,

I have a great respect for you.

And my hope is, at the conclusion

of all this ugliness,

there will be no erosion of that respect.

But this isn't about you being sorry.

This isn't about you valuing me as a member of your firm.

This is about you getting me on your side,

securing my testimony to favor you.

Look, Tara,

you know I care about him.

And, believe it or not, I also care about you.

You are a young law student

with your entire future ahead of you.

You need to consider carefully

which side you'd rather be associated with here.

I have considered that very carefully.

I'll be testifying in support of Alan.

I can't underline enough my reservations

about him being here.

And I can't underline enough his presence has currency.

I don't like it when people talk about me

like I'm not in the room.

Last time I checked, I was in the room.

SHORE: You know, I'm having a sudden burst of insecurity.

I could use some reassurance.

Could you just say those two little words

I so long to hear?

Denny Crane.

Thank you.

BURKE: Sorry we're late. Let's get started.

Um, I'd like to preface my remarks by saying--

CRANE: Hold on. Hold on just a minute.

You're not late.

You derive some sort of power keeping everybody waiting.

We agreed to meet at 2:00.

No, you turn up at 10 past.

Our plan all along was to start the meeting at a quarter past,

so we're just gonna stand around for five minutes,

you little gerbil. Why don't you gnaw on a stick of celery?

Denny Crane.

Look, we are here to take one last stab at settling this.

We are not waiting five minutes.

We are not waiting two.

Let's start over.

Please.

I think we can all assume, should this go to trial,

you'll be vicious, we'll be vicious,

it'll get publicly nasty, and everybody will bleed.

The reason for this meeting is to avoid all the bloodshed.

Obviously, we have a number.

You have a number, I suspect.

Should I give you ours?

Please.

$750,000.

And before you reject it, that's three times the salary

of the next-ranking associate,

and it's probably $750,000 more than you'd get

if we proceed to court, given Mr. Shore's conduct.

And what, if I were you, I'd be most concerned with--

You're not me, Mr. Burke.

Let's not ever make that mistake.

BURKE: If certain things in this trial become public,

Mr. Shore may be unemployable in perpetuity

and perhaps even disbarred.

Denny Crane.

Let me respond by just--

May I, Matthew?

Let's not compare my salary

with that of the highest-ranking associate.

The whole point here is I don't compare

with the rank associates at Young, Frutt, and Berluti.

I, in fact, out-earn and out-produce

the rank partners--

You're being contentious.

Denny Crane.

(chuckles) Okay,

uh, why don't you just tell us your number?

$1.9 million.

What? BILLINGS: Should Mr. Shore

be declared a de facto partner,

his share this year alone will be over a million.

And that doesn't even account for the revenues

generated in the future by clients he brought in.

Which he then stole. Denny Crane.

BILLINGS: And what that really doesn't account for--

you guys were close to going under.

Not true.

You know what? You can read the books

just like I can.

If the jury finds that Alan saved this firm

and we have to allow for the possibility

of that finding.

We could get five million,

maybe six.

Alan Shore was fired from his last firm for embezzling.

We hired him out of charity more than anything else.

SHORE: We seem to be moving further apart now.

May I finish, please? SHORE: You may,

but that last remark just pushed our demand up to 2.5.

Alan-- You know what?

In the absence of any contract,

I think the only fair thing is to agree.

I have no right to work at your firm.

I should walk away, and I will.

I just want the money I brought in, $9 million.

Take out overhead, give me the rest.

$8.9 million, we can all shake hands.

I think we're going to trial.

Let's be fair, Mr. Shore.

You were fired from your previous firm

for embezzling.

And I deserved it.

I did not deserve to be fired from this firm.

Because?

Because I saved them from going bankrupt,

because I won my cases, because I look good doing it.

BILLINGS: Did you ever break any laws?

Break any laws?

Yes.

Did you extort lawyers?

Did you illegally download records?

Were you privy to deals, buying off witnesses?

Did you suborn perjury?

Ah, that.

Perhaps.

BILLINGS: Perhaps?

Look, they knew my character when they hired me.

I never did anything-- hello, Judge.

I never did anything ever that wasn't in my character.

BILLINGS: Well, Alan, come on.

You could have risked disbarment with all this.

That would run to the reputation of the firm.

I was called before the bar already.

Eugene Young stood up unsolicited,

called me a just and honorable man.

But when it was time to split up all the millions of dollars

I generated,

I was suddenly unworthy.

BILLINGS: Thank you, sir.

This feels dramatic.

You left out the part

where you impersonated an airline official

from the opposing side

and then settled a case

under that false identity.

Using money out of my own pocket

to spare the firm a malpractice suit.

You left out the part where you hired a lawyer

who believed God talked to her.

It was never established he didn't.

YOUNG: You left out the part

that you constantly defied the partners.

Only when they were wrong,

which, granted, was most of the time.

Is it just me,

or are all his questions in statement form?

YOUNG: You left out the part

where you hid a murder weapon from the police.

SHORE: Oh, if I were to mention that,

the police would demand to know where I hid it.

YOUNG: You left out the part where you took a hooker

to a client's wedding.

The invitation said, "Significant other."

I thought it would last.

YOUNG: You left out the part

where you secretly installed video cameras

in a woman's hotel room

and taped her having sex.

SHORE: For blackmail purposes only.

Okay, that was a lie.

I watch for my own pleasure.

This is all one big source of amusement for you,

isn't it, Alan?

I'll tell you this, Eugene.

If you take life too seriously,

it ceases to be funny.

I tried to impart that

and other little wisdoms to you,

which you never took,

but you always took the money.

BILLINGS: Alan, I don't know what you're doing.

You say you want to settle, but I don't think

you know what you want.

Tara,

I plan to keep your testimony very simple.

Basically, I want you to establish

that he was open and notorious

with his antics from the beginning.

Okay.

I will not put you in the position

of attacking Eugene or Ellenor, and I don't want you to.

Denny, this is Tara Wilson,

a law student I spoke of.

In need of employment?

Yes. She's extremely talented.

I can personally vouch for her skills as a paralegal,

as well as-- Stand up, please.

Turn around, please.

Lips real?

Yes.

Yours?

CRANE: Let me tell you something, Tara.

We hire only pretty people in this firm.

Pretty people get better results.

Pretty girls keep me aroused.

I think more clearly when I'm aroused.

Are you a pretty girl, soldier?

I am, sir.

Good girl.

At ease.

I'm always at ease,

sir.

I like her.

The truth is

it's been a horrible year.

I haven't liked going to work since he's been there.

My cases...

seems he's gotten all the good ones.

How's your love life?

(scoffs)

Sounds like I hate my life, doesn't it?

Very much so.

Why don't you change it?

How?

Well, what do you want to do?

Jimmy,

you mean you haven't even asked yourself the question?

WILSON: Dishonorable?

No.

Ethically challenged?

(sighs) Perhaps.

BILLINGS: What's the difference?

WILSON: He was honest with how he dealt

with his friends and his fellow partners.

Where he was perhaps underhanded

was with opposing counsel.

Did the partners at the firm

know about his underhandedness?

(chuckles) Yes.

They would often protest and threaten him,

but as Alan correctly points out,

at the end of the day,

they would cash the checks.

BILLINGS: And Ms. Wilson, you had the opportunity

to see the financial records at Young, Frutt, and Berluti?

I did.

BILLINGS: And what kind of impact did Alan Shore

have on their business?

WILSON: In dollars?

He more than tripled it.

BURKE: Obviously, you're friends with Alan Shore.

I consider him a friend, yes.

Forgive my indiscretion,

and admittedly, I'm speculating,

but have you had sex with him?

No.

SHORE: Objection.

She answered the question.

That's what I'm objecting to.

I want to have sex with her. She keeps saying no.

BURKE: I believe you've witnessed Mr. Shore

committing acts of sexual harassment

in the workplace, have you not?

I have.

In fact, you once complained to Eugene Young

that he repulsed you, that you thought he was vulgar.

SHORE: I believe the witness said she had vulgar thoughts

that involved me.

There's a difference there.

Please rephrase.

WILSON: As you can see, his behavior is quite

incorrigible but I--

BURKE: Incorrigible?

He lies, he steals, he conceals evidence,

he openly defies the partners, and that's the word you use

"incorrigible"?

Well-- BURKE: I'm just curious.

Is Mr. Shore helping you to find new employment?

Actually, he just helped me find a new job, yes.

BURKE: Oh, well, that's interesting.

So, I mean, might you say you're in his debt a little?

I would.

Thank you very much, Ms. Wilson.

Isn't it true you really do want to sleep with...

Nothing further.

CRANE: I mean, Matthew,

the client confuses me.

Does he want to lose?

No, he, uh--he just--

he can't contain himself sometimes.

He's a complicated guy.

This is not good behavior.

This is not consistent with someone who wants to win.

I understand.

I'm concerned, Matthew.

The client confuses me.

He called me fat.

Mr. Shore did?

BERLUTI: Almost every day.

Usually in front of other people,

to humiliate me.

It was some remark about my body,

or he'd also call me stupid.

This is an associate directing insults at partners,

and he's all shocked that we didn't want him.

So that's why you voted to discharge him,

because of all the insults?

No, that's not the only reason.

He violated legal ethics.

He ignored privilege.

I voted to discharge him

because we're not just a place of business.

We're not simply a corporate entity

that exists to generate profits.

We're a practice at law.

The people in our practice

have respect for the profession,

respect for each other as people.

He didn't.

I voted to discharge him because it is not okay

to ignore the ethical rules of the practice.

I voted to discharge him because it is not okay

to be little people,

to treat them with cruelty or ridicule.

If he wants to build a firm

where that kind of behavior is okay,

let him build his own firm,

but he was an associate at ours,

and he dishonored it,

and us, daily.

Thank you, sir.

You spoke with a great deal of emotion, Jimmy.

You don't like me, do you?

No, I don't.

Is it possible for you to completely separate

your personal dislike of me

from your objective opinion of me

as an attorney,

honestly?

Probably not.

Thank you.

(music playing)

Are you testifying against me, Ellenor?

Alan, what do you want?

The jury can't order us to rehire you.

You claim it's not about the money.

So...

what is it that you want?

I don't know.

Maybe just to be--

well, let's leave it at that.

Just to be.

Are you trying to get the jury

to judge you negatively

to confirm some twisted--

SHORE: Aw, I got another psychoanalysis.

I don't have time, Ellenor.

I've got a long day in court tomorrow.

Do you?

YOUNG: He had no contract.

It was employee at will,

and legally, we're entitled

to terminate an associate

for personal reasons.

But it wasn't just personal reasons.

We had to protect the integrity

of our practice.

BURKE: But, Eugene,

as it's been said,

you did take the money.

Yes, he earned revenue in his capacity

as an associate,

but that didn't give him tenure.

You heard all the things he did against the law,

against the canons of law,

against us.

How do we employ a person

we can't even trust?

Fiduciary duty, that has to mean something

in a partnership--

is an implied obligation

to deal fairly with one another,

honestly.

That man never did.

As a result, he had to go.

He had to go.

BURKE: Thank you.

I want you to know I agree with everything you said,

and if what you said about my client is true,

I'd have fired his ass, too.

Good work, soldier.

Nothing further.

Uh...

I imagine this, uh,

business about fiduciary duty--

obligation to deal fairly, honestly--

goes both ways.

You would have a duty

to be fair

and aboveboard with Alan Shore.

I would, and I did.

Good man.

Uh, you had a meeting

with, uh, Samuel Gould,

a client of Al Shore's,

last week, did you not?

I did.

CRANE: Longtime client of Al Shore's, am I right?

Yes.

(over recorder) That must strongly caution you

against going with Alan Shore. GOULD (over recorder): Why?

YOUNG (over recorder): It is our belief

that he is unstable,

that he has self-destructive

personality tendencies,

that he's also prone to committing unethical,

sometimes even criminal acts.

Wherever you take your business,

I would urge you again

not to take it to Alan Shore.

(click)

That was you

trying to steal Al Shore's client.

Was that a fiduciary stab in Al's back?

At the time of that discussion,

Samuel Gould was a client of the firm.

Your Honor, it's illegal to secretly tape-record--

CRANE: There was nothing secret about it.

Mr. Gould taped all his meetings.

The firm knew it.

Did you forget?

(clicks)

YOUNG (over recorder): He is unstable,

that he has self-destructive

personality tendencies.

(clicks)

That's slander, Mr. Young.

Truth is a complete defense

to slander.

I spoke the truth.

You know, son, I'm a senior partner

in my firm the way you are in yours.

And here's the thing about good leadership--

and you tell me if you disagree.

It's not enough to insist on fidelity

or honesty or fair dealing.

A good leader

has to practice it.

Denny Crane.

SHORE: Was it my imagination,

or was he actually quite effective?

I keep telling you,

once he's in a courtroom,

all the plaque on his brain

just dissolves.

I don't know what the hell it is,

but I think it was effective.

I don't like it when people talk about me

like I'm not in the corridor.

Last time I checked,

I was in the corridor.

(music playing)

FRUTT: He said that he had been fired

by his firm

and that he needed a break.

Did he say why he was fired?

He embezzled.

He said it was a half-Robin Hood

kind of thing,

that he took from the rich

and kept it.

BURKE: And knowing this,

you hired Alan Shore?

Yes.

BURKE: Why?

He was a friend who--

well, like you said,

he needed a break.

And this testimony today...

this is difficult?

You have no idea.

BURKE: In fact, despite all the infractions

he's committed since joining your firm,

you've continued to defend him.

Why, Ellenor?

I think Alan

is deeply troubled.

As talented as he is,

as terrific as he is,

I don't think he likes himself.

And on some psychological level--

BILLINGS: Objection-- foundation.

This will be a lay opinion

from a friend, Your Honor.

I'll allow it.

BURKE: Please continue.

I think to service his own self-loathing,

he breeds contempt from others.

BURKE: We heard

Eugene Young use the words

"self-destructive."

FRUTT: That would be fair.

I've said that to Alan

on more than one occasion.

I truly believe

he's trying to destroy himself.

I don't think it was ever

his intent

to damage the firm,

but that's what he started to do.

So, you agree, then,

with the decision to discharge him?

I do.

BURKE: Thank you, Ellenor.

You really wanna do this one?

Alan?

SHORE: Yeah.

You think it's best that I leave.

Did you not say last week,

"Let's work this out"?

Did you not say you couldn't bear the idea

of going to work

at a place without me?

I said that.

Did you mean it?

I meant it.

But, Alan,

I said that un-objectively,

as your friend,

as a person who continues

to care deeply for you,

but...

(breathes)

I don't think you're entirely well.

You are gonna self-destruct one day,

and I can't prevent that.

But I can't let you

destroy my partners in the process.

(sighs)

I'm sorry.

I see.

(music playing)

YOUNG: We live in a time

where breaking rules,

being a rebel,

flashing irreverence

for any kind of convention is cool,

is hip.

Alan Shore is a hip, cool guy.

He's entertaining, too.

It can be fun

watching him do his thing,

but when he's doing it to you

or people you love

or something you love--

you see these people here?

We don't have husbands and wives.

Ellenor has a child,

I have a son,

but no one can accuse us

of living rounded, balanced lives.

Our lives are that law firm.

Our lives are each other,

and working together in a place--

together--

that's something.

I might even call that "everything."

This man

couldn't get that.

He came in, from the very first day,

and behaved in a way that said,

"People here don't have to be moral.

People here don't have to conduct themselves

with integrity,

that people here don't need

to be honest."

You heard the list,

blackmail, extortion,

breaking privilege,

impersonating opposing parties,

concealing evidence,

It goes on and on.

He did this acting as an agent

of the place we built.

Alan Shore thinks he got fired

because we were afraid

he'd bring the firm down.

What he can't seem to get

is that he's already

brought us down.

Like I said,

I know scandal is hip these days.

For sure, it's profitable.

But at Young, Frutt, and Berluti,

character still counts.

It must count.

Our dignity is not a fungible thing,

not to Ellenor,

not to Jimmy,

not to Jamie,

not to me.

Alan Shore...

just can't get that.

(music playing)

When this firm hired me,

they knowingly engaged the services

of an embezzler.

They let me go about my evil,

sinister business,

and make them rich,

and then they tossed me.

I had an uncle.

He'd bring a delicious dessert

to every family get-together,

and everyone would fawn

and gush, saying,

"You're so thoughtful, Charles.

You're so generous."

He admitted to me he wasn't generous at all.

He was hungry.

And his logic was...

if he brought a pie,

he'd get a slice.

I brought the pie, ladies and gentlemen.

They didn't give me my slice.

And as for all my despicable,

unethical, immoral,

treacherous, sleazy conduct,

they called me everything

but a terrorist, didn't they?

This business

is not an ethical arena.

Our legal system is adversarial by nature,

where it is often the very function

of a lawyer's job

to prevent the truth

from ever coming out.

We get paid to suppress

and squash

and conceal evidence.

Remember, this is the system

that freed O. J.

but also convicted Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

Every first-year law student is taught,

"Don't ever, ever equate legal ethics

with morality.

They're almost always mutually exclusive."

It's an ugly world

where underhandedness is often celebrated.

I didn't enter

Eugene Young's church.

It was a law firm.

A criminal law firm.

The dirtiest kind,

where lawyers get up in court,

as Mr. Young has many times,

and knowingly falsely accuse innocent people

of murder.

Why?

For the noble cause

of getting the real killer off.

Eugene Young has put guilty people

back on the street to kill again.

He's in the business of freeing serial rapists.

But, hey, I brought the firm down

by pretending to be an airline executive.

I'm sorry.

I guess I just don't get it.

He goes behind my back,

tells my client I'm unstable

for the purpose of stealing that client.

This somehow falls within the bounds

of integrity.

I guess I just don't get it.

There's a couple of things

Eugene Young just can't seem to get.

First, I'm just an unscrupulous guy

trying to get by in an unscrupulous profession.

And second,

I respect him profoundly.

There's perhaps nobody I respect more.

In the eight or so months I've known you,

I've found you to be

utterly beyond reproach,

which is why I'm so surprised

he would take all that money

I brought in,

fire me,

then go through all this

just to avoid giving me my slice.

WILSON: Hey, how'd it go?

SHORE: They're deliberating.

Can we talk about the outfit?

WILSON: (sighs)

All the assistants here wear uniforms.

I like it.

Do you?

Well, as soon as I pass the bar,

it's coming off.

I can't wait.

Let's go to the bar now.

We conduct our sexual harassment

behind closed doors here, sailor.

SHORE: I shudder to think.

Excuse me. Oh.

CRANE: That was a hell of a closing.

I like what I see so far.

$9 million, portables,

a closing like that.

What do you say...

we take our relationship

to the next level?

Are you a homosexual, Denny?

I'm offering you a job, sailor.

BILLINGS: You can't be serious.

They already have a verdict.

SHORE: What?

That means they never got

to damages.

You lost, pilgrim.

Come on.

It's exciting.

GLEASON: All right.

Mr. Foreman,

the jury has reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

FOREMAN: On question one,

"Was the defendant's termination

of the plaintiff wrongful?"

We find in the affirmative.

That means "Yes."

Oh.

FOREMAN: On question two,

concerning damages,

we order the defendant

to pay the plaintiff

compensatory damages

in the amount of $2.3 million.

(music playing)

BILLINGS: Congratulations.

Thank you.

Lost.

$2.3 million.

Two?

We've appealed.

Let's not-- HATCHER: Well,

does this affect payroll?

I mean, can we still finance our cases?

Do you guys need me to open up a separate account?

YOUNG: Look, I'll advise you

what to do, Lucy, okay?

Jimmy, Ellenor,

in the conference room, please.

(door closes)

I don't want the money.

If the judgment holds up,

we'll pay you the money.

I don't want it.

Well, you'll get it.

Do with it what you want,

but this firm always meets

its financial obligations.

Maybe we can donate it to a cause

that we mutually--

legalization of prostitution,

something that--

whatever.

Why are you here?

(chuckles)

I'm here because...

I'm a sucker for closure,

I guess.

Not to be confused

with sentimentality, but...

I wanted you all

to know two things.

First,

I'm sorry

for any embarrassment that--

well, any embarrassment.

And second,

I really loved working here.

I know my coming back

isn't an option,

but...

people should know where people stand.

I've always believed that.

And...

I loved working here.

I wanted you to know.

(door closes)

(music playing)

(music playing)

BOY: Score, score.

WOMAN: You stinker.

(music playing)