Victor's love for Lauren is tested when she's arrested after she shoots and kills her ex-husband and it appears to have been premeditated. Although Victor gets the murder charges against Lauren dropped, he's still skeptical about her story of self-defense and breaks up with her. Meanwhile, Abby discovers Erroll in Brackman's office and learns of his arrangement with him while Sheila seduces Erroll as payback after learning of Brackman' affair, in which he suffers an anxiety attack. Grace prosecutes Reuben Mendez, a teenager who has been accused of killing his own father after years of abuse. Benny plays Santa at the annual Christmas party, where Becker persuades Roxanne to go with him to visit his parents for the holidays.

Brackman accidentally becomes the victim of a gay-bashing incident and tries to keep the incident a secret despite pleas from a gay former college friend to testify against his attacker. Kelsey is defending a logging company owner being sued, along with an environmental activist, by a maimed sawmill worker after an accident that involved the activist spiking redwood trees. Meanwhile, Mullaney goes out on a limb, with Zoey's help, to defend a woman who wants to plead guilty for possession of drugs in her apartment, knowing her boyfriend left it there. C.J.'s father, a veteran stage and screen actor, arrives in town from England on a drunken bender and sprays salt on family wounds.