Brackman appears on the TV game show "Wheel of Fortune," and ends up getting a date with Vanna White. Meanwhile, C.J. and her old friend from law school, the seedy, alcoholic, chain-smoking Tommy Mullaney, take a civil case of representing a man dying from lung cancer, caused by second-hand smoke, suing a tobacco company. Victor represents a murder victim's sister suing the physician who did not report evidence of her repeated spouse beatings. After having dinner together, Markowitz experiences romantic feelings for Gwen and when Kelsey finds out, she forces him to move out of their house. Also, Mullaney is hired on commission at the firm for his court performance.

Becker represents Mitchell Schein, a greedy man who holds out for material concessions before agreeing to grant his wife a divorce following Jewish law. Meanwhile, Kelsey is representing Aaron Voss, a stiff, no-nonsense meteorologist suing the TV station manager who replaced him with a stand-up comic to boost its ratings. Also, Morales represents a Latino construction worker who claims he was stiffed by a wealthy couple looking to save a few dollars.

Five months later. Things have changed for the firm which is now named McKenzie, Brackman, Kelsey, Markowitz, and Morales, as the partners begin to interview candidates for a new associate at the firm which is under a massive interior renovation. Meanwhile, Stuart Markowitz's cousin, Eli Levinson, arrives in town from New York to defend Sandy Morris, the mentally ill son of some old friends who's accused of murdering a social worker. Eli's former secretary, Denise Iannello, arrives in Los Angeles to re-start her life and asks Eli to give her a job as his secretary again. Kelsey represents another attorney suing her own firm for sexual discrimination. Also, Becker finds the new associate candidate, Jane Halliday, a Christian fundamentalist, irresistible, while Kelsey is wary about Halliday's presence.

New associate, Patrick Flanagan, throws his weight around the firm, charming everyone with his friendliness and even helps get Brackman and Sheila's son, Alexander, into an exclusive prep school. But he shows his true hidden and unwholesome colors when he crosses Becker while assisting him in a civil case of a woman suing her ex-husband for allegedly molesting their daughter when Flanagan persuades Becker's client not to testify and blackmails the opposing counsel for a large settlement, which incurs the wrath of Mullaney on Becker after the devious Flanagan places the blame on Becker. Meanwhile, Rollins' case puts him between a young model and her over-protective father, who is suing her for beach of contract.