Since the departure of Michael Kuzak, Victor Sifuentes, Abby Perkins, and Jack Sollers from the firm, McKenzie and Brackman are looking for more litigator power. Grace, having suffered from a miscarriage and leaving Victor, returns to the firm and is immediately given a high-profile case with Mullaney in defending Elsa Chandler, a woman charged with murdering her abusive husband. McKenzie tries to adjust himself to the brash new tenant sharing office space, the crude, smart-mouthed, chain-smoking, entertainment lawyer Susan Bloom, to boost revenues for the sagging firm. Meanwhile, Becker's secretary, Gwen Taylor, is on jury duty and witnesses Bloom's associate, the crafty Frank Kittredge, go to the limits of ethics to defend his wealthy client from an assault charge. Kelsey and Markowitz struggle to find the right nanny for their son, Matthew, and they hire Ned Barron, a college student just right for the job. Also, Billy Castroverti is hired as a new junior associate.

The Elsa Chandler murder trial continues with Grace and Mullaney trying to elicit an emotional testimony from Elsa about her years of abuse so the jury will not convict her. Meanwhile, Rollins is representing a man against his brother in a civil action suit to make the U.S. government accountable for continuing MIA's in Vietnam. Also, Becker gets a lifetime opportunity by Susan Bloom to appear on TV as the co-host of an evening talk show.

Mullaney fights against the state mental hospital to prevent the release of a couple's daughter's convicted killer David Orcott (their son-in-law) from the hospital where he was committed. Meanwhile, Brackman can't resist a nasal aphrodisiac in his attempt to revive his sex life with Sheila. Flicker continues to annoy and tempt Becker, and then after much forceful reasoning, he finally allows Arnie to meet with Eric Schuller, who is revealed to be long dead. Also, Morales represents a man suing the hog-finishing plant over the foul odor contaminating his nearby home.