Kuzak goes the final mile as tries to lighten the sentence on Earl Williams, who is facing the death penalty after being convicted of murder. Meanwhile, Markowitz loses his cool when Kelsey goes into labor early and 20 hours later give birth to a baby boy. Benny celebrates the Christmas holidays by planning to propose to Alice and asks both Becker and Leo Hackett on advice on how to do so. Also, Becker faces the holidays alone when Corrinne decides to let Chloe's father spend the weekend with them at her home, and Victor plays Santa at the annual office Christmas party.

Victor faces troubling issues both at home and in court as he tries to deal with the after-effects of Allison's rape trial and a sexual discrimination case concerning a woman court clerk suing a judge who fired her after their brief affair. Meanwhile, Markowitz takes another litigation case where he defends an elderly and senile Orthodox rabbi being sued for malpractice when a knife slipped during a circumcision. Becker returns to his hostile co-workers as a named partner to the firm now named 'McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney, Kuzak and Becker.' Also, the devious, two-faced Rosalind Shays begins a secret plan to solidify her base of power at the firm by bringing in groups of influential clients as well as using her charms to take the business of the firm's old clients.

Kuzak questions the methods of a charismatic British barrister, named Nigel Morris, during his case of representing an American candy maker suing a British candy maker. Meanwhile, a friend places Diana and Rollins in a very difficult position in a hit-and-run traffic case where the victim's body cannot be found. Becker longs for his friends to wish him well on his elevation to full partner. Rosalind continues her plan to take over the firm when she uses Abby by making her look bad to a new client in order to land the client herself. Kelsey returns to the firm after her maternity leave takes an instant dislike to Rosalind after meeting her for the first time, despite Rosalind's friendly attitude. But Kelsey cannot convince anyone, including Markowitz, that Rosalind is not who she says she is, which heats up after Kelsey finds Rosalind using her office during her absence from the firm.

Kuzak uses new evidence and a testimony by a very hostile witness to plead for a new trial for Earl Williams. Meanwhile, Victor defends Dr. Michael Dayan, a surgeon being sued for wrongful death by a woman after he refused to perform emergency surgery on her injured husband who was infected with AIDS, and the opposing counsel, Mark Gilliam, who himself secretly has AIDS, tries to get the jury and Victor to look on the positive side of a man with the disease. The firm is rocked by the resignation of Leland McKenzie after 25 years, but the scramble to succeed him starts immediately with Brackman, Markowitz and Rosalind pitted against each other and Rosalind wins due to her skill of manipulation and deception.

Rosalind Shays returns with an equally ruthless and manipulative lawyer, Jack Sollers, to sue the firm for sexual discrimination. Markowitz suffers a heart attack during the trial and is put on leave. Meanwhile, Kuzak faces Darron Holloway, an angry, civil-rights black activist inciting the press and the public while he takes the case of defending Brian Chisolm, a white policeman accused of shooting a black youth. Also, Roxanne has more problems with her father, Murray, when she tells him that he has Alzheimer's Disease.

A worried Kelsey goes to McKenzie and Kuzak to try to get Markowitz removed from a stressful tax case while at the same time, she represents a gay man suing the parents of his terminally ill lover who's dying from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis for visitation rights. Meanwhile, Becker and Abby try to retrieve the money Benny donated to a questionable religious order. Grace debates a marriage proposal from Sollers. Murray paints the mens room and later moves in with Benny, and Brackman gets burned in an unusual place after smoking on a turpentine-filled toilet in the newly painted mens room.

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 firm worries about its reputation when Kittredge takes a high-profile criminal case of defending a mobster leader for allegedly murdering a rival mob leader and the new D.A., Ruby Thomas, becomes determined to see the case won at any cost. Meanwhile, Markowitz takes a rare court deposition in representing two women basketball players suing the Hollywood Hoopsters for wrongful termination.

C.J. takes a close interest in Becker's case involving a custody suit of her former lover, Maggie Barnes, whose past lesbian love affair with C.J. has threatened to take Maggie's children away and put them in the care of her ex-husband. Billy Castroverti is fired for his unsatisfying work performance. Low staff morale makes it difficult for Brackman to organize the annual Christmas party, so Benny and Castroverti take over the chores and intend to go all out. Meanwhile, Kelsey fumes as Markowitz is forced to go out of town to miss their son's 2nd birthday party. Zoey and Rollins quarrel over their plans for the holidays. A holiday card from the late Rosalind Shays brings a form of relief for both McKenzie and Grace. Also, a mentally unbalanced temp office worker, named Betty, drives everyone to distraction.

Mullaney aids fellow lawyer, Alex DePalma, in a class action suit by Honduran banana farmers suing an American chemical company who claim that a company-designed pesticide made them sterile. Meanwhile, Margaret Flanagan (The district attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Earl Williams for the murder of Nina Corry in Season 4) confides in Zoey about her troubled past as she begins to confront long-repressed memories of child abuse. Kelsey goes out on a dinner date with Matthew's nanny, Ned, while Markowitz meets a regal actress he admired as a child.

Becker tries to win back Roxanne after his psychologist suddenly dies during a session. Meanwhile, Brackman and his ex-wife, Sheila, clash again when their youngest son, Alexander, gets in trouble with the law. Susan Bloom shocks the office with invitations to her unexpected wedding to Mikhail, a Russian movie actor. The Markowitzes' nanny, Ned Barron, went too far when he comes on to Ann Kelsey again and he is fired. DePalma asks McKenzie for help when his participation in the judicial sting operation impairs his ability to function in court when faces the wrath of other judges in his quest to find one for his latest case involving defending an alleged embezzler. Ann Kelsey was arrested for obstruction of justice and suspicion of illegal aliens by INS Agents when she bought a new nanny and having her son Matthew returned home. Also, Gwen and Kittredge's romantic fling quickly turns into a torrid affair.

October 29, 1992. Six months after the trauma of the L.A. riots, McKenzie finds himself haunted by a murder case he prosecuted in 1959 of Frank Osgood, and that Morales has reopened the case after another man has confessed to the crime. Meanwhile, Markowitz returns home from the hospital shaky and frightened after his head injuries. Brackman find himself in legal trouble as he tries to fight the new fledgling D.A., the self-assured Dana Romney who's prosecuting him for resisting arrest. An all-new Becker returns from a six-month trip around the globe. Mullaney interviews with the D.A.'s office for a job to relish his renewed relationship with Zoey. Also, Rollins contemplates an caressive new campaign strategy after losing a key endorsement, but may regret it.

Due to the stress of her return to work, Zoey opts to be out of the D.A.'s office and decides to leave L.A., and Mullaney. Meanwhile, Rollins' campaign sinks lower and lower as the election draws near. Becker looks inward to his future, but Roxanne sees just the same old Becker. In jail, Brackman learns about his new life from behind the bars. Markowitz is slow to heal and frustrations set in for him and Kelsey. Mullaney becomes aroused in his first case for the D.A.'s office in prosecuting a man in a child-abuse case, who is being defended by a nun lawyer.

Kelsey fights for a man's right to choose not to procreate with an injection to stop his ex-wife from using their frozen embryos. Meanwhile, Gwen begins her first unsupervised litigation case, bothered by the feeling that she's being watched. Roxanne and Mullaney make a decision about conception. An immature Markowitz shares his deadly secret with Benny when he shows him the big gun he now keeps on him. Also, Rollins tries to get his damage deposit back for the South-Central apartment he rented during the campaign, but never used.