The Guardian

- Season 1

(2001)

Corporate lawyer Nick Fallin is doing community service as a child advocate to satisfy part of his criminal sentence. He figures he'll do his time and get back to his life until his first case hits too close to home. He encounters a family torn apart and then his human side when he can't bring himself to just play the game and move on. But the distraction may derail his promising corporate career.

To hold Hunter's lawsuit together against a recalcitrant pharmaceutical company Nick has to placate a plethora of competing interests. But in the end it all comes down to whether Hunter will testify that his father murdered his mother. Child advocate James Mooney has his hands full managing a 12 year old who wants nothing more than to be with his brother, even if that means going to prison.

Nick Fallin takes the case of Lawrence Neal, a young boy who is normal except for a spinal condition that landed him in a wheelchair. When his mother is sentenced to jail for prostitution, Social Services advises locking him up in the Ryan institution which is filled with juvenile mental patients. Larry wants to stay with his stepfather, but he has a criminal record. Nick's last trump card is pressing the unsuspecting biological father, but that backfires. Nick's friends, industrialist Bart Shell and his kids, Nick's ambitious ex-lover Rachel and her traditionalist ...

Nick wants to handle the case of a factory in trouble, which needs to reorganize or shut down. Burton Fallin refuses to accept the client, allegedly because there's no profit in it and risk of face loss, but Nick insists and finds the real reason is a family grudge. Nick is offered a way out of his 1500 hours community sentence, as his 'spoiled' MO hardly squares with the overworked public office. While he considers it, he handles the case of April Evans, who claims to be raped by her cop stepfather Al Sandro, who denies abusing her or her mother, who sides with him. ...

Nick is not amused to be maneuvered into taking risks with gay judge Smirnovitch for his charge Ethan Ritter (16). The cocky gay prostitute isn't wanted by his own family but the competent gay couple that even wants to adopt him was refused by a bigot judge. Nick goes the extra miles in every direction, for once helped by the social services dragon.

Nick is assigned the case of teenage girl Dina Jameson, whose violent past means the couple interested in adopting her kid sister Lisa (also Nick's client) won't take her in the bargain. Dina deliberately seduces Nick, whom she made believe she was an adult, the previous night, to blackmail him, but some digging turns up the girls' relevant family secrets. Meanwhile Alvin Masterson fails to renew county grants for the law firm's exclusive service for minors, so he must find alternative private funding and/or accept adult clients under state subsidy terms.

Nick successfully pleads the case of gentle, mentally-challenged Malcolm Dempsy (25), whose overbearing mother demands custody because he was tricked into trading an expensive stereo system for a cellphone by his dodgy neighbor and "friend", drug pusher Freddie Paddock. He insists on defending the boy when seen leaving the dealer's apartment after the scum was murdered by gunshot, but no gun is found. Nick risks his parole to get help from his own slick former 'quality'-dealer Colin Bennett. Dad considers sacrificing Jake to avoid claims the firm can't survive after ...

Burton Fallin asks in vain for Nick's help in the case of former CEO Harry Josephs with terminal cancer, whose business partners, the Hopeson brothers, ruthlessly invoke a contract clause allowing them to sell back his shares at a measly historical price. Nick gives priority to the case of incurably sick Lesley Walker, who needs a legal guardian to be eligible for a donor heart. Her former foster parents refuse to adopt her at their own children's expense, but Nick considers filing for custody himself. Burton's lover makes him promise to introduce her to Nick, who ...

Nick reluctantly takes the case of penniless legal services secretary Barbara Ludzinski, whose teenage son Russ was arrested for possession of drugs found in his car. The knave stubbornly refuses a deal to protect his accomplices. Nick resorts to a trap after a neighborhood boy dies from some of the bad ecstasy batch. The Fallins represent a toy company which can't sell out to a Japanse firm without permission from its main character's creator, Fulton Trout, who can't handle children complaining to him about copyright-related restrictions, such as a school mural. As ...

Nick is appalled when Louisa 'Lulu' Archer, a lawyer Burton was prepared to hire, opts for the job in free legal services, where Alvin immediately makes her his 'senior'. In every stage of their first common client, immigrant restaurant owner Ahmad Hassan being victim of assaults on the business and his daughter Salaam by schoolmate Perry Hudson, Nick proves himself far more competent. Meanwhile Burton's partner Larry Hines has defected to a bigger law firm and tries to lure most staff away with him, even Nick, as well as their accounts.

Nick prepares to transfer to the other law firm next week, but first has an affair with Meghan Barstow, who will work under his supervision there. Nick pleads the case of Hunter Reed, who wants to live with his doting, devoted father, schizophrenic Dr. Thomas Reed, who successfully sued the manufacturer of pills which made him go lose control and kill Hunter's mother, rather then his well-meaning grandparents. Alvin grudgingly agrees to plead for his mythomaniac ex Meryl Dimetrio, who claims she was fired for reporting a manufacturing error in the brakes produced by a...

Nick starts his new job, but instantly hates it, being forced to do mergers. In a case against Burton's firm, representing a son against his father in a firm's transfer of control, his client-priority loses both firms their fat client. The stress gets Nick to accept a bit of drugs from his former dealer, and start a bar fight. The occasion is Alvin' birthday party, after a case in which he reluctantly represents the daughter of his first client, both unfit mothers, over the grandchild's custody. Burton witnessed the fight and quickly evacuates knocked-down Nick.

Nick escapes parole problems, expresses his unease at Kik's and returns to Burton's firm. The Fallins plead in a bizarre last will contesting for father Frank Newburg and his sassy daughter, who claims, when discovered by Nick cutting herself, to be incestuously abused like her silent sister. A Burton employee who volunteers to take pro bono cases 'like Nick' finds no sympathy with Burton and resigns after whining over nepotism. Nick violates his lawyer's code by passing on confidential information from Frank anonymously and repeats that publicly when the judge ...

The Fallins get a visit from Liz, Burton's sister-in-law and former secret lover, who needs them to sell her advertising agency to pay off her debts and start a trust fund for Jeremy Hetherington, her son, as she has terminal cancer. Nick notices the hostile, thieving boy is even more frustrating than he was when he was sent to boarding school. The boy is in deep trouble, even expelled for bookie practices and in $6,000 debt. James defends ten year-old Thai drug mule Kalaya.

Teenage father Todd contests his baby being adopted, without even hearing him, albeit by perfectly fit Dr. Spanner and his wife. Allegedly rehabilitated crack-addict Melinda Tralins demands help to contest social services taking her baby away. Nick succeeds but finds out afterward she's a terrible mother for her older boys and proves she's still an addicted prostitute, with unforeseen bad consequences before the court can reconsider the case. Only Nick learns about Burton's eye surgery.

Nick takes the case of mother Maria, opposing self-supporting model student Dan Braczyk's emancipation request. He hands over the case when he learns of a conflict of interest, as she works in Gary Davey's electronics firm where Burton tries to negotiate an end to a strike, which Dan is breaking, leading to him being beaten up. Nick discovers trade union rep Barry is inflexible on account of political ambitions. Nick's college ex from New York gets him in bed, but he dumps her in favor of colleague Lulu, who just got a proposal from another.

Nick takes the case of genius schoolboy Matthew Damira, who opposes being adopted by former social worker Suzanne Diamond because she backed down on the promise to adopt his big, handicapped-but-inseparable brother Justin. After losing the first ruling, he challenges the parental waiver signed by their cognitively-challenged mother. Jake learns from his mother that father Ed Straka, whom she suspects of gambling on the tracks again, is in major debt, likely to get their house foreclosed upon. Having failed to bluff loan-shark Mike Fritas or get a pay advance from ...

Friendly gay judge Stanton, who once let Nick off with community service, is promoted to federal judge, but a heart attack soon kills him. Nick minds Stanton's dog, Burton remembers his advice there's more to a lawyer's life then lucrative clients, considering to opt for the judicial bench. Alvin defends adolescent Ted Popper, whose delusions since parental abuse make him unsuited for youth shelters, due to violent episodes. Fondly remembering his political campaigning past, Alvin starts a movement for suitable psychiatric care. Nick takes the case of Janine McGregor,...

Nick's parole officer Dale Petrocki blackmails him to make him help negotiate the acquisition of a night club from a dodgy owner with Petrocki's even dodgier girlfriend, a stripper. Nick's warnings that it smells like fraud are ignored. Burton enters the selection process to become a federal judge, but makes precious little concessions to the unwritten political criteria. Nick also represents ex-con Lenny Getkin, who wants the right to visit his daughter, whom her mother raised to be fearful of him.

Nick and Lulu defend orphan Denny Collins (16) and his true love Jeanette Munday, homeless teenagers who just had a baby and want to keep it, even after they squat in the stylish old house, to Nick's taste, which Lulu's fiancé bought but scares her. Hoping to be nominated federal judge, Burton starts passing on major clients to Nick. The CEO they start with makes merger negotiations excruciating because of his selfish hidden agenda concerning a company jet. Jake proves his social skills can be valuable.

Former Pennsylvania state senator Nathan Caldwell is made senior partner by Burton, with his former chief of staff Mitchell Lichtman as associate. Nick is soon fed up having to deal with them over deals which cost him clients, but Burton won't reconsider. Only when Nick denounces Mitchell's willingness to abuse information obtained in legislative service, his position is terminated. Nick helps Lulu deal with the suspicion, only confirmed by another Alzheimer patient, that her grandmother is abused by the night orderly, obtaining custody instead of Lulu's uncaring ...

Nick decides to become Hunter's legal guardian after father Dr. Thomas Reed's death and enjoys bonding with the bright, shy boy over baseball, but the doc's suicide allows the grandfather to reclaim custody. Burton is nominated for federal judge and appoints ex-senator Nathan Caldwell managing partner. The politician immediately rehires his former chief of staff Mitchell Lichtman. Nick walks out and starts a new firm with his best colleagues, who bring their clients. Police detective Darger bugs Nick to help him find violent addict Mandy Gressler, who manipulates him ...