The Practice

- Season 8

(2003)

Ellenor defends a man accused of killing his pregnant wife. Eugene and Jimmy defend a female vigilante who killed a drug dealer. Tara hates the firm's new partner Alan. Alan defends a homeless man who planted an unwanted kiss on a woman.

Alan takes the case of a lawyer (Sharon Stone) fired for claiming that she can talk to God. Ellenor's client Stanfield (Chris O'Donnell) takes the stand but doesn't come off well. His daughter exposes a shocking secret.

Alan invites Shelia (Sharon Stone) to join the practice. She takes the case of a cuckolded husband. Brad Stanfield shocks Ellen with the truth. She conveys it to Alan, who takes it to the D.A., thereby risking disbarment.

Alan gets appointed to defend a serial toilet cleaner. Sheila, becoming more unstable, jumps at defending a taxidermist stuffing his mom's head. Brad gets another lawyer,

Eugene is forced to defend a white supremacist. Jamie represents a woman who was refused by an airline because of her size. Meanwhile, Alan and Tara try to piece together a defense for Roland Huff.

Eugene and Jimmy continue their defense of white supremacist Jonathan Macklin, when the case takes a surprising turn. Alan and Tara try to help Roland Huff, who is fast unraveling. Jamie questions her relationship with Eugene.

Jimmy defends a man accused of aggravated rape, who faces 25 years in prison. Alan and Jamie get in trouble when Ellenor and Eugene discover the truth about Melissa Kenner's settlement with the airline.

Alan Shore hacks into opposing counsel's computer to win a settlement for a client suing a drug manufacturer for causing her husband's suicide; Shore hides a murder weapon to protect a mentally unbalanced client accused of murder.

Alan Shore defends a twelve-year-old girl who is trying to escape an arranged marriage in her home country. Meanwhile, Eugene tries to help a man who is seeking justice for the brutal murder of his wife.

Alan Shore uses unorthodox tactics when he's appointed by the court to defend a young man accused of murder. Meanwhile, Tara must try her first case when she's thrown into covering Shore's previously scheduled client.

After a policeman is shot to death, Jamie and Tara arrive at the hospital where the suspect is being treated, and are shocked to find the police torturing him for information. But the real shock is when they discover no one seems to have the authority or the willingness to put a stop to it.

Jimmy and Jamie defend an elderly man, retired dock worker Walter Josephson, who is accused of killing a member of the local Irish mob, and Alan Shore agrees to help his friend Dwight Haber - by any means necessary - who discovers his lawyer wife Eve is cheating on him.

Alan returns to his childhood home of Dedham, Mass. to defend a childhood friend; Paul Stewart who is wanted for the brutal murder of the town party girl. Alan tries to come to terms with secrets of his Dedham past, and learns that when it comes to going home, nothing ever changes; nothing stays the same.

An ongoing, sensational murder case besets Shore with pre-trial anxieties centering on jury selection; a hostile judge; a priest's confession; and suspicions of malpractice that involve a manipulative witness for the prosecution.

Shore plays hardball to defend his client, exposing a priest friend's secret, as well as the affair he had with the accused's mother.

Eugene and Jimmy conspire to get rid of Shore without telling Ellenor. Jamie sues a hospital for negligence in the death of a pregnant woman.

Shore sabotages the firm's computers, and he hires Crane, Poole and Schmidt to sue them for wrongful termination. Alan meets Denny Crane (William Shatner) for the first time. Ellenor defends a woman who slapped a cop.

The firm fights Shore and Denny Crane in court. Ellenor tries to re-hire Tara to get her back on the side of the firm.

Friction at the firm gets to Jimmy, who's torn between loyalties and principles. Meanwhile, tension besets Shore as he crosses swords with his brilliant but erratic new boss, whose behavior raises questions of competence.

When Shore resolves a difficult case, Hannah finds herself extremely attracted to him; Eugene is offered a shot at a judgeship; and Berluti's practice attracts many clients, and also a threat from another neighborhood lawyer who sees Berluti as poaching turf.

Berluti's new practice is threatened by a lawyer who considers the neighborhood "his" turf; Hannah and Ellenor face off in a products liability case; Shore admits his feelings for Tara; and Eugene is appointed a judge.

Eugene becomes a Superior Court Judge, and is furious when his first case includes Alan Shore. Shore tries to fend off the advances of a co-worker, and Bobby Donnell tries to sidestep a final farewell party with the members of the practice.