The Good Wife

Look, I am the one who is suffering here.

Oh, yes, tell us your troubles.

I am handling all of Will's cases,

and now we've lost Caitlin, too.

Look, we put someone else into Will's seat, that's what we do.

Excuse me. I'm sitting right here.

There is no "Will's seat."

You're not here as a lawyer.

You might as well not be here at all.

That is not the subject of this discussion.

Someone spoke to the bar disciplinary board.

Someone said Will was here working on cases.

Now, I'm not going to do anything so dramatic

as to ask, "Who was it?"

But I will say this. If you have an issue

with the way we're running this firm, you come to me.

You do not stab Will in the back.

You don't lie to the disciplinary board...

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Look, I know nobody wants to respond

because we don't want to look like Judases,

but Will is working on cases.

No, I'm updating

associates on the background of my cases.

What?!

Oh, come on.

You call me an ethical midget?

Just a minute! Wait a minute!

We disagree with each other, we keep it in-house!

You want to backstab someone, do it right here.

Okay, I disagree. There.

And I urge the equity partners to replace Will until such time...

Then marshal the equity partner votes, and call a meeting.

- Are we done here? - No.

Alicia's asked for a raise.

I am advocating a ten percent bump.

No, you have a dozen third-year associates who will

be asking for the same exact thing.

- Then we lose her. - And how do you know that?

- Because he's got a dog in the fight. - We only want

Alicia because of her ties to her husband.

No, we want her because she's good.

We're gonna take your word for it?

Look, look, we all know we're gonna compromise.

Can we just compromise?

Who do you think leaked it?

Could be any one of them.

Good thing they don't like each other, or I'd be dead.

- Where you headed? - Court.

Why? You don't have a case today.

Diane Lockhart.

L-O-C-K-H-A-R-T.

And can you describe what happened,

Ms. Lockhart?

Yes. I was walking from my car

when I saw you in the lobby, serving a subpoena to that man.

And did you hear me announce myself?

Ah, yes. I heard you say,

"Mr. Dobbs, you have been served."

Then what happened?

In your own words, Ms. Lockhart.

Uh, well, uh, that man tried to punch you,

and then you threw him

- against the wall. - In a manly fashion?

Yes, I would say so.

He says I threw the first punch. That's why he's suing me.

Uh, that is not what I observed.

You two know each other. That's why she's saying that.

Do you and I know each other, Ms. Lockhart?

Uh, well, you

served me with a subpoena,

so I guess to that extent, we know each other.

Thank you, Ms. Lockhart.

Your presence here in small-claims court is a breath

of fresh air.

Objection.

Overruled.

And I will ask you to proceed,

- Mrs. Florrick. - So the video

was taken from the back of the snowmobile?

Uh, yes, my-my wife was taking it.

That's just her cell phone camera.

And that's you driving?

Yes. Up at the Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve.

Then what happened?

The snowmobile... it just started changing directions.

Okay, Grant, slow down.

Were you steering it toward the trees?

No.

What are you doing?!

The steering column locked, and

I...

It's not funny. Stop.

I couldn't budge it.

Please slow down!

Grant, slow down! Please!

And what happened to your wife?

She was in a coma for a week,

and then she...

She... she didn't make it.

And that's why you're suing Snow Plain, the makers

of your snowmobile?

Yes. Uh, I've never

sued anyone in my life.

Never had much use for the courts.

My-my parents told me,

"If you have a problem with someone,

then, you say it to his face," but my wife...

She was the best thing in my life.

Okay, let me interrupt right there.

Mrs. Florrick, Mr. Hines,

why don't you come up here, and we'll talk?

Here's the deal.

First of all, good morning to you all.

Good morning.

We're going into chambers

for a bench-supervised negotiation.

Your Honor, that's not necessary.

Counselor Hines, it is.

Your case here is obviously

to delay until Mr. Duverney gives up.

- That's not true! - And I'm not gonna be a party to that.

There are no real legal issues to dispute,

so here is my order.

Marshal your settlement arguments and meet me

in chambers in one hour. Understood?

Yes, Your Honor.

I think I might try my hand at this lawyering.

Very impressive.

So I have to thank you.

There's an art show, or something or other, near here.

: You're not really into art?

No, but I don't actively dislike it.

I'm sorry, but I have to head back to work.

But you do have to have lunch.

Actually, I think someone's waiting for you?

Okay, then, tonight.

I'll call you.

You thinking of buying?

I don't know what I'm thinking. Everything's so expensive

these days.

Well, you know one thing I learned is, life is short.

You get a chance to bring yourself some pleasure,

you should do it.

Even if I had the money, I... I don't know.

It's my old house.

Doesn't make sense to go backwards.

Hmm. Look at me.

I'd give anything to go backward.

Mrs. Florrick the judge is ready for you now.

Here we go.

What is it about glasses?

I seem to walk into a room, and they disappear.

Your Honor, this is not just about one suit.

This is about the class action

that Lockhart & Gardner has in the wings...

No, it is about one suit. We're asking for $5 million

for pain and suffering, loss of spousal support...

You know, I used to carry around

three or four pair of glasses.

At the end of the day,

I was like a drunk looking for bottles. Ugh!

You're paying, Mr. Hines.

By the evidence I've seen, you're paying.

The only question is, how much? But you haven't seen this evidence.

What is it? Grant Duverney's medical report.

From 2009. Before the accident.

Yes, but after his career as a professional hockey player.

What does that have to do with anything?

Modified comparative negligence.

If your client contributed to the accident...

in fact... if he contributed more

than 50% to the accident... then he can't sue us.

You're saying that he's responsible

- for his wife's death? - I'm saying, given his mental capacity

after 86 games as a professional hockey player...

body checks and fights...

he had no business getting on that snowmobile.

Your Honor, this... is despicable.

And yet legal, Counselor.

You're saying, Counselor Hines,

that the plaintiff caused his own accident

by steering into a tree?

I'm saying, it contributed.

The plaintiff's apparent condition...

chronic traumatic encephalopathy...

was more than 50% of the problem.

Okay.

I'll be ordering an independent

neurological evaluation on Mr. Duverney.

We'll see where that takes us.

Basically, we're in trouble.

How can we be in trouble? We were in negotiations on this.

They're going after his hockey career.

- And Judge Rigby is giving them some rope. - So there's truth

in their charges?

Grant played 86 games as a pro hockey player,

and in his 86th start, he was in a fight on the ice,

and ended up in the hospital.

He never played again.