L.A. Law

Ah, well, thank you very much, Mr. Garabedian.

We are interviewing a number of people, and we'll let you know as soon as we've made our final decision.

Before I leave, I want to say two words to you.

Class action.

Whether we're talking about negligently manufactured pacemakers or defective farm

machinery, I believe that multiple plaintiff lawsuits will generate heap big moolah.

And I am just the boy to do it.

Ah, thank you.

Thank you.

How many more of these do we have to see today?

Five more.

I can't do this.

You guys hire whoever you want to hire.

I just, I can't do this anymore.

Hello?

Ah, you're?

Jane Halliday.

I'm Douglas Brackman.

This is Ann Kelsey, Jonathan Rollins, and Arnold Becker.

Hey.

Arnold, are you staying?

Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm from Oklahoma.

Went to Harvard Law School.

I clerked for a federal judge for a year after graduation.

Following that, I worked in the district attorney's office in Oklahoma City for two years.

What made you want to relocate out here?

Well, I have family out here.

Also, I felt I could benefit by broadening my horizons a bit.

Is there any particular area you'd like to specialize in?

At this point in my career, I'd just as soon be guided by what needs present themselves.

I'd be happy to do whatever you need me to do.

It says on your resume that you attended Bob Jones University.

Yes.

That's a religious school, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

It's a Christian college.

A fundamentalist Christian college.

Yes.

Are you a fundamentalist Christian?

Yes, I am.

Well, forgive me for saying this, but this firm seems an unlikely setting

for a fundamentalist Christian to want to be in.

Perhaps it is.

But I made a decision to pursue a career and to work and live

in a more mainstream environment than the one I grew up in.

Your firm is very well regarded in the legal community.

I think I could benefit from working here.

And I also think that I could make a contribution.

Miss Halliday, you might find us something of a godless bunch.

I think you'll find that I'm really pretty accepting of people, Mr. Rollins.

And I don't think any of us are godless.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for thou art with me.

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table for me before mine enemies.

Thou a no in test my head with oil.

My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

Well.

It was very nice meeting all of you.

And it was nice meeting you, Miss Halliday.

We'll let you know as soon as we've made our decision.

Thank you.

What?

Well, when is the table going to be ready, Douglas?

They said another week.

Unbelievable.

Yeah, it's a dust.

Everywhere is a dust.

Is this it?

Yeah.

This renovation is taking on epic proportions.

When are they telling us now it's going to be done?

End of the month.

End of which month?

Fellas, could you hold it down?

We ought to try to get some work done around here.

Folks, if we could get down to business, interviews are ongoing for new associates.

I'd like to have someone hired by the end of the week, if possible.

I think it's safe to say that as far as Arnold's concerned, we ought to be done looking now.

I trust that what we witnessed was momentary infatuation and nothing more than that.

We'll see all the candidates who will make a decision like everyone else or one whoever is best qualified for the job.

What are you looking at?

What am I looking at?

I'm looking at the prize in the Cracker Jack box.

I'm looking at the big brass ring and the merry ground of life.

What are you looking at?

The Bentley Continental R.

You're getting a Bentley?

Yes, I am.

How much?

The list is $275,000.

You're spending $275,000 for a car?

You think that's excessive?

Folks, as compelling as this conversation is, I'd really like to get some work done

before the sounds of hammering drives me completely crazy.

You're running the meeting, Douglas.

Run the meeting.

Kincaid versus Owens, Pierce, McIntyre, and Reynolds.

That's mine.

Judith Kincaid is suing her law firm for sexual discrimination under Title VII for their failure to make her a partner.

There, but for the grace of God, go we.

There are no female partners at Owen Pierce Douglas.

Not even one like there is here.

Can this case be settled?

The offers we received were insulting.

Let's try not to get too much of a reputation as a repository for litigious and embittered females, shall we add?

Moving on.

Excuse me.

Eli.

Is this a bad time?

No, it's a very good time.

Everybody, this is my cousin, Eli Levinson.

How do you do?

Stuart told us you were involved in that case of the social worker who was killed.

The parents of the accused are all friends of my family's.

I'm out here on their behalf.

Well, if there's anything any of us can do to assist you, please let us know.

Thank you.

There's a vacant office you can use, but we're a little shorthanded in the secretarial department.

Oh, please don't worry about it.

You're being extremely gracious.

I'll make my own arrangements as concerns a secretary.

Do you think $275,000 is too much to spend on a car?

I don't know.

I bust my ass working.

I'm at the top of my field.

I have no dependents.

Who should own a Bentley if not me?

Will it make you happy?

Yes.

Yes, it will.

Then you should own it.

A wise man arrives from the East.

Nice to meet you, Eli.

Nice to meet you.

Do you think there's any chance he'll be glad to see us here?

My God, with the trouble he's in, you'd think he'd be thrilled to see us.

I think you should be prepared for that not to be the case.

Oh, Sandy.

How are you doing, son?

Who's that?

This is Eli Levinson, an attorney who's come with us from New York.

What for?

Because you need an attorney.

Because you have a little bit of difficulty here.

Do you still have my Beatles album, Yesterday and Today?

We probably do.

I haven't thrown anything of yours away.

Certainly not your record collection.

Well, it's the album cover with the Beatles and Butcher cult.

See, I steamed off the album cover it was sold with because it's got the original one underneath.

It's probably worth a fair amount of money.

Should we send for it?

Do you want to have it here?

No, I'm thinking you should sell it.

I don't want to go back now.

Ed, Ray, why don't you give us a minute by ourselves?

I'll see you soon, son.

Sandy?

Sandy.

You don't know me and I don't know you.

You've been charged with a murder.

That means you need to have someone paying very close attention to what happens to you.

Do you have a cigarette?

I don't smoke.

I didn't ask you if you smoke.

I asked you if you had a cigarette.

I don't.

Sandy.

Sandy.

There's a preliminary hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

Do you have any problem with me representing you at that hearing?

No.

Good.

Is there anything you can tell me about the crime you're being charged with?

No.

Okay.

Can I go now?

Sure.

See you tomorrow.

Hey, who are you again?

I'm your lawyer, kid.

How long did you work at Owen, Pierce, McIntyre, and Reynolds, Miss Kincaid?

Eight years.

I was hired right out of law school.

What were you told about your performance during that time?

I was told that my analytical skills were first rate, as were my briefs,

as was my performance as a litigator, as was my ability to supervise other associates.

Were any conversations held with reference to your being made partner?

Yes.

In June of 1989, I came up for partnership review.

What were you told?

I was told that while my work as an attorney was outstanding, my, quote,

unquote, people skills needed some adjustment.

I was told that I could be abrasive, I could be terse, and I was told that I lacked a sense of humor.

How did you respond?