It's a week of continuing storylines as these lawyers are forced to deal with the choices they made. Whether good or bad, every action has consequences.
Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen), Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois), and Brad Chase (Mark Valley) are in the lobby to witness the return of Edwin Poole (Larry Miller) to the firm. When audiences first saw Poole, he went to a staff meeting without his pants in "Head Cases". Amazingly, he got all the way to the office without anybody noticing. The result was Poole being hospitalized for a mental breakdown.
Poole enters the lobby ready to return to business. He brings a gift for Shirley, a framed certificate stating he has completed treatment. Denny Crane (William Shatner) is delighted to see the former partner. They reminisce about founding the firm.
Down the hall, Alan Shore (James Spader) is about to have problems of his own. Alan's assistant, Melissa (Marisa Coughlan), sees cops enter the building and she starts talking about how she has already paid her taxes. Why? Because the last time they were there, they arrested her for tax evasion in "Stick It". Alan made sure she would not have to go to prison.
The cops arrest Alan for aiding and abetting a fugitive, among other charges. His client fled the country after being accused of attempted murder in "Race Ipsa". While Alan makes wisecracks, he does not fight handcuffs. Melissa promises to get Alan a lawyer.
At Alan's trial, his case is tried by Assistant District Attorney Douglas Koupfer (Adam Arkin). He says the arrest is personal due to Koupfer's animosity towards him. These two have met before when Alan successfully won a case Koupfer tried. But they have a longer history, going back to law school.
Personal grudges seem to be a recurring theme in this show. Didn't Brad accuse the district attorney of making things "personal" when he had Brad arrested for chopping off the fingers of a priest? I thought Alan just might choose Brad to represent him in court. Then again, I thought the Shatner defense was fun.
Shirley tells Edwin he seems "less crazy with your pants down", and suggests he might not be ready to practice. He proves it when he decides to sue a snack cake company on behalf of his computer installer, who is diabetic. With Shirley's help, there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.
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