04x11 - True Brit

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "L.A. Law..."

Maybe we should ask ourselves if this is really a place

where Roselyn can be happy.

Right now, we're very wary of each other
-
-

or we should be very wary.

If this venture's going to go forward,

we're going to have to adjust to each other.

Look at the clients you represent.

Banks involved in slum refinancing,

real estate syndicates, a personal favorite of mine.

We've all spoken our piece.

I vote yay.


-Same.
-Nix.


-I vote yes.
-I vote no.

What about Stuart?

Stuart votes yes.

We are here because

you can't bear to touch me anymore, Victor.


-Hey, I touch you.
-When you have to.

You turn away when you don't.

Did Allison g*ng r*pe make it

hard for you to touch her, Victor?

Look, Caroline, I think that we'll be able

to work all of that out between us, okay?

I'm not going to lie to you.

We've had our problems.

Maybe Leland McKenzie isn't what he used to be,

but I will promise you this.

If you leave your business here,

I will personally take responsibility.

It seems that Dan Siegfried wants me to be

the responsible attorney.

Now, that's Leland's client,

and the last thing I want to do is step on his toes.

Why doesn't he want Leland?

God knows. You know how these clients are.

After discussion with Michael and Douglas,

we've decided to add Arnold's name to the firm's name.

Beginning February , we will thereafter be known as

McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney Kuzak and Becker.

I just know that I have got to get away

from certain things, and one of them is you.

Do you know that I love you?

I know.

My apologies to all.

I'm afraid we rather underestimated

the traffic congestion here in Los Angeles.

Sir Nigel?

Yes, milord, at your service.

Would you mind telling me what that is you're wearing?

It will be my genuine pleasure.

This, for all who be so curious,

is the appropriate garb of a Queen's Counsel.

And?

The Queen's Counsel is what I am, milord.

[chuckles]

[clears throat]

In my chambers, Queen's Counsel.

It is an American courtroom, Sir Nigel.

That it is, but I am, in all respects, an Englishman.

What does that got to do with anything?

Oh, you've been so kind as to grant me the status

that I might represent my client in your court.

The wig and gown serve only to remind the jury

that I am, indeed, a foreigner.

Why do they need to be reminded of that?

Well, during the course of the trial,

I might demonstrate some ignorance

of your laws and customs,

and I wouldn't want that to be taken as contempt or disdain.

It could inure to the prejudice of my client.

Your client bulldozed Walt Brown's family business into bankruptcy!

Oh, come on
-
-

I don't want that undermined

by the appropriate garb of a Queen's Counsel.

I take it you object to the wig, Mr. Kuzak?

Yes, sir, I do.

And I object to the robe.

The garb comes off, Sir Nigel.


-Milord
-
-
-Overruled.

: this afternoon, and wear a suit.

[theme music]

We're running behind,

so let's speed things up a little.

Michael, what's happening with the candy bar case?

Testimony begins today.

We're hoping to get a verdict by the end of the week.

Very good. And, Rosalind,

how goes the savings and loan purchase?

Contracts are drawn.

Abby and I meet with the client tomorrow.


-Excellent.
-Which brings up a problem.

My office is being painted this week.

Which means I am homeless for the meeting.

I really hate to think of the three of us sitting in here.

Why don't you use Ann's office?


-Don't you think she'll mind?
-No, it'll be no problem.

Great. And there's more good news.

Kosa Industries, after getting slammed by the IRS,

has retained us to handle the appeal,

which is major litigation, people.

All right.

After discussion with Michael,

it's been decided that this matter

would best be prosecuted by Stuart Markowitz.


-Me?
-Why not?

You've been doing great in court,

and besides, it's a tax matter.

I get to do an appeals court argument?


-If you don't want it, I can
-
-
-No, I want it. I want it.

This is unbelievable.

I want it, Leland.

And lastly, as you all know,

on Thursday, February st,

Arnold's name will be added to the firm's name.

You can all expect new stationery

bearing the new name of

McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney, Kuzak and Becker.

Leland, you got the note about using

the ampersand before my name, as opposed to the word "and."

I think it's a little more formal.

My publicist, she
-
-And this was not my idea, believe me.

She thinks it might be a good idea to put out a press release.

She thinks it would be a good opportunity

to generate some publicity for the firm,

and she would like to set up a photo session

with all the partners.

What?

This would be good for the firm.

Then let's take a firm vote.

All those in favor of the press release, say aye.

Aye.

The nays have it.

I have to prepare for a meeting.

Must be pretty important if you couldn't say on the phone.

I need help, Diana.

You're the only lawyer I know, and I...

I'm in trouble.

What's wrong?

I hit a boy in my car.

Last night, I was driving home down Mulholland,

and just at that bend at Laurel Terrace...

He was on a bike, and I...

He swerved...

Diana, I k*lled him.

What?

He swerved right into the oncoming lane.

I hit him dead
-on at miles an hour.

Oh, God.

Yeah.

And, uh...

I drove away.

Excuse me?

I mean, I got out to see if he was okay,

but his body had been knocked way down into this ditch.

So I went down the hill...

But he was dead.

I got back in my car,

and I panicked.

You didn't report it to anybody?

Manny, you just left him there?

I know.

I know.

This morning it was on the news...

that he's missing.

His parents think he's been abducted or something.

Diana, I don't know what to do.

And, uh, what did you pay Allen Scott

on execution of this contract?

$., which I had to borrow to get.

And in exchange for this, you got what?

Exclusive rights to manufacture and market

Teddy Bars in the United States.

And Teddy Bars is the defendant's candy?

Yes. They are very big in England,

and Mr. Scott wanted to sample the U.S. market,

so we entered into the contract.

These candy bars were also a big success here.

Huge success.

So much so that I had to expand.

I took out loans and sunk over $ million into the expansion.

What happened next?

Mr. Scott, when he sees how the West Coast sales are going,

he offers to buy me out.

I said no, and I told him about my expansion plans.

Then he offers again.

This time he's not so polite.

I beg your pardon.

It would seem most inappropriate

for subjective commentary on manners.

There's utterly no foundation.

Are you making an objection?

I am indeed.

Sustained.

Proceed, Mr. Kuzak.

What happened next, Mr. Brown?

The next thing I knew, he started shipping his candy

to three different Canadian distributors.

Well, he was allowed to do that.

Yes, but the Canadian market couldn't absorb

that many candy bars if every man, woman and child up there

ate them nine times a day.

They ended up flooding the U.S. market

at a price I couldn't touch.

That was his plan.

Suddenly, I couldn't sell any stock.

I couldn't service my debt.

I had to shut down and...

sell my factory for scrap.

So when I did that, Alan Scott moved in

and grabbed the U.S. market for himself.

And what exactly did you lose, sir?

I lost the business my grandfather started years ago.

people who worked for me lost their livelihood.

There were families that had worked for H. Brown

for three generations.

And then he came along.

And like that, it was all gone.

Kuzak: I have no further questions.

Mr. Brown, it was Canadian firms

that were sending Teddy Bars into the United States,

is that right?

Yes.

And the agreement that you signed with Mr. Scott

in no way prohibited him from selling in Canada.

Do you think I'd have signed that agreement

if I thought he'd have done what he did?

My dear man, I haven't the faintest idea.

Let me tell you. That man's a thief.

What a perfectly dreadful thing to say,

particular since I haven't even asked you a question.

Your Honor, mustn't I first proper a query

as a prerequisite to his response?

You must.

The jury will disregard that last remark.

Pity a bell doesn't chime when you seek to unring it.


-Sir Nigel!
-I beg your pardon.

Um...

I'd like to refresh your memory.

The conduct of my client didn't, in any way,

violate the letter of your contractual agreement, did it?

Letter of the contract or not,

what he did wasn't fair.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Hither through the fog and filthy air.

Judge: Sir Nigel!

Quite right. I'll say no more.

And he refuses to come forward?

The thought of jail terrifies him.

Well, then there's nothing we can do.

I mean, he doesn't want to be incriminated, so that's it.

What about an anonymous phone call

telling the police where the body is?

Uh
-uh. You tell the police the location of the body,

you point them towards physical evidence

and that could be used against your clients.

There a
-year
-old boy lying in a ditch.

His parents are still hoping he's alive.

For God's sake!

This is...perverted!

So we just leave that boy there?

Let the body decompose? Let the parents go crazy,

and we just sit up here and hide behind the code?

Diana, you have a duty of confidentiality,

and a duty to uphold the privilege.

You do anything to violate that,

you very well may be barred from ever practicing law.

This can't be right.

It's the law. You haven't got a choice.

[sighs]

Honey?

Hon? What do you think?


-About what?
-My suit.

Oh, let me see. Very nice.

Who would have thought I'd be arguing an appeal, huh?

Little, uh, down in the dumps, huh?

A little.

Ann, it's an adjustment.

I know.

Hey, the truth is, before you know it,

this little guy's gonna be in school,

and you're gonna be wanting this time back.

You're gonna be wondering why you were

in such a hurry to get back to the wars.

Yeah. Whatever you're not doing, that's what I'm dreading.

Really. I sit in the office wishing I was home. I do.

I know.

You know, I do.

Well, maybe that can be arranged.

You wanna talk about it?

No.

No, it'd be too hard for me to leave him right now.

[baby crying]


-What? What?
-It's okay.

I'm okay.

I, uh, I gotta go.

Let me know what time you'll be home.

Okay. Good
-bye.

Cheer up.

[crying]

Okay. We have red
-lined the changes,

which I encourage you to review.

Listen, I don't mean to be rude,

but I thought I made myself very clear.

I wanted partners handling my affairs.

Abby is qualified in these types of transactions.

Come on, Rosalind.

What are you, a second
-year lawyer?

I'm a fourth year associate, Mr. Lavelle.

Well, forgive me, but there are partners

and there are associates,

and there's a very good reason for those distinctions.

Meaning what exactly?

Meaning either in experienced or incompetence.

With you, I'm sure it's just that you're young.

You're the client, Mr. Lavelle.

You don't want me? That's fine.


-Abagail.
-Rosalind...

let's get this man someone else.

Have a nice day.

I didn't mean anything personal,

it's just that I'm shelling out

over / of a million dollars to you people in fees.

Now listen.

When you hire me,

you hire this firm and its associates.

Abagail Perkins is an extremely confident attorney.

Now, if you don't want her,

I suggest that you pack your case,

collect your files and find yourself another law firm.

You gotta be kidding.

You're gonna toss my business out

on account of an associate?

You get either the package, Mr. Lavelle,

or you get nothing.

Your choice.

Okay.

Okay. If she's that good, then she's that good.

[knocks on door]

Let me tell you what you just did wrong.

I don't think I did anything wrong.

He was rude, he didn't want me on the case, I obliged him.

What you did was exalt your own self
-respect

over the revenues he generates for this firm.

That's exactly right.

But it's totally unnecessary.

A smart attorney, and you are a smart attorney,

can keep both her self
-respect and the business.

Walking out may serve your sense of dignity,

but it wall always cost you the client.

It was either I leave the room, Ros,

or take his head off, and I didn't think
-
-

Then take his head off.

Never leave the room.

I can't believe we're doing this.

You're the one who was lying awake all night wondering.

We have to be sure.

Trust me. Diana, if you hit the kid at miles an hour,

he's dead.

I don't care. Give him a chance he could be stuck
-
-

There! Skid marks!


-Okay.
-Oh, God.

Okay. All right. You stay here.

Get behind he wheel. If a car comes by,

pretend you're enjoying the view.

Uh, if anybody stops, honk the horn

so I can get the hell out of there.

Okay.

I don't wanna do this.

We have to be sure, Jonathan.

All right.

I was the lawyer who drafted the contract.

I certainly know the intent.

The point of the deal was to make H. Brown, Inc.

the exclusive distributor for Teddy Bars in the United States.

Did you ever discuss the Canadian firm

supplying these candy bars to American markets?

Of course not. That would have rendered

the exclusivity clause meaningless.

Walt was supposed to have

all the business in the United States,

and he knows it.

Thank you, Mr. Siltan.

I have nothing further.

Yours is a commanding presence, sir.

I dare say I best be careful with you.


-Objection.
-Sustained.

Mr. Siltan, as Mr. Brown's lawyer,

you sought, during negotiations,

to prohibit my client

from selling to Canadian firms.

That's correct.

And it would also be true, wouldn't it,

that on this point you were expressly rejected?

Also correct.

So, at the time of the agreement,

both and your client knew full well that Mr. Scott

would be shipping Teddy Bars to Canada.

We certainly didn't know how many.

Did you care how many?

Of course I did.

Then, my dear man. why on earth

didn't you seek to limit the amount in your agreement?

I never presumed Alan Scott

would be unreasonable.

But I don't think he was being unreasonable at all.

An opportunity presented itself,

and he seized upon it.

He was a businessman,

doing that which businessmen do!

Kuzak: Objection! Speech
-making.

Sustained.

True or false, sir? You yourself could have

restricted export quantities

in the contract, but you didn't.

False. Allan Scott would have never agreed
-
-

True or false, sir?

You could have made signing the contract

contingent upon it?


-True.
-True or false, sir?

You and your client could have walked away?

True.

And after this unfortunate result

Mr. Brown discharged you as his attorney, didn't he?

Listen, Mr. Nigel
-
-

No, sir! You listen to me!

As I understand your courtroom customs,

and believe me, I am beginning to,

you must answer the questions that I proper to you.

Now, did not Mr. Brown blame you for his bankruptcy

and discharge you as his attorney?

Yes, he did, but that has nothing to do
-
-

Thank you, Mr. Siltan. I'm quite finished.

Hey, Arnie.

Hi.

You filling in for Roxanne?

No, just finishing up some paperwork.

You're still sulking, though, huh?

No, just doing paperwork.

You know, Arnie,

your running out on the firm was a betrayal.

You can't expect the people around here

to pretend it never happened.

Nor should I expect to be sued by these people.

Be forced back in, only to be treated

like a damn trespasser in my own office.

You hurt people, Arnie.

Hey, I got hurt, too! Does that mean anything?

Walking around in a place where the people don't care about me!


-That hurts!
-Of course we care about you!

Why the hell do you think we fought so hard to keep you here?

You fought to keep the clients!

And don't insult me by suggesting otherwise!


-Okay.
-What happened to us, Michael?


-We used to be friends.
-We still are friends.

At least I think so.

Well, uh, when's the last time we went out to dinner together

just
-
-just for the fun of it?

You wanna go out and grab a beer after work,

you knock on Victor's door, not mine!

Remember when we started out?

The old building on Federal Street?

We used to share the same secretary.

We used to go out to lunch together every day.

We used to go out on double
-dates all the time.

Yeah, I remember.

You think back then if Leland
-McKenzie had come to you

and said, "We're going to be suing Arnold Becker,

and I want you to lead the charge," you would have done it?

There was nothing personal in that, Arnie. You know that.

There's nothing personal to keep you from doing it either.

We were friends, Michael.

And one day I had to start going to lunch with clients.

You had to start going to court.

The next thing you know, years later,

we wind up as, uh... colleagues.

Well, maybe we ought to fix that.

Yeah.

Maybe we should.

Meanwhile, no new leads

on the disappearance of Mark Davies,

the
-year
-old Studio City youth who vanished

from his neighborhood Monday evening.

The boy disappeared after an argument with his parents

over a school report card.

He took his bike and...

But he's done this several times before,

and he's always come back.

He would never stay away like this.

Trying to think, can we do this?

Can we really just stand back here and do nothing?

Diana, you spent all afternoon

trying to convince him to go forward.

Leland even spoke to him.

We're not doing nothing.

But he won't go forward.

That's his decision.

There's nothing else we can do.

There's gotta be another choice.

I don't want to hurt Manny.

Maybe I'm gonna be a terrible lawyer,

but my God, there's gotta be another choice.

[music]

I love being a mother. I love everything about it.

But I'm home every day.

Stuart gets to go in and have the other life.

And you feel a little stagnant.

Well, so much has happened at work.

I feel like I've been gone forever.

Arnie left the firm.

Arnie came back to the firm.

We changed the name of the firm.

Stuart's becoming a litigator.

What does that have to do with anything?

The truth?

I'm a little jealous.

Ann.

I know, I know.

But I've always been the one going to trial,

standing in the spotlight.

Now Stuart's off to appellate court,

and I'm home changing diapers.

And with Rosalind Shays at the office,

I don't even feel missed.

You are missed plenty, believe me.

How is she working out anyway?

Actually, fantastic.

Really?

I'm learning a lot from her about cultivating clients.

I think she's even better at it than Leland.


-Is that right?
-She's...

She's just so smart.

The woman is a true force.

Terrific. I can't wait to get to work with her.

All I'll say is, I come up the hard way, Sir Nigel.

I never knew me dad, and me mum d*ed when I was .

I was a boxer, I was a truck driver.

I worked all over the East End for peanuts

just to get in out of the rain.

I'd say you managed to do better than that.

Oh, yeah. I count me blessings every day.

You've been accused of deceiving that man.

Yeah, I don't understand it.

The contract says I couldn't sell in the States,

so I didn't.

But did you export Teddy Bars to Canada

knowing that they'd flood the U.S. market

and drive him out of business?

No, no, no, no. I did it

because I've got factories of me own,

and I've got an obligation to the lads who work in 'em.

Nigel: But you did try to buy him out, though.

I thought it'd be good business for the both of us.

All for one, one for all. That's the way I saw it.

If he'd been willing,

we wouldn't all be sitting here today, would we?

Thank you, Mr. Scott. He's all yours, counselor.

The unit price that you sold Teddy Bars

in Canada for was . cents, is that right?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Yet the unit cost of producing it is . cents.

No, that isn't right, no.

Well, I have the figures right here in front of me, Mr. Scott.

Yeah, but my accountant and your accountant

don't agree on those figures, do they?

Well, here's something that we call can agree on.

A businessman as sharp as yourself

would never willingly take a loss on his product.

Unless maybe he was trying to drive someone else out of business?

Walter Brown's a businessman, same as me.

No, sir. Walter Brown is honest.

Walter Brown can be trusted.

I object. I object. I object.

Once is sufficient. Objection sustained.

Might I beg your indulgence to make one further point?

Assuming for the sake of argument

Mr. Scott was indeed selling below cost,

it was to Canadian firms,

an action permitted in the contract.

His intent was to drive

an America firm out of business.

An action which breeches the implied covenant

of good faith found in every contract.

Both of you stop making speeches.

Proceed, Mr. Kuzak.

Now where did you think the shipment

that you sent to Vancouver was going to wind up, Mr. Scott?

I didn't rightly know.

Well, you knew that it couldn't all be sold in Canada.

No, I didn't know that!

Canadians love chocolate!

You disregarded my client's letters, telexes and phone calls

in which he begged you not to let the goods into the U.S. stores.

May I ask for a brief recess, Your Honor?

He begged you to honor the spirit of your agreement.

I play hard, but I play fair!

No, sir, you play crooked.

The quality if mercy is not strained.

It dropeth as a gentle rain from heaven

upon the place beneath.

Sir Nigel...

you interrupt once more,

and you're gonna find yourself back where you came from

sooner than you thought.

I'll cease this very instant.

I can't make any deals prior to investigation,

and you know that.

What I'm saying is,

there won't be any investigation without a body,

which you won't find without my help.

Grace, the parents are agonizing over this every day.

They're publically pleading to get him back.

They don't know if he has been kidnapped

or k*lled or lost.

Look, my client has no criminal record.

It was an accident.

We're talking about the Davies' child.

I'm not saying we are.

But if you were to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Davies,

and they were amenable to no criminal prosecution

in exchange for the whereabouts of their son's body,

would that influence your decision?

No.

I can't cut blind deals without an investigation.

I'm sorry.

Then I'm stuck, Grace.

I'm bound by the privilege.

Not if there's a chance that the boy could be alive.

No, I saw the body. I checked the pulse.

He's very dead.

And I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I know you came to me as a friend and all...

but now I'm in a spot, too.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about me being a district attorney

with knowledge of a lawyer who has seen Mark Davies' body.

I have responsibilities, too, here.

So? What can you do?

I'm not sure, really.

But I don't wanna leave that boy lying in a ditch

any more than you do.

Drop the front end of the charge,

and jack up the gross by %.

That's low, and you know it.

Not as low as a big "not", Michael,

and that's what you could be looking at.

My client lost everything.

Everything his family had been working for
-
-

Your client is an idiot, dear boy,

and American juries don't reward stupidity.

Tell him to take the ,

and enroll in a decent business school.

Not that he stands a pope's prayer

of making a passing grade.

You are really something.

Sir Nigel.

Funny how the prose changes when we're alone.

I'm not sure I know what you mean.

It's all a performance, isn't it?

Stripped down, you're nothing but a street fighter.

The only thing that you need concern yourself with

is that you now have two choices.

Reject this offer and go to the jury and get beaten,

or take it and use your eloquence

to try and convince your client that he's won.

It shouldn't be too difficult.

I believe he's a very trusting fellow.

The offer is rejected.

Ah.

American obstinance and stick
-to
-it
-ness.

It's rich.

[band playing Sousa march]

What's going on? Is this some sort of joke?

No joke.

You wanted us to blow your horn for you,

we rented a whole marching band.

Congratulations, Arnold.


-This is the USC band!
-It sure is!

Band, that'll do!

[music stops]

I have a proclamation.

"Whereas on this day, February in the year ,

"Arnold Becker becomes a named partner

in the law firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney Kuzak and Becker."

[cheering]

"Whereas the members of the aforementioned firm

"have been derelict in expressing to Arnold Becker

"their degree of commitment to him,

"and instead have focused on the materialistic,

"shallow, vain, rat
-like aspect of his personality,

"we hereby proclaim February , ,

to be Arnold Becker Day."

[cheering]

Hooray!

Welcome back, Arnie.

Thank you.


-Welcome home.
-Thanks.

I
-
-I just want to say thank you all very much.

I...

I don't know what to say.

Thank you. Thank you, everybody,

and I'm, uh...

I'm very proud to have my name on the door.

And, uh...

and the ampersand.

Thanks.

[applause]

We're looking for Mr. Jonathan Rollins, please.

Yeah. I'm Jonathan Rollins.

Mr. Rollins, we have a warrant for your arrest.

What?

Accessory to a felony.

Tampering with evidence in a felony investigation.

Excuse me, Officer, can I see that, please?

You have the right to remain silent.

If you give up your right to remain silent
-
-

Yean, I know my rights. I'm a lawyer.

Will you come with us, sir?


-Right now?
-Yes, sir.

If you want to take your own car,

Miss Van Owen says that's fine,

but she wants you processed today.

Yeah, let's go.

You know, he's milking this British thing

for everything it's worth,

and the jury's just eating it up.

They just love listening to him talk,

and they love looking at him, too.

You're not so hard to look at either, Michael.

You know, I can't lose this case.

Walt Brown lost everything he had.

I can't let him down.

Michael...

have you forgotten to say or do

anything in this trial that you meant to?

No.

And have you said or done anything that you regret?

No.

And you've spent the last three hours

working on your closing argument.

Seems to me that the only thing left to do on this case

is to obsess over it.

So...

why don't you try to take your mind off it for a little while?

You're gonna win this thing, Michael. I know it.

Let's you and I go to bed right now.

I understand.

You know, let's you and I go to bed.

Right now.

[music]

[music]

I guess, in retrospect, you could say

that Walter Brown should have been smarter.

Or maybe it was the English accent

that made him believe that Alan Scott

was going to deal with him, fair and square.

After all, there is a presumption in this country

which favors the British.

And Sir Nigel knows this.

He also knows of the American tendency

to equate British eloquence with integrity.

That's why he's been so determined

to drape these entire proceedings

in a Shakespearian vail.

To remind you that he is British.

To subliminally exploit the Yankee mindset

that considers Brits to be more respectable,

more righteous.

And, ladies and gentlemen, this man is not.

He cheated my client out of his business.

He willfully and deliberately

circumvented the spirit of the contract

and pounded Walt Brown into bankruptcy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Alan Scott is not an honorable man.

Don't let the hypnotic charm of his lawyer

distract you from what he's done.

Thank you.

I love America.

I really do.

There's an expansiveness to your country.

A feeling that anything is possible.

If you're smart, and you work hard,

and you're just cocky enough to stay with it,

you really do have a sh*t at the brass ring.

You don't have kings and queens and lords.

What you do have are card players and cowboys

and schemers possessed of the greatest imagination on earth.

You eat wonderful, huge meals,

and you take pounding hot showers,

and you go forth into the world,

and you claim your piece of it.

Mr. Brown did that.

And Mr. Scott did that as well.

But what he also did

was to take advantage

of what the contract didn't say.

Loopholes I believe you call them.

And Mr. Scott used loopholes for profit.

And that is as American as the Fourth of July.

Now, are you really going to punish this...

Cockney lad simply because he b*at you at your own game?

You didn't become a great nation by doing that.

My friends, you became a great nation

by letting the better man win!

The defendant knows the location of Mark Davies' body, Your Honor,

making his nondisclosure the withholding of evidence.

That information is protected by attorney
-client privilege.

Moreover, Your Honor, Mr. Rollins committed a crime

when he physically touched his body,

thereby tampering with the evidence.

He took the pulse to confirm that the boy was dead.

Judge: You seem to be reaching here, Miss Van Owen.

I am not seeking disclosure of any communication

between Mr. Rollins and his client.

Both of you, come up here.

What's going on?

It's simple, Your Honor.

Mr. Rollins knows where the body is,

but he can't say because of attorney
-client privilege.

I'm asking you to take him off the hook.

Give him the right to tell us the location of the boy.

Even if so ordered, Judge,

we'll just go for a writ.

We cannot betray Mr. Rollins' client.


-Come on, Victor.
-You can't.

Doesn't matter.

The privilege applies in this state.

I'm dismissing the complaint.

There's a boy out there, lying in a ditch.

And there are rules in here which we must follow.

Please step back.

Defendant's motion granted. Case dismissed.

Your Honor! Your Honor!

I'm Robert Davies.

You're saying he doesn't have to tell where my little boys is?

I'm sorry, sir, but the law

prevents him from furnishing that information.

What kind of law is that?

This is good, Grace. Did you arrange it?

No!

Reporters have been sniffing around.

They probably told him.

Mr. Davies, that's enough.

I'll have you removed from this courtroom.

I won't my son! Tell me where he is!


-Sir, please.
-Bailiff!

Please! Oh, no!

They can't do this!

God, you can't do this!

I'm sorry.

What you're suggestion won't be expeditious,

and in the end, it will be anything but cheap.

I have been holding his hand.

But there is a limit.

Now, he's a big boy.

Then it's time he grew up.

Are you about done?

I'll be a while, actually.

Do you need something?

I need my chair. I need my desk. I need my office.

Get off the phone.

Norman, I'll call you right back.

Sorry. I didn't know that you minded

Now you know.

Do I take this to mean that you back to work?

Take it to mean that until you hear otherwise,

this office is mine.


-Of course it is.
-Good.

I'll get out of your way.

Was that really necessary?

No, I just could have tiptoed out and gone home.

You could have been a tad more diplomatic.

I don't have to be diplomatic.

When it feels like I'm being pushed out of here,

I don't have to be diplomatic.

Ann, nobody's pushing you out of here.

Who told her she could use my office? Was it Douglas?

No, that, um...

that was me.

You?

Well, you weren't here,

and her office was being painted.

I don't care.

Let her work in the file room.

Let her work in the ladies toilet.

You do not go volunteering my office!

Do you understand?

I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

Look, let's talk about the other thing that's bothering you.

What?

You're home, and I'm here.

Which was my choice.

I'm not throwing it up to you that it was your choice.

I'm just saying you can come back anytime you want.

And life is not so terrible.

You have a wonderful husband who gives your office away

the minute you turn your back.

I'm sorry.

And behind curtain three, you have a son.

All in all, things aren't so terrible.

All in all, things are great.

But then...

I get so afraid that I've lost something.

What, honey?

It took me so long to get this office,

to make partner,

to get people to listen to me when I talk.

It's still your office,

and you're still a partner,

and people still listen to you.

I guess I'm just not sure

whether I still have anything to say.

Come on.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

Man: We have, Your Honor.

Judge: What say you?

"On the claim of bad faith and unfair dealing,

"we find for the plaintiff.

"Based on the loss of anticipated profits,

we award the sum of $ million."

[snaps fingers] Yes!

"On the claim of unfair predatory pricing

"under the Robinson
-Patman Act,

"we find for the plaintiff.

"Given that the stipulated value

"of the plaintiff's business was $. million,

"we award trebled damages,

in the sum of $. million."

Oh, hell.

You did it! You did it! You're a genius!

Thank you! Thank you!

So the complaint against you was dismissed.

Yeah, I'm free and clear.


-Not with me you're not.
-Excuse me?

Your going to Grace Van Owen was irresponsible, Jonathan.

I took a calculated risk.

It was a stupid risk.

You indirectly revealed privileged information.

I didn't give her anything she could really use, Leland.

You let her know that Mark Davies' body was in a ditch?

You let her know that a client of your's k*lled him?

That's giving her something.

And what can she do with that?

For starters, they can watch this office.

Monitor everybody who goes in and out.

I told Manny not to come in here anymore.

And did you first get his permission

before running off to Grace?

I protected him, Leland.

Not good enough!

What if it got out that this firm sold out its clients?

Do you have any idea how fatal that would be to our practice?

I didn't sell anybody out!

You screwed up!

You indulged your own conscience

at the expense of this firm's reputation!

Don't you ever do it again!

[door closes]

One, two, three, go!


-Ah!
-Whoa!

[coughs]


-Hmm.
-Whoo! That was good.

You want another?


-No.
-No.

Yes, another one, please.

No, just kidding.


-Thank God...
-[coughs]

because I really have to go to the bathroom.

Me, too.

Half espresso, half cappuccino, decaf.

You're such a mind reader.

Very sweet, Michael.

What, ?

No, no, she's .

Oh.

She's a very sophisticated , though.

She speaks French, she's been to Europe.

Good at sex?

What?

She's a dancer, too?

She's a Laker Girl.

Oh, God.

Now I am jealous.

Now, what do you mean, jealous?

I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at Cory.

Does it show?

Yes, Arnie, it shows.

You know, this was a good idea, going out like this.

Well, here's to doing it more often.

Absolutely.

Mr. Rollins, forgive us.

But please
-
-

Mr. Davies, you know I can't tell you anything.

He's my baby!

That's my baby in the woods!

I know.

I know you got your rules...

But if you were a father, you couldn't do this.

You'd let me bury my son.

I can't say anything to you.

Please. Please, we're begging you.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[theme music]