The BEST episodes of The Practice
Every episode of The Practice ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Practice!
The Practice focused on the law firm of Robert Donnell and Associates (later becoming Donnell, Young, Dole, & Frutt, and ultimately Young, Frutt, & Berluti). Plots typically featured the firm's involvement in various high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirror current events. Conflict between legal ethics and personal morality was a recurring theme. Some episodes contained light comedy. Kelley claimed that he conceived the show as something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law (for which he wrote) and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.
#1 - Summary Judgments
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/2000
Bobby doesn't want a client to testify to avoid introducing an incriminating videotape. Helen and Richard Bay may have coached a witness in the same trial. Ellenor and Lindsay represent a parent whose three children have all contracted learning disabilities.
#2 - Honor Code
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/2001
Bobby, Eugene and Jimmy work with an insurance company to settle the claim of a 10-year-old accident victim. But when the case presents a dilemma of moral and ethical proportions, the tension that's been brewing between Jimmy and Eugene finally boils over.
#3 - End Games
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/28/1999
The office is thrown into turmoil when Ellenor's client Leonard Sowers rushes through the door with policemen giving chase and throws a bag of heroin onto her desk. Ellenor is arrested for possession of the heroin. A proximity search of her desk turns up a bloodied knife which turns out to be the weapon used to murder Susan Robins. The firm is dealt a surprise when Dickie Flood charges Ellenor with first degree murder. Lindsay & Ellenor bury the hatchet when Lindsay takes over her defense. The police, hoping to make another case for the murder, arrest George Vogelman for concealing a murder weapon and perjury. Meanwhile, Bobby defends Judge Kittleson when she's sued by a former clerk claiming sexual harassment. Jimmy is mesmerized by Judge Kittleson's frank sexual discussion.
#4 - Poor Richard's Almanac
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/6/2001
Richard Bay prosecutes a murderer being defended by Bobby. The killer warns Richard that if that jury returns with a guilty verdict, Richard should fear for his life.
#5 - Eyewitness
Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/6/2002
A Reverend shares a secret with Jimmy and Lindsay that could drastically affect the ruling on their client, accused of murder, but only if he's willing to testify; and Ellenor's A.D.A. friend makes her an offer she must refuse, despite the consequences.
#6 - Life Sentence
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/21/2000
Ellenor defends a deaf woman who shot and killed the man who allegedly murdered her young daughter. The client's crime is captured on video in front of dozens of witnesses, leaving no doubt as to who committed the act. The only to way to exonerate the client is to manipulate the jury's heartstrings. Meanwhile Lindsay learns that Bobby hates weddings and decides to spring a surprise elopement.
#7 - Capitol Crimes
Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/31/2003
The death penalty comes under scrutiny in a controversial hearing centering on a troubled teen and admitted killer, whose case parallels Bobby's reinvolvement with a former lover.
#8 - An Early Frost
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/7/2001
After Scott Wallace kills his friend, Jimmy becomes a witness for the prosecution. Bobby, meanwhile, is still defending Wallace. Lindsay is convinced that serial killer William Hinks has claimed another victim, and fears for her own life. To protect her, Bobby takes matters into his own hands
#9 - The Thin Line
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/4/2001
Tensions at the firm are at an all-time high when Bobby is tried for the murder of William Hinks. Bobby is acquitted, though there is little to celebrate when a mysterious cassette recorder is sent to the office. Lucy and Rebecca hear Hinks' voice on the recorder, just before it triggers an explosion.
#10 - Payback
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/2001
Bobby is arrested for conspiring to murder serial killer William Hinks. The entire firm, with Eugene at the helm, must now rally to defend him. Meanwhile, Rebecca discovers foul play in the wrongful death suit of a friend's husband.
#11 - Awakenings
Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/18/2001
Ellenor's chosen ""sperm donor,"" Michael Hale (Ted McGinley), has second thoughts about the agreement over the rearing of her soon-to-be-born child. Meanwhile, Rebecca emerges from the I.C.U. and gets lost in the hospital. Additionally, Helen prepares to prosecute the rape of an eleven-year-old girl.
#12 - Pro Se
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/10/2002
Ellenor is ordered to appear as co-counsel for murderer Ray McMurphy, who insists on defending himself in his latest trial. The trial turns ugly for everyone involved, as McMurphy will do whatever it takes to keep himself from going back to prison. Meanwhile, the firm try to support Bobby as he comes out of hospital and he tries to come to terms with being victimised.
#13 - The Verdict
Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/19/2002
Lindsay stands trial for shooting Lawrence O'Malley, who became obsessed with her after her firm defended him in his murder trial.
#14 - Concealing Evidence
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/23/2003
Alan Shore uses questionable, if not illegal, tactics in representing his clients — Ted Grayson, a mentally unstable man accused of murder, and Karen Evanson, a woman who claims her husband's suicide was induced by a prescription drug.
#15 - Goodbye (2)
Season 7 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/5/2003
Shocking twists in the trial of an accused wife-killer rattle Jimmy and Rebecca. Bobby's news to the firm devastates Eugene and has an impact on Lindsay.
#16 - Pre-Trial Blues (2)
Season 8 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/22/2004
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.
#17 - Police State
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/11/2004
When the police torture a man they believe shot one of their own, Eugene, barely able to contain his emotion, takes the lead in seeking justice.
#18 - Small Sacrifices
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/17/2002
An accused molester's defense rattles Bobby, who's also unnerved by the reproach of a venerable priest; a case involving animal sacrifices embroils Ellenor.
#19 - The Case of Harland Bassett
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/29/2001
Eugene and Jimmy agree to help the mistake-prone Harland Bassett (Ernie Sabella) in the case of a young girl who developed liver damage from an antibiotic. With the odds stacked against them, the trio take on a politically-tied, deep-pocketed drug manufacturer.
#20 - Comings and Goings
Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/25/2004
Eugene is presented with an offer he finds hard to refuse, and Ellenor is shocked when she hears the news, knowing full well that any departure by Eugene would mean the beginning of the end of the practice. Meanwhile, Jimmy is confronted by crooked lawyer Lenny Pascatore), who claims that the neighborhood only has room for one practicing attorney. Across town at Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Denny Crane ruffles some feathers by making Tara his personal paralegal, and Hannah Rose enlists Shore's help in handling an assault case involving two hockey players.
#21 - Evil-Doers
Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/12/2002
An accused rapist and his identical twin muddy a trial; the Hannibal Lecter copycat continues to terrify Lindsay during a commitment hearing.
#22 - Bad to Worse
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/2002
Ellenor and Eugene defend a fiery yet frightened client named Cassie Ray, a murder suspect with a shadowy past. Moreover, Cassie's alibi witness has significant skeletons in her own closet. In a separate case, Lindsay reluctantly defends an airline that refuses to carry passengers of Arab descent.
#23 - Inter Arma Silent Leges
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2001
Rebecca faces what could be the greatest challenge of her career when she attempts to uncover why her doctor's husband, an Arab, was detained by federal agents without any explanation. After encountering a series of impenetrable legal roadblocks, she learns a difficult truth: ""Inter arma silent leges … in war law is silent."" Meanwhile, Eugene's court-appointed client forces him to use the race card.
#24 - Suffer The Little Children
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/25/2001
After promising the mother of a murdered teen that he'll find the drive-by shooter responsible, A.D.A. Lowe adopts a ""whatever it takes"" attitude towards the prosecution of the young gang member he thinks did it — who is defended by Ellenor. Meanwhile, Lindsay is moved to help a mentally retarded man find the daughter he lost touch with years ago as a result of being wrongfully incarcerated for over a decade.
#25 - The Day After (1)
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/2001
Unconscious and in critical need of blood, Rebecca's fate is left to a higher power when her mother refuses to allow a transfusion because of the family's religious beliefs. Bobby is awestruck when Lindsay gives birth to their son a month early. This is part 1 of a 2 part episode. Part 2 aired as a crossover event on Boston Public - S01E13 - Chapter Thirteen (2).