Rollins does an end run around Markowitz and McKenzie to retain a client, much to their displeasure; Sifuentes meets an attractive divorcee; Kelsey's misgivings about her mother's visit prove well-founded when Markowitz loses his composure in public over his future mother-in-law's incessant bigotry; over Brackman's objections, Perkins pursues mediation instead of litigation as a strategy for resolving a dispute between former friends and business partners, and fears for her future at the firm when the mediation ends badly; Kuzak defends an arrogant and addicted celebrity charged with possession and assault; Vasek is initially understanding when Brackman ends their relationship in the face of his brother's blackmail, but becomes livid when he ruins her career to cement the breakup.

Van Owen prosecutes three attorneys for the sexual molestation of a teenage stripper; after agonizing over the possibility that Vasek may have exposed him to AIDS, Brackman vows to go on the straight and narrow after he receives a clean bill of health, and is floored by Vasek's reaction; when gossip he overhears at a restaurant leaves him unnerved, Becker reappraises his image; Sifuentes and Sevilla take their relationship to another level; Perkins is astonished when Rohner vs. Gradinger turns out to be a winner in more ways than one; Becker learns a lesson about self-acceptance when he tries to lift Stulwicz's spirits with a fashion makeover.

Van Owen has mixed emotions about successfully prosecuting a teenager who murdered his abusive father; seeking to get out from under his brother's blackmail, Brackman confesses his infidelity to his wife, who exacts a stiff penalty for the crime which leaves her husband breathless; Becker enlists Melman's support in making the holidays in Palm Springs bearable; when Sevilla is arrested for the murder of her husband, Sifuentes gets the case dismissed, but his inability to believe her version of the events surrounding the fatality permanently dooms their relationship.