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The Worst Episodes of L.A. Law

Every episode of L.A. Law ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of L.A. Law!

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The high-powered law firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak handles both criminal and civil cases, usually for high fees. However, office politics and romance often distract the legal staffers from matters in the courtroom.

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 7 - Helter Shelter
    5.8/10(38 votes)

    S7:E7

    Brackman is distraught when the pocket watch he inherited from his father disappears; new associate Melina Paros joins the firm; Becker accepts an intricate assignment from Flicker, forcing him to deal with the manipulative wife of Flicker's silent partner; after Lincoln escapes from Benny and ends up at the pound, Markowitz takes extreme measures to get the dog released; Brackman gets a ghost writer for his autobiography; Taylor's pursuer sends her a gruesome gift, which only serves to alarm her further as she begins to suspect every man she encounters; Melman doesn't know how to handle Mullaney's new-found ardor; Paros prosecutes her final case for the State's Attorney's office as she attempts to prove that a woman may have abused her children.

    Director:Tom Moore
    Writers:John Masius, John Tinker

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  2. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 1 - L.A. Lawless
    6.1/10(56 votes)

    S7:E1

    McKenzie, Brackman restructures itself into a leaner, meaner firm with the arrival of new partner Daniel Morales and the departure of Grace, C.J. and Susan Bloom; after a harrowing encounter with a dissatisfied knife-throwing client, Becker swears off marital law and vows to make entertainment law his new specialty; Gwen begins her internship and expresses an interest in the widowed Daniel and his baby daughter; Zoey is released from the hospital, but not from the guilt surrounding the shooting; Becker represents an actor suing his amusement park employer for unlawful termination; as the 1992 Los Angeles riots erupt, Brackman is mistaken for a looter and arrested, while Markowitz sustains severe head trauma after being dragged from his car and beaten by an angry mob.

    Director:Rick Wallace
    Writers:John Masius, John Tinker

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  3. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 10 - Spanky and the Art Gang
    6.1/10(38 votes)

    S7:E10

    Becker and Morales successfully defend the dominatrix accused of Schuller's death; Rollins represents a developer who deliberately commissions an offensive sculpture for one of his buildings in retaliation against a City Hall ruling; Brackman is less than thrilled at the efforts of his ghost writer until a publisher decides to option the book; McKenzie goes to bat for Taylor when she's denied insurance coverage; Markowitz balks at preparing for the trial of the men who attacked him; Taylor gets a unwelcome late night visitor.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 2 - Second Time Around
    6.2/10(43 votes)

    S7:E2

    Five months have passed since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and Brackman becomes his own worst enemy when he sues the city for false arrest on the charge of disturbing the peace; Jonathan begins to compromise his principles as he ramps up his bid for election; Mullaney accepts a position in the District Attorney's office; Markowitz is discharged from the hospital and begins the slow road to recovery; Becker is back from his trip around the world; when a dying man confesses to committing a murder for which Leland successfully prosecuted someone else thirty years earlier, Daniel agrees to represent the man Leland sent to jail in an attempt to win him a new trial; Zoey returns to work, and finds herself unhappy in her new assignment to the asset forfeiture division.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Paul Manning

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  5. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 3 - Zo Long
    6.2/10(39 votes)

    S7:E3

    Brackman sees life's underbelly from behind bars; Jonathan gets in a mudslinging contest in the final days before the election, and makes comments about the attack on Markowitz that draws the anger of the other members of the firm; Mullaney prosecutes a child abuse case in which the opposing counsel is a nun; Zoey seeks a change of venue for her life and career; Kelsey finds it difficult to work at home while taking of her husband, who is increasingly frustrated by his disability.

    Director:Marisa Silver
    Writers:John Masius, John Tinker, Anne Kenney

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  6. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 8 - Christmas Stalking
    6.2/10(39 votes)

    S7:E8

    Kelsey represents Markowitz in court and gets the charges suspended with Mullaney's support; suspecting that Morales may be her stalker, Taylor gives him the cold shoulder until Melman sets her straight; Paros wins her child abuse case with a little behind-the-scenes help from McKenzie; after Becker gives Flicker an ultimatum about Schuller, Flicker arranges for Becker to be carjacked and abandoned in the desert, where he comes to the rescue and offers Becker a ride home and a high-level job at the studio; a caring physician uncovers that the cause of Markowitz's strange behavior is a brain cyst that can be treated with medication, and he's released from the psych ward of the hospital; after Brackman coldly rebuffs the partners' gift of a new pocket watch, Lincoln finally offers up the original, to Brackman's joy and relief; Romney unsuccessfully pursues both Taylor and a job at the firm; Mullaney and Melman ride out a few rough patches on the road to parenthood.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:John Masius, John Tinker, Julie Martin

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  7. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 4 - Foreign Co-Respondent
    6.3/10(41 votes)

    S8:E4

    McKenzie urges Eli to join the firm and his restricted men's club; a couple move to sue their travel agent for a nightmare trip; a Chinese financier faces murder charges for the death of an illegal immigrant.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writers:Paul Manning, William M. Finkelstein, Julie Martin

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  8. L.A. Law Season 6 Episode 5 - Monkey on My Back Lot
    6.4/10(37 votes)

    S6:E5

    A tenant at a housing project where guns have been banned sues for the right to defend himself; a recovering addict faces reproductive restrictions; McKenzie arbitrates a divorce between two animal trainers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 6 - Love on the Rox
    6.4/10(37 votes)

    S7:E6

    Kelsey represents a man who wants to prevent his ex-wife from implanting the frozen embryos that they created during their marriage; Taylor stumbles in her first unsupervised appearance in court opposite Romney, but manages to get back on track with McKenzie's help; Rollins gets a surprise when he finally meets the landlord of the South Central apartment he rented to establish residency during the campaign; Mullaney agrees to father Melman's child; another present that's accompanied by a creepy note and a man who's watching her in the courtroom leads Taylor to suspect that she's being stalked; Markowitz confides to Benny that he damaged the house by firing his gun and then lied to Kelsey about the incident.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Theresa Rebeck

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  10. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 9 - Rhyme and Punishment
    6.4/10(39 votes)

    S8:E9

    Mamie Van Doren is a guest at the firm's Christmas party; the son of an aging comic believes his father is being exploited by a mistress; Roxanne asks Mullaney to surrender parental rights.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:William M. Finkelstein, Julie Martin

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  11. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 18 - Dead Issue
    6.4/10(35 votes)

    S8:E18

    Markowitz reluctantly takes a court case of a libel suit involving an investigative reporter being sued by a former a nuclear physicist who was accused of conducting radiation experiments on unwitting subjects in the 1950s. Meanwhile, Kelsey handles a divorce case between a woman and her husband, a Grateful Dead fanatic. Also, Becker gets involved with D.A. Belinda Fox, who is determined to prosecute his client for pandering.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:William M. Finkelstein

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  12. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 5 - My Friend Flicker
    6.5/10(45 votes)

    S7:E5

    Melman resigns as office manager and returns to working for Becker; McKenzie represents a friend in a reverse discrimination case; Markowitz struggles to overcome his fear of identifying his attackers; Melman asks Mullaney to father her child; Brackman begins his memoirs; studio mogul Ben Flicker takes Becker under his wing after Becker devises a creative financial approach to settling Flicker's daughter's divorce; Taylor's anonymous admirer continues to send her presents; Markowitz buys a gun for protection.

    Director:Jeffrey D. Brown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 11 - McKenzie, Brackman, Barnum & Bailey
    6.5/10(38 votes)

    S8:E11

    A ballerina sues a dance company for breach of contract; an aging juggler accuses his protégé of stealing his act; and Benny dances around a commitment to Rosalie.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 12 - Cold Cuts
    6.5/10(44 votes)

    S8:E12

    Two mountaineers face charges after resorting to cannibalism; a mathematician adds up the consequences of divorce; and Denise lands in the middle of a father-son feud.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writers:Paul Manning, William M. Finkelstein

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  15. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 17 - Silence is Golden
    6.5/10(37 votes)

    S8:E17

    Becker and Mullaney suspect, but cannot prove, that Flannigan committed a felony in settling a civil damages suit in a child molestation case; Rollins successfully pleads with an over-controlling father to drop a law suit against his fashion model daughter; Flannigan wins the undying gratitude of the Brackmans when he uses his influence to get their son accepted into a prestigious prep school.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Paul Haggis, Julie Martin

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  16. L.A. Law Season 6 Episode 14 - Diet, Diet, My Darling
    6.6/10(40 votes)

    S6:E14

    Flanagan brings suit against her father; McKenzie arbitrates a dispute between a cookbook author and her student; Rollins' dad comes to him for help.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writers:Sarah Woodside Gallagher, Anne Kenney, Alan Brennert, Judith Feldman

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  17. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 13 - Hello and Goodbye
    6.6/10(35 votes)

    S7:E13

    A widow charges a news photographer with encouraging her late husband's suicide; Mullaney maintains a vigil by his father's hospital bed; and authorities are summoned to locate baby Lucy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Paul Manning

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  18. L.A. Law Season 6 Episode 1 - Something Old, Something Nude
    6.7/10(47 votes)

    S6:E1

    Facing financial woes, the firm is forced to share office space with an entertainment lawyer; Van Owen's high-profile client is charged with murdering her abusive husband.

    Director:Rick Wallace
    Writer:Patricia Green

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  19. L.A. Law Season 6 Episode 13 - Steal It Again, Sam
    6.7/10(43 votes)

    S6:E13

    Sifuentes visits the firm and finds that his failed relationship with Van Owen demands his attention; Kittredge takes on a legal dispute involving a perfume queen and her protégé.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 11 - Bare Witness
    6.7/10(37 votes)

    S7:E11

    Taylor is haunted by nightmares of Salerno; Brackman represents the owner of a gentleman's club charged with indecency by the city; Markowitz comes through on the stand against his attackers at the preliminary hearing; Salerno tricks an unwitting Stulwicz into aiding her campaign of terror against Taylor; Beatrice Schuller gains control of World Wide Studios, tap dances all over Flicker, and makes Becker an offer he can't refuse.

    Director:Oz Scott
    Writer:Julie Martin

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  21. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 12 - Parent Trap
    6.7/10(41 votes)

    S7:E12

    Rollins represents a man whose drunk driving caused the accident that left his pregnant girlfriend in a coma, and who is now suing to keep her on life support until his unborn child can reach full term; Salerno discovers that Morales's gangbanger client has literally left him holding the smoking gun, and leaks the information to the district attorney's office, leading Morales to be jailed for contempt of court when he refuses to admit that he has the weapon that will convict his client; Mullaney's chain smoking, hard-drinking father comes for a visit bearing bad news; Markowitz tells Mullaney to offer his attackers a plea agreement to end the case, but Kelsey intends to press on by filing a civil suit for loss of consortium; posing as the babysitter, Salerno kidnaps Lucy Morales.

    Director:Steven Robman
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 1 - Book of Renovation, Chapter 1
    6.7/10(43 votes)

    S8:E1

    The partners begin to interview candidates for a new associate at the firm which is under interior renovation. Meanwhile, Stuart Markowitz's cousin Eli Levinson arrives in town from New York to defend Sandy Morris, the mentally ill son of some old friends who's accused of murdering a social worker. Eli's former secretary, Denise Iannello, arrives and asks Eli to give her a job as his secretary again. Kelsey represents another attorney suing her own firm for sexual discrimination. Also, Becker finds the new associate candidate, Jane Halliday, a Christian fundamentalist, irresistible, while Kelsey is wary about Halliday's presence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. L.A. Law Season 8 Episode 13 - Age of Insolence
    6.7/10(37 votes)

    S8:E13

    Kelsey represents a woman being sued for the custody of her adopted daughter by the girl's biological father, who's heavily influenced by a psychologist with her own unresolved adoption issues; Halliday defends a client with heightened sensibilities against the impolite palaver of the woman's coworker and an impish Becker; the partners resentfully capitulate when Rollins gives them an ultimatum about a partnership offer.

    Director:Win Phelps
    Writer:Theresa Rebeck

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  24. L.A. Law Season 6 Episode 7 - Lose the Boss
    6.8/10(45 votes)

    S6:E7

    Brackman's former sister-in-law sues to get the school board to pay for her disabled son's private education; Bloom defends an overweight man accused of assaulting a refreshment-stand owner; an overworked Gwen fights Becker's hypocrisy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. L.A. Law Season 7 Episode 4 - Wine Knot
    6.8/10(39 votes)

    S7:E4

    Markowitz, Rollins and Brackman return to work; Becker gives his client some very Zen advice when a case of sour grapes pits sibling wine makers against each other; Taylor follows the lead of an unscrupulous client in strong-arming the opposition out of a fair settlement; Roxanne makes a dramatic decision in her quest to give her life some meaning; Markowitz and Stulwicz go on an impromptu excursion and make a new friend; Rollins asks Kelsey for forgiveness; Taylor gets an extravagant bouquet of flowers from an unknown admirer.

    Director:Oz Scott
    Writer:Julie Martin

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Helter Shelter" is the worst rated episode of "L.A. Law". It scored 5.8/10 based on 38 votes. Directed by Tom Moore and written by John Masius, John Tinker, it aired on 12/10/1992. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "L.A. Lawless".