A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”
The best episode of "The Practice" season 7 is "Privilege", rated 7.7/10 from 99 user votes. It was directed by Dennis Smith and written by David E. Kelley. "Privilege" aired on 9/29/2002 and is rated 0.0 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Convictions".
The strain of Lindsay's incarceration begins to affect her marriage and she lashes out at Bobby. Meanwhile, a zealous law-school grad who seeks to join the firm has a run-in with Ellenor; and Jimmy is embroiled in a 16-year-old child-kidnapping case that hinges on lawyer-client confidentiality.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: David E. Kelley
Lindsay's murder conviction tries Rebecca, who's handling the appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court; Jimmy's kidnapping case turns confrontational, in and out of court.
Director: N/A
Writer: David E. Kelley
A resolution reached in Lindsay's murder conviction has emotional repercussions; and First Amendment issues figure oddly in Jamie's first trial, the defense of an accused flasher.
Director: Michael Zinberg
Writer: David E. Kelley
Religious freedom figures in a criminal case. On trial: a Christian Science couple charged with the murder of their ill child, whose parents' faith forbids medical treatment.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: David E. Kelley
Political, religious and moral issues surface in a trial involving medical research. Also, Lindsay, now on her own, defends a client whose singing gives a neighbor the blues.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: David E. Kelley
A sexual-abuse case involving victims of a former priest embroils Eugene; a nuisance suit filed by ex-lovers escalates into violence that rattles an already shaky Lindsay.
Director: Duane Clark
Writer: David E. Kelley
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
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.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: David E. Kelley
A cop-killing case rattles Bobby, whose anemic defense of an unsavory client leads Helen to suspect that he's "tanking the trial"; a drug bust raises search-and-seizure issues.
Director: Dwight H. Little
Writer: N/A
Bobby has been benched due to his erratic behavior, so Eugene must take his place as lead counsel in a controversial murder case. Meanwhile Lindsay defends a killer, against her own better judgement, and Jamie is placed in a compromising situation involving a judge
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: N/A
Ellenor fights to save Denise Freeman, a rehabilitated death-row prisoner who has devoted her prison time to helping younger inmates. In a last-ditch effort to stay her execution, Ellenor bases an appeal on the medication the court ordered Denise to take at trial, which prevented the jury from observing her schizophrenia. Eugene argues a civil suit that blames a beer company for the death of a college-age youth.
Director: N/A
Writer: David E. Kelley
Ellenor continues her desperate attempt to stop the execution of a mentally ill woman Denise Freeman on death row. The firm is torn over a controversial settlement in their case against an alcohol company.
Director: Andy Wolk
Writer: David E. Kelley
Jimmy Berluti defends his high school crush, who is under investigation for a suspicious homicide, and Claire Wyatt interviews for a job at Lindsay's newly formed law firm.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: David E. Kelley
A wrongful-imprisonment suit occupies Bobby, whose client spent 15 years in jail for a killing he didn't commit; a case involving a youth's soccer injury tests Claire's mettle in court.
Director: Arvin Brown
Writer: David E. Kelley
Helen faces up against the firm in a case involving an accused killer whose protective mother provides alibis. A disturbed former client jarringly reenters Lindsay's life.
Director: Duane Clark
Writer: David E. Kelley
Psychopaths plague Lindsay and Helen. The latter is sued by an acquitted killer for defaming his mother; the former is hounded by a deviant she once defended.
Director: Rod Hardy
Writer: David E. Kelley
The firm defends Kyle Healy, a wheelchair-bound man whose wife is charged with murdering his brother, the heir to a multimillion-dollar estate. Jimmy and Ellenor's defense is damaged by compelling circumstantial evidence; testimony about the defendant's stability — and the prosecution's playing of a shattering trump card. In other storylines, Jamie champions the cause of a lawyer who claims firms won't hire her because she's a rape victim; and Bobby, whose marriage is in trouble, links up with an old flame.
Director: N/A
Writer: David E. Kelley
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: David E. Kelley
A crazed fame-seeker takes CBS CEO Les Moonves hostage in a ploy for TV time to be negotiated by Jimmy, also a hostage.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: David E. Kelley
A date-rape case links the accused to Jamie, a former victim; the return of crazed Stanley Deeks prompts terrified Lindsay to take drastic action that could jeopardize her career.
Director: LisaGay Hamilton
Writer: David E. Kelley
The collapse of Bobby's marriage is a prelude to a professional crisis. Also, the firm defends a wife on trial for slaying her abusive husband and represents a 10-year-old in a liability suit.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Writer: David E. Kelley
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.
Director: Michael Zinberg
Writer: David E. Kelley