Attorney Patty Hewes hires a new associate, Ellen Parsons, to help her as she tries to ruin Arthur Frobisher. Hewes represents a group of employees that are suing Frobisher after he sold his company, leaving the employees devastated. Ellen is unaware that her best friend, Katie Connor, is working for Frobisher.
Ellen convinces Katie to testify against Arthur Frobisher, which has him considering drastic measures. Patty begins to question if Katie is giving honest and accurate testimony.
Patty receives a mysterious threat at her office that could destroy her case against Arthur Frobisher. Ellen continues to struggle with the demands of her new job at Hewes and Associates.
Katie is getting ready for her upcoming deposition in the Frobisher case while Gregory withholds information that could be even more important that Katie's.
Tom Shayes considers his options as Patty continues to strain to keep her clients happy. Arthur tells Ray that he needs to put more pressure on Patty to make the case go away.
Patty tries to find out what Gregory knows about the case. Arthur Frobisher tries a new strategy to save his family and his money. David and Ellen have strains on their relationship as Lila tries to reenter David's life.
Tom and Ellen think that Patty is trying to control them so they decide to make an alliance and keep information from her. Patty must keep Gregory Malina secure until his deposition because her case will fall apart without it.
Ellen gets some bad news from her parents. Arthur Frobisher and his team do everything they can to keep things going their way while a witness remains missing.
Patty Hewes and Arthur Frobisher continue to struggle for dominance as the deposition nears.
Ellen tries to get herself back into the mix as Patty and Frobisher fight it out at the deposition.
Patty offers Ellen her job back, however, Ellen declines but volunteers to keep helping Patty with the Frobisher case. Lila is back, and bringing more havoc into David and Ellen's lives. Patty uses the newly acquired evidence to blackmail Ray, and offers him an ultimatum.
Patty finally posts bail for Ellen as Frobisher learns about a tape made by Gregory Malina that could ruin him.
The first season ends with Ellen talking Patty into defending her in exchange for the Gregory Malina videotape.
Fresh off her legal victory over billionaire CEO Arthur Frobisher, Patty is taking a break from the law and pouring her energies into her new charitable foundation. But when Patty receives a call from Daniel Purcell, a man from her past, she finds herself entangled in a case with personal and professional repercussions, the likes of which she could never have imagined.
Patty suspects there is more to Daniel Purcell's case than simple murder; Ellen secretly assists the FBI in their attempt to flip Tom Shayes and use him against Patty.
Patty begins to suspect Purcell of withholding vital information; Ellen uncovers a decades-old secret from Patty and Purcell's past.
Patty works to clear Daniel in his wife's murder; Ellen and Tom go to West Virginia to gather vital information in the case against Ultima National Resources.
Patty begins to question Ellen's motives for returning to the firm; Patty tries to stop a corporate merger that she thinks is connected to Christine Purcell's murder.
Convinced that she knows who is responsible for Christine's murder, Patty uses the media to wage war; Ellen gets closer in her attempt to link Frobisher to David's murder.
Ellen, furious at Patty's new alliance, provides the FBI with a new lead to bring her down.
As she copes with mounting pressure, Patty begins to unravel Walter Kendrick's energy scheme. Meanwhile, Arthur Frobisher's past will come back to haunt him.
As Patty goes on the offensive against the FBI, Ellen discovers troubling news about the investigation. Meanwhile, Patty's husband gets an intriguing offer
As Patty increases the pressure in her case against UNR, the opposition starts to show its cracks; Wes and Ellen's relationship heads in a new direction; the FBI's investigation into Patty takes a shocking turn.
Claire risks everything to oust CEO Walter Kendrick; Ellen discovers a secret about Patty's personal life.
Ellen convinces the FBI to radically change their approach in the investigation. Meanwhile, Daniel Purcell reenters Patty's life and becomes critical to her case against UNR.
Patty goes to extremes to win her case against UNR, as Ellen's season long quest for revenge builds to an explosive conclusion.
Patty Hewes has been appointed by the U.S. government to recover billions of dollars lost to the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history. The new case pits Patty against the powerful Tobin family, which includes Joe Tobin (Campbell Scott), Marilyn Tobin (Lily Tomlin), and the family's trusted attorney Leonard Winstone (Martin Short). Meanwhile, Ellen Parsons adjusts to the challenges of her new job, and life, away from Patty Hewes.
Patty and Tom continue to dig into the Tobin family's sordid past, while Joe Tobin must decide between his family and his integrity. Ellen aids Tom in his investigation of the Tobin's, but in doing so receives some bad news of her own. While locked in the midst of a bitter divorce, Patty and Phil find one piece of common ground in the form of their beloved dog.
Patty is forced to race against the clock to prevent a key witness in the Tobin case from fleeing the country. Meanwhile, Ellen learns a dark and shocking family secret.
Patty drills Louis Tobin about his fraud while his son Joe makes a decision that will determine the fate of the Tobin family forever.
Patty Hewes squares off with the D.A. over access to a key witness. A job candidate at Hewes & Shayes asks Ellen for insight into Patty.
Patty is under tremendous pressure from the Attorney's Office to make progress in the Tobin case, and winds up striking a bargain with an unlikely source. Ellen discovers some new evidence in Louis Tobin's death and Tom's financial troubles begin to effect him in more obvious ways.
Patty sends Tom out of the country to follow the money trail of the Tobin fraud. Ellen must choose between her new boss and Patty. Leonard Winstone leaves the city under mysterious circumstances.
Carol Tobin suddenly disappears and it is up to Patty and Ellen to track her down. Arthur Frobisher returns to the fold to open his new foundation.
Patty finally manages to track down the missing Carol Tobin and forces her to give up the truth about the fateful Tobin Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Ellen's home life is turned upside down and Frobisher begins to make his movie.
A professional disaster looms for Patty when her clients ask that she be thrown off the Tobin case. Tom makes a risky move that may cost Ellen her job at the D.A.'s office.
Patty's star witness is arrested, forcing her to strike an unusual deal with the D.A.'s office. Frobisher reveals a little too much about his past.
Patty and Ellen set out to tear the Tobin family apart. When Tom Shayes' job and marriage unravel, he strikes up a deadly alliance.
Ellen and Tom take matters into their own hands in an attempt to win the Tobin case; Patty Hewes is haunted by the price of her success.
Ellen investigates Howard Erickson's company despite warnings from her boss and from Patty; Patty takes on a big pharmaceutical firm; Erickson goes after defense contracts for his company.
Ellen takes the High Star case to the senior partners; Chris feels certain he is being targeted; Erickson and Boorman try to make the lawsuit go away.
Ellen learns that Chris used to hunt down terror suspects; Patty rejects Erickson's settlement suggestion for the High Star case.
Ellen meets the son of Chris' Afghan contact; Erickson decides to torture Chris for information about the possibility of an intelligence breach; Patty discovers that High Star extracts terror suspects for the CIA.
Ellen and Patty move Nasim to a safer place as they gather evidence against High Star; Boorman frames Nasim for an attempted bombing to prevent his deposition; Erickson struggles to maintain his CIA contact.
Now that Nasim is labeled as a terrorist, he loses his credibility as a witness. Erickson buys land to build a private army. Ellen enlists journalist Dean Gulickson to track down Chris in Afghanistan. Michael comes to see Patty and demands to meet Catherine.
Patty uses her drug-company case to gain information on High Star; and a journalist tries to embed with High Star mercenaries in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Michael Hewes seeks out his daughter, Catherine.
While reporter Dean Gullickson (Griffin Dunne) heads to Afghanistan, Erickson orders his staff there to deal with Sanchez once and for all. He also confronts Boorman. Meanwhile, the judge in the High Star case allows Ellen to depose Erickson. "Just remember that we're in the middle of a game," Patty tells her. "We don't have to win it now. We just want to keep playing."
Boorman tries to align himself with Patty. Meanwhile, Chris' life remains in jeopardy and the case becomes personal for Erickson.
Ellen is furious with Patty for violating their agreement about the High Star case. And tempers come to a head between Erickson and Boorman—with Chris' life hanging in the balance.
A whistle-blower case puts Patty and Ellen against each other.
A hacker claims to have pertinent information about the leak at Princefield; Patty’s former colleague offers her services to Ellen.
Ellen detects inconsistencies in McClaren’s story. Later, Ellen’s mother requests her help.
Patty and Ellen seek the source of the Princefield leak, while Patty takes on Ellen through the press.
Someone from McClaren's past turns up and sheds light on his personal life; Patty has a confrontation with an adversary.
The attack Ellen suffered years ago comes back to haunt her.
A blizzard strands Patty and Ellen; McClaren uncovers a major player in the trading scandal.
Ellen begins to uncover the truth about her attacker. Chris Sanchez approaches McClaren with information.
McClaren's latest leak thrusts Ellen into the spotlight. Tensions between McClaren and Rutger Simon come to a head.
Patty and Ellen face off against each other in court, and the shocking results alter their lives forever.
