The Law Firm, Episode 7: Supplicate - Just Another Dirty Word?

The final three enter the Law Firm and pass by The Perky Receptionist Who Has Far More Personality Than Anyone Else On The Show with quick hellos, to find a seat in the conference room. Michael is very anxious to get the next case. He doesn't know if he will be working with Olivier and Aileen, or against them. Aileen sees the win as being so close it's becoming more achievable. Olivier is worried about both of the others; they are equally deadly.

Roy Black enters the conference room and congratulates the group for making it to the final three. He introduces the associates to their next case. On a projection screen we see a young athlete, Chris Harbinson, from Hickory, North Carolina. Chris had gone to Los Angeles to run in the L. A. Marathon, where his photograph was taken. Without his permission, the picture was published on a website that caters to the gay community. The problem is that Chris is not gay. He claims he has been humiliated and his reputation has been damaged.

Their clients are Jim Buzinski and Cyd Ziegler, the owners of the website. They say they had the absolute right to publish the picture. The final three associates will work as one team, representing this case for the law firm. Roy Black says the good news is that he thinks the law is on their side defending this case. The bad news is they will be going up against Geoffrey Fieger, who has won more million-dollar verdicts than any other lawyer in this country. He successfully defended Jack Kevorkian, and won 25 million dollars on a wrongful death case against the Jenny Jones show. Black tosses the case file on the table and reminds the associates that one of them will be dismissed after this case.

The associates realize that Mr. Fieger is a well-known and successful lawyer, but beyond that, they don't know much. They are trying to formulate a strategy where they will be able to adapt to whatever he may throw at them. The case is about protecting the first amendment and protecting gay rights. Michael says that protecting the constitution is one of the most important things a lawyer can do. He thinks when you participate something as nationally renowned as the L. A. Marathon and you smile for a photograph, you give up your right to say where it's published or where it goes.

Aileen, Olivier, and Michael meet with their clients Cyd and Jim, who explain that Outsports.com is a website for sport fanatics who might happen to be gay. Their photos cover news events that would have stories like any other magazine. Jim points out that if the picture had run in Sports Illustrated, the Plaintiff would have bought 500 copies and had them autographed. Cyd and Jim are proud of their website. To say all the people on the website are gay would make a mockery of what they are trying to do. They are trying to bring gay and straight people together in their joint love of sports.

Geoffrey Fieger exits his private jet and tells us the bigger the challenge, the higher heights he has to achieve. He doesn't want the associates to be like flies that he bats away, he wants them to meet the challenge, and he hopes they will. He says young lawyers tend to lose the forest through the trees, and promises them pain.

Michael feels he needs to talk to Aileen about something that has been weighing on his mind. He pulls her aside and shares that he's gay, and this case is very important to him. He has never had a case where the verdict is going to have a direct impact on him and the people he cares about. Aileen doesn't think he should try and separate from that. She thinks the fact that this is personal for him will give it more meaning and make him better. She says that as a lawyer she tries to put herself in the shoes of the person she's representing, Michael doesn't have to do this in this case. He's already there.

The Defense team meets up with Brad, Chris' long time friend and roommate. Brad shares that Chris is not gay. Brad felt very uncomfortable reading the article that accompanied Chris' photograph, he thought there were sexual undertones. Brad thinks that homosexuality is a sin; as that's how it's perceived by the church. After the meeting Michael shares with his colleagues that this the case is about discrimination and intolerance. Aileen calls it homophobia cloaked in the American flag.

Now the associates meet with Laurie, Chris' ex-girlfriend, for an interview. Laurie tells them that she and Chris grew up in the same town, and dated for six years. She learned about the photo from her friend, Mandy, who heard about it from a classmate of Chris'. Even though the website stated that Chris was straight, Laurie explains their small town thinks that if Chris is on a gay website he must be gay and just doesn't want to admit it. She was very upset when she found out. She started wondering if he was gay when they dated, or if when they broke up, she did this to him? (This girl is an idiot!) She doesn't think he's gay but her mom thought he was. Michael asks if the people from her small town have less access to information, does she consider them to be ignorant? As an example of the town's mind set, she shares that her mom said, "Why did Chris go to L. A. to run in a marathon where 99.9% of the people are gay?" What worries Michael about Laurie's statements is that she portrays the town where Chris comes as religious and conservative. Members of the jury might think that Chris could be damaged by this photo in Outsports! Laurie's says that her mom never thought Chris was gay before this happened, but her friend, Mandy, always thought he was. Aileen notes this saying if there were people that suspected Chris was gay before the photo appeared on the website, then there's no more damage to him now than there was before.

The associates go to U.S.C. to meet up with Gary Hall, one of the greatest American swimmers of all time. Gary is a heterosexual guy whose photos have also been posted on Outsports. Gary confirms that he is straight, married, and he has never felt threatened having his pictures posted on a gay website. He acknowledges that Outsports uses the same pictures that appear in the New York Times and other publications. Aileen thinks it always helps a case to have star power, and that Gary being a part of the case will be good for the defense.