Series Description

The Practice TV show was a 60 minute legal drama series on ABC about a small, struggling Boston law firm that specialized in criminal defense cases.

The Practice Cast

Dylan McDermott .... Bobby Donnell
Michael Badalucco .... Jimmy Berluti
Kelli Williams .... Lindsay Dole
Lara Flynn Boyle .... Helen Gamble
Camryn Manheim .... Ellenor Frutt
Lisa Gay Hamilton .... Rebecca Washington
Steve Harris .... Eugene Young
James Spader .... Alan Shore
Jason Kravits .... Richard Bay
Ron Livingston .... Alan Lowe
Jessica Capshaw .... Jamie Stringer
Bill Smitrovich .... Kenneth Walsh
Marla Sokoloff .... Lucy Hatcher
Lake Bell .... Sally Heep

The Practice Trivia

The name of the law firm was "Donnell & Associates" until 1998 when three of the associates became partners. The name was then changed to "Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt".

All of the actors and actresses who portray defense lawyers on The Practice have guest-starred on "Law and Order" except Dylan McDermott. None of the five, however, appeared as their characters on The Practice.

The Practice always seemed to be struggling to pay their bills. This resulted in their "taking on" almost any client no matter how much of a "low-life" they were. In one episode, when a judge ordered them to defend a man charged with murdering a Nun, the judge said, "You people fight for murderors better than anybody".

Ratings took a nosedive during the seventh season and the cast and crew were led to believe that the series would be canceled but then suddenly, NBC renewed the show for an eighth season at the last minute.

Sharon Stone guest-starred on the second, third and fourth episodes of the eighth season and that boosted The Practice in the ratings but it didn't last.

In an unusual twist, The Practice had several crossover episodes with "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Public". All three series were created by David E. Kelley and apparently he convinced the networks that it was in their best interest to co-operate in the promotion.

Rebecca Washington began on the Practice TV show as a para-legal and office manager. In 1998, she passed the bar exam and Lucy Hatcher joined the series as the new office manager.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Season 1

1... Premiere (3/4/1997)
2... Part II (3/11/1997)
3... Part III (3/18/1997)
4... Part IV (3/25/1997)
5... Part V (4/1/1997)
6... Part VI (4/8/1997)

Season 2

7... Reasonable Doubts (9/20/1997)
8... Betrayal (9/23/1997)
9... The Blessing (9/27/1997)
10. Dog Bite (10/4/1997)
11. First Degree (10/11/1997)
12. Sex, Lies And Monkeys (10/18/1997)
13. Search And Seizure (10/25/1997)
14. The Means (11/8/1997)
15. Save The Mule (11/15/1997)
16. Spirit Of America (11/22/1997)
17. Hide And Seek (11/29/1997)
18. Race With The Devil (12/13/1997)
19. The Civil Right (12/20/1997)
20. The Pursuit Of Dignity (1/3/1998)
21. Line Of Duty (1/5/1998)
22. Truth And Consequences (1/12/1998)
23. Burden Of Proof (1/19/1998)
24. Ties That Bind (2/2/1998)
25. The Trial (2/9/1998)
26. Cloudy With A Chance Of Membranes (2/16/1998)
27. In Deep (3/2/1998)
28. Another Day (3/9/1998)
29. Checkmate (3/16/1998)
30. Trees In The Forest (3/30/1998)
31. Food Chains (4/6/1998)
32. Axe Murderer - Part 2 (4/27/98) (Part 1 was shown on "Ally McBeal")
33. Duty Bound (5/4/1998)
34. Rhyme And Reason (5/1198)

Season 3

35. Passing Go (9/27/1998)
36. Reasons To Believe (10/4/1998)
37. Body Count (10/11/1998)
38. The Defenders (10/18/1998)
39. The Battlefield (10/25/1998)
40. One Of Those Days (11/8/1998)
41. Trench Work (11/15/1998)
42. Swearing In (11/29/1998)
43. State Of Mind (12/6/1998)
44. Love And Honor (12/13/1998)
45. Split Decisions (1/3/1999)
46. A Day In The Life (1/10/1999)
47. Judge And Jury (1/17/1999)
48. Of Human Bondage (2/7/1999)
49. Lawyers, Reporters, And Cockroaches (2/21/1999)
50. End Games (2/28/1999)
51. Target Practice (3/7/1999)
52. Crossfire (3/14/1999)
53. Closet Justice (3/28/1999)
54. Home Invasions (4/18/1999)
55. Infected (4/25/1999)
56. Do Unto Others (5/2/1999)
57. Happily Ever After (5/9/1999)

Season 4

58. Free Dental (9/26/1999)
59. Boston Confidential (10/3/1999)
60. Loser's Keepers (10/10/1999)
61. Legacy (10/17/1999)
62. Marooned (11/7/1999)
63. Victimless Crimes (11/14/1999)
64. Committed (11/21/1999)
65. Bay Of Pigs (11/28/1999)
66. Day In Court (12/12/1999)
67. Blowing Smoke (1/9/2000)
68. New Evidence (1/30/2000)
69. Hammerhead Sharks (2/6/2000)
70. Checkmates (2/13/2000)
71. Race Ipsa Loquitor (2/20/2000)
72. Settling (3/12/2000)
73. Black Widows (4/2/2000)
74. Death Penalties (4/9/2000)
75. Till Death Do Us Part (4/30/2000)
76. Liberty Bells (5/7/2000)
77. Honorable Man (5/14/2000)
78. Life Sentence (5/21/2000)

Season 5

79. Summary Judgments (10/8/2000)
80. Germ Warfare (10/15/2000)
81. Officers Of The Court (10/22/2000)
82. Appeal And Denial (10/29/2000)
83. We Hold These Truths... (11/5/2000)
84. Show And Tell (11/12/2000)
85. Brothers' Keepers (11/19/2000)
86. Mr. Hinks Goes To Town (11/26/2000)
87. The Deal (12/10/2000)
88. Friends And Ex-Lovers (12/17/2000)
89. An Early Frost (1/7/2001)
90. Payback (1/14/2001)
91. Blowing Smoke (1/28/2001)
92. The Thin Line (2/4/2001)
93. The Day After (2/11/2001)
94. Awakenings (2/18/2001)
95. Gideon's Crossover (3/11/2001)
96. What Child Is This? (3/18/2001)
97. The Confession (4/1/2001)
98. Home Of The Brave (4/22/2001)
99. The Case Of Harland Bassett (4/29/2001)
100. Poor Richard's Almanac (5/6/2001)
101. Public Servants (5/13/2001)

Season 6

102. The Candidate - Part 1 (9/23/2001)
103. The Candidate - Part 2 (9/23/2001)
104. Killing Time (9/30/2001)
105. Liar's Poker (10/7/2001)
106. Vanished - Part 1 (10/14/2001)
107. Vanished - Part 2 (10/21/2001)
108. Honor Code (11/18/2001)
109. Suffer The Little Children (11/25/2001)
110. Dangerous Liaisons (12/2/2001)
111. Eyewitness (1/6/2002)
112. The Test (1/13/2002)
113. Pro Se (2/10/2002)
114. Judge Knot (2/17/2002)
115. Man And Superman (2/24/2002)
116. M. Premie Unplugged (3/10/2002)
117. Manifest Necessity (3/17/2002)
118. Fire Proof (4/7/2002)
119. The Return Of Joey Heric (4/14/2002)
120. Eat And Run (5/5/2002)
121. Evil-Doers (5/12/2002)
122. This Pud's For You (5/19/2002)
123. The Verdict (5/19/2002)

Season 7

124. Privilege (9/29/2002)
125. Convictions (10/6/2002)
126. Of Thee I Sing (10/13/2002)
127. The Cradle Will Rock (10/20/2002)
128. Neighboring Species (11/3/2002)
129. The Telltale Nation (11/10/2002)
130. Small Sacrifices (11/17/2002)
131. Bad To Worse (12/1/2002)
132. The Good Fight (12/8/2002)
133. Silent Partners (12/15/2002)
134. Down The Hatch - Part 1 (1/27/2003)
135. Final Judgment - Part 2 (2/3/2003)
136. Character Evidence (2/10/2003)
137. The Making Of A Trial Attorney (3/3/2003)
138. Choirboys - Part 1 (3/10/2003)
139. Special Deliveries - Part 2 (3/24/2003)
140. Burnout (3/24/2003)
141. Capitol Crimes (3/31/2003)
142. Les Is More (4/7/2003)
143. Heroes And Villians (4/21/2003)
144. Baby Love - Part 1 (5/5/2003)
145. Goodbye - Part 2 (5/5/2003)

146. We The People (9/28/2003)
147. The Chosen - Part 1 (10/5/2003)
148. Cause Of Action - Part 2 (10/12/2003)
149. Blessed Are They - Part 3 (10/19/2003)
150. The Heat Of Passion - Part 1 (10/26/2003)
151. The Lonely People - Part 2 (11/2/2003)
152. Rape Shield (11/9/2003)
153. Concealing Evidence (11/23/2003)
154. Victims' Rights (11/30/2003)
155. Equal Justice (12/7/2003)
156. Police State (1/11/2004)
157. Avenging Angels (1/18/2004)
158. Going Home - Part 1 (2/15/2004)
159. Pre-Trial Blues - Part 2 (2/22/2004)
160. Mr. Shore Goes to Town - Part 3 (3/7/2004)
161. In Good Conscience - Part 1 (3/14/2004)
162. War Of The Roses - Part 2 (3/21/2004)
163. The Case Against Alan Shore - Part 3 (3/28/2004)
164. The Firm (4/18/2004)
165. Comings And Goings (4/25/2004)
166. New Hoods On The Block (5/2/2004)
167. Cheers (5/16/2004)