Episode 22: Sensitive Jackals

As he’s trying to complete a required legal education seminar, Nick takes on the case of Taliek Allen, a horribly disfigured assault victim who is suing his former girlfriend over custody of their daughter. But when James is handling the preliminary hearing, Taliek’s violent behavior in the courtroom only serves to underscore his girlfriend’s claim that he is out of control. Meanwhile, Nick is taken aback when Lulu reveals that she’s being recruited to take over a legal clinic in California. And while Nick wants to diversify by starting a criminal defense practice with noted attorney and Jake’s former high classmate, Clay Simms, Burton disagrees.

Back in court, Taliek’s account of the assault that has left him disfigured leads Nick to suspect that he is the same person who was attacked in retaliation for the death of James’s nephew, Levi. And after pressing Taliek about his criminal past, Nick realises that he probably didn’t have anything to do with Levi’s death after all. Though still adamant that he is Levi’s killer, after taking the time to investigate, James discovers that one of the thugs he recruited for the assault was actually the brother of Taliek’s girlfriend, Sharnell. Meanwhile, with Burton as the lone vote against him, Clay is asked to join the firm. And it isn’t long before he reveals some embarrassing details about Jake’s high school years.

Realising that things with Simms are playing out just as he had feared, Jake decides to get even. And after Jake falsely accuses him of having an affair with a former secretary, Simms is forced to contend with an angry husband’s threats of violence. As Lulu finds something that suggests Alvin is working behind the scenes to get rid of her, Burton uses the education seminar’s mock trial to make clear his displeasure with Nick. Finally, as Lulu heads to Berkeley for the job interview, James tells Nick that he’s sure Taliek had nothing to do with Levi’s death. And while Nick strongly suggests that he forget anything ever happened, James cannot keep the truth to himself.