09/28/2003
Season 8: Episode 1 - "We the People"
Alan Shore (James Spader), an ethically challenged anti-trust lawyer who was recently fired from his firm for embezzling, approaches Ellenor, a friend from the past, about a job. She reluctantly agrees to give him a chance, but first he must prove himself by taking over a case. Meanwhile, Eugene and Jimmy defend a woman who, fed up, shot a neighborhood drug dealer in cold blood, and Ellenor and Jamie take on the case of Brad Stanfield (Chris O'Donnell), a man who stands accused of murdering his pregnant wife.
10/05/2003
Season 8: Episode 2 - "The Chosen"
Alan Shore agrees to help friend Sheila Carlisle (Sharon Stone), a successful attorney who claims God speaks to her, and who has subsequently been fired from her law firm for being mentally incompetent. Meanwhile there are startling new developments in the case of Brad Stanfield (Chris O'Donnell), whom Ellenor and Jamie are defending for allegedly poisoning his pregnant wife.
10/12/2003
Season 8: Episode 3 - "Cause of Action"
Eccentric attorney Sheila Carlisle (Sharon Stone), whom Alan Shore hired on a temporary basis without consulting anyone else, takes on a lawsuit on behalf of the firm; and Ellenor finds herself in a moral dilemma when faced with the truth about her client.
10/19/2003
Season 8: Episode 4 - "Blessed Are They"
Alan Shore is troubled by Sheila Carlisle's (Sharon Stone) increasingly erratic behavior and fears for her mental - and legal - competence. Meanwhile, Shore is ordered by the court to represent a man who refuses to divulge his identity for fear that the unsavory nature of his crime will be made public.
10/26/2003
Season 8: Episode 5 - "The Heat of Passion"
Eugene struggles to defend a white supremacist whom he was appointed by the court to represent. Meanwhile, the sexual tension between Tara Wilson and Alan Shore grows, and Jamie and Eugene's interracial relationship is tested.
11/02/2003
Season 8: Episode 6 - "The Lonely People"
Eugene and Jimmy's defense of the leader of a white supremacist group takes an unexpected turn when surprising new developments come to light. Meanwhile, Shore continues in his quest to free Roland Huff from prison, and Jamie and Eugene must come to terms with their differences.
11/09/2003
Season 8: Episode 7 - "Rape Shield"
As a court-appointed attorney, Berluti takes an unexpected path in defending a man accused of rape. Meanwhile, Eugene and Ellenor confront both Jamie and Alan Shore when evidence of some questionable behavior comes to light.
11/23/2003
Season 8: Episode 8 - "Concealing Evidence"
Alan Shore uses questionable, if not illegal, tactics in representing his clients — Ted Grayson, a mentally unstable man accused of murder, and Karen Evanson, a woman who claims her husband's suicide was induced by a prescription drug.
11/30/2003
Season 8: Episode 9 - "Victim's Rights"
Alan Shore defends a twelve-year-old girl who is trying to escape an arranged marriage in her home country. Meanwhile, Eugene tries to help a man who is seeking justice for the brutal murder of his wife.
12/07/2003
Season 8: Episode 10 - "Equal Justice"
Alan Shore uses unorthodox tactics when he's appointed by the court to defend a young man accused of murder. Meanwhile, Tara must try her first case when she's thrown into covering Shore's previously scheduled client.
01/09/2004
Season 8: Episode 11 - "Police State"
When the police torture a man they believe shot one of their own, Eugene, barely able to contain his emotion, takes the lead in seeking justice.
01/27/2004
Season 8: Episode 12 - "Avenging Angels"
Jimmy Berluti and Jamie Stringer defend an elderly man, Walter Josephson, who is accused of killing a member of the local Irish mob, and Alan Shore agrees to help a friend — by any means necessary — who discovers his wife is cheating on him.
02/15/2004
Season 8: Episode 13 - "Going Home"
When his best friend from childhood is accused of murdering his mistress, Alan Shore returns home to defend him.
02/22/2004
Season 8: Episode 14 - "Pre-Trial Blues"
Alan Shore and Jimmy Berluti's mutual antagonism began the moment they met, and tensions mount when Shore is forced to seek Jimmy's help with the case of his childhood friend, Paul Stewart (Patrick Dempsey). Meanwhile, Catherine Piper (Betty White) makes a shocking revelation that could have a devastating impact on the outcome of the trial.
03/07/2004
Season 8: Episode 15 - "Mr. Shore Goes to Town"
With childhood friend Paul Stewart's freedom hanging in the balance, Alan Shore braces for the jury's return.
03/14/2004
Season 8: Episode 16 - "In Good Conscience"
There are major shake-ups at the firm, as tensions rise between Eugene and Alan Shore. Meanwhile, the firm takes the case of a young man who is suing the doctor he feels is responsible for the death of his wife during childbirth. Kelli Williams returns to the show to make her directorial debut.
03/21/2004
Season 8: Episode 17 - "War of the Roses"
Tensions between Shore and Eugene rise to the boiling point when Shore retains the services of a high-profile law firm to go head-to-head with Young, Frutt & Berluti in the face of his abrupt firing from the firm.
03/28/2004
Season 8: Episode 18 - "The Case Against Alan Shore"
In a dramatic courtroom showdown, Alan Shore sues his former friends and partners at Young, Frutt & Berluti for wrongful termination, but is it justice he's after, or simply revenge.
04/18/2004
Season 8: Episode 19 - "The Firm"
Jimmy Berluti takes the firm by surprise when he leaves to pursue his own practice, and Alan Shore gets an immediate taste of what life is like at the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
04/25/2004
Season 8: Episode 20 - "Comings and Goings"
Eugene is presented with an offer he finds hard to refuse, and Ellenor is shocked when she hears the news, knowing full well that any departure by Eugene would mean the beginning of the end of the practice. Meanwhile, Jimmy is confronted by crooked lawyer Lenny Pascatore (Vincent Pastore), who claims that the neighborhood only has room for one practicing attorney. Across town at Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Denny Crane ruffles some feathers by making Tara his personal paralegal, and Hannah Rose (Rebecca De Mornay) enlists Shore's help in handling an assault case involving two hockey players.
05/02/2004
Season 8: Episode 21 - "New Hoods on the Block"
Eugene considers an exciting new offer for his future... could this mean the end of the practice? Meanwhile, Jimmy is shaken by an ominous run-in with neighborhood lawyer Lenny Pescatore (Vincent Pastore), as their turf war heats up, and Ellenor clashes with sexy and ruthless attorney Hannah Rose (Rebecca De Mornay) of Crane Poole & Schmidt.
05/16/2004
Season 8: Episode 22 - "Cheers"
At Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore appear before Judge Eugene Young, and Hannah Rose (Rebecca De Mornay) recuperates from the punch she suffered at the hands of Ellenor. Meanwhile, Jamie takes a position at Berluti's new legal shingle, and Ellenor invites Bobby Donnell (guest star Dylan McDermott) to help his former colleagues bid an official goodbye to the old firm, as they each embark on the next phase of their professional lives.