The Practice is an American legal drama

Legal drama

A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...

 created by David E. Kelley

David E. Kelley

David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...

 centering on the partners and associates at a Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston Legal

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

, which ran for five more seasons, from 2004 to 2008.

The Practice focused on the law firm of Robert Donnell and Associates (later becoming Donnell, Young, Dole, & Frutt, and ultimately Young, Frutt, & Berluti). Plots typically featured the firm's involvement in various high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirror current events. Conflict between legal ethics

Legal ethics

Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.-In the United States:...

 and personal morality was a recurring theme. Kelley claimed that he conceived the show as something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law

L.A. Law

L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...

(for which he wrote) and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.

Overview

At the start of the series, attorney Bobby Donnell

Bobby Donnell

Bobby Donnell is a fictional character, a self-made lawyer and head of a law firm on the former ABC TV drama, The Practice , set in Boston, Massachusetts. Donnell was played by Dylan McDermott.-Early Life and Practice:...

 employs associate attorney

Associate attorney

An associate attorney is a lower-level employee of a traditional law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner.-Attorneys:An associate may be a junior or senior associate, but normally does not yet hold an ownership interest in the firm even if they have been associated with the...

s Ellenor Frutt

Ellenor Frutt

Ellenor Frutt, played by Camryn Manheim, is a fictional character from David E. Kelley's legal drama, The Practice. She often struggles with issues related to her weight, appearance, and relationships. She has not had much luck in finding love...

, Eugene Young

Eugene Young (character)

Eugene Young is a fictional character played by Steve Harris on the American legal drama, The Practice created by David E. Kelley. Eugene was one of the original cast members and stayed as a main character until the end of the series, which ran between 1997 and 2004.At the opening of the series,...

 (who joined Bobby's practice seven years earlier), Lindsay Dole

Lindsay Dole

Lindsay Suzanne Dole was one of the lead characters on ABC's The Practice, a television drama about a law firm in Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dole was played by Kelli Williams. Her character tried civil cases and was Bobby Donnell's wife until they separated in season 7.Lindsay obtained...

, and receptionist/paralegal Rebecca Washington (with whom Bobby started his practice). By the fourth episode, Bobby's friend Jimmy Berluti is hired as an associate. Before that, Jimmy is an attorney working as a loan officer. When he falsifies loan documents to help Bobby's struggling practice, he loses his job, and Bobby hires him.

Bobby originally opens his practice with idealistic dreams of protecting the innocent, but during the firm's early days of financial struggle, Bobby quickly learns that drug dealers and other undeniably guilty clients tend to be the ones who provide the business that keep the firm running.

Bobby maintains sole control over the firm until an ultimatum by Lindsay motivates him to name Ellenor, Eugene, Lindsay, and Rebecca as junior partners

Partner (business rank)

A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position. Originally, these businesses were set up as legal partnerships in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits of the enterprise. The name has remained even though many of these...

. To maintain control over the firm, Bobby writes into the charter that each partner received one vote in partnership meetings, while Bobby would get two. While this decision prevents Lindsay's power play from becoming ugly, it temporarily causes some tension when Bobby and Lindsay later become romantically involved, potentially creating a voting block. The partnership agreement also initially alienates Jimmy who feels insulted that he was the only one on staff who is not named a partner. This is exacerbated by the fact that Rebecca is made partner despite her being the receptionist and not an attorney. Rebecca eventually earns her law degree in season three, and Jimmy is eventually made partner at the end of season seven.

Bobby and his associates all share a friendship with A.D.A.

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 Helen Gamble, who even shares a brief romance with Bobby all highly unusual, considering how often Helen's job places her in opposition to the firm.

A recurring strategy used by the practice – especially Eugene – is informally known as the "United States of America defense", an appeal to patriotism

Appeal to emotion

Appeal to emotion is a potential fallacy which uses the manipulation of the recipient's emotions, rather than valid logic, to win an argument. The appeal to emotion fallacy uses emotions as the basis of an argument's position without factual evidence that logically supports the major ideas endorsed...

 which emphasizes the rights of their client as Constitutional priorities that must be upheld by the jury. However, the firm is far more notorious for employing a strategy they refer to as "Plan B", which involves creating doubt with the jury as to their client's guilt by accusing a third, usually innocent party of the crime in order to plant the seed of reasonable doubt

Reasonable doubt

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of evidence required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems . Generally the prosecution bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events to this standard...

. While the strategy is often effective, it would occasionally backfire once the D.A.'s office grew familiar with the strategy, and once resulted in a defamation lawsuit against them. This tactic invariably causes great emotional distress for the attorney employing the plan when they know that the target is most likely innocent. Thus, in such cases, Plan B is used only as a last resort. Despite the firm's friendship with Helen Gamble, the practice's use of Plan B, combined with the firm's high win/loss ratio, attracts ire and scrutiny from the D.A.'s office, particularly in the case of senior A.D.A. Kenneth Walsh.

In 2003, Bobby Donnell leaves the firm, fearing he had become the "blue-chip" lawyer he had long resented. He names Eugene as senior partner. Along with Ellenor, Eugene decides to make Jimmy a full partner and extends an offer to Lindsay (who had left to start her own practice), and her associate Claire Wyatt to return to the firm.

This occurred at the end of season seven, at the end of which most of the cast was fired for budgetary reasons as ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 agreed to renew the show only if the budget per episode was drastically cut. Season eight began with nearly half the original cast missing. It was never explained what became of Lindsay, Claire, Lucy, Rebecca, or Helen. Many of the recurring characters, such as judges Zoey Hiller, were also completely written off, though several, such as Roberta Kittleson did return for several episodes during the eighth season.

During the final year of the firm's existence, the remaining attorneys are senior partners Ellenor, Eugene, Jimmy, and associate Jamie Stringer. Lucy Hatcher, the firm's longtime receptionist/paralegal, has been replaced by Tara Wilson, a third year law student and paralegal. Ellenor hires an old friend, Alan Shore, the top anti-trust attorney in Massachusetts after he is fired from his firm Carruthers-Abbot for embezzling. Alan's joining the firm is a mixed blessing; he attracts lots of business and generates enough revenue to make up for the three departed lawyers, but his unorthodox out-of and in-court antics, perceived ethical short-comings and near illegal methods often clash with Eugene, Jimmy and, occasionally, Ellenor.

Near the series end, Eugene and Jimmy fire Alan without consulting Ellenor, creating a phenomenon known as a law firm divorce. It begins when, despite Alan's bringing in over $9,000,000 in revenue, he is offered just $15,000 severance. For warning Shore of his impending dismissal, paralegal Tara is also fired by Eugene for betraying their trust, and Lucy is brought back as a temporary receptionist. Alan sues for wrongful termination and hires Matthew Billings and Denny Crane of the blue-chip firm Crane, Poole & Schmidt to represent him. The jury decides that Young, Frutt & Berluti are to pay Shore $2.3 million.

Alan and Tara are hired by Crane, Poole & Schmidt as an associate and paralegal respectively. After this case the tensions caused between the partners' loyalties during the Shore months leads to the dissolution

Dissolution (law)

In law, dissolution has multiple meanings.Dissolution is the last stage of liquidation, the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed....

 of the firm. Shore offers to forfeit his winnings, but the offer is declined. A soul searching discussion between Jimmy and Jamie about being true to his original reasons for wishing to become a lawyer leads Jimmy to decide to start practicing in his own neighborhood. Eugene is appointed a superior court

Superior court

In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...

 judge, and Ellenor takes time out from law to spend time with her daughter. Jamie later joins Jimmy and his childhood friend to start a new law firm.

Main cast

• Dylan McDermott
  Dylan McDermott
  Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
  
   as Bobby Donnell
  Bobby Donnell
  Bobby Donnell is a fictional character, a self-made lawyer and head of a law firm on the former ABC TV drama, The Practice , set in Boston, Massachusetts. Donnell was played by Dylan McDermott.-Early Life and Practice:...
  
   (1997–2004), senior partner of the firm. A deeply sensitive and compassionate man, Bobby often struggled with his conscience and the idea of being a lawyer. McDermott was fired after the show's seventh season as part of the budget cuts demanded by the network, but his character returned for the final episodes of the show.
• Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco is an American actor most famous for his role as lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the ABC legal drama The Practice...
  
   as Jimmy Berluti (1997–2004), an associate, and later, partner at the firm. An Italian-American from a working-class background, Jimmy often struggled with his conscience, loneliness and feelings of inadequacy, as well as a brief story arc involving his problems with gambling addiction. Jimmy, like Bobby, was raised as a Catholic, and his strict upbringing often played a part in his various ethical dilemmas.
• Lisa Gay Hamilton
  Lisa Gay Hamilton
  Lisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
  
   as Rebecca Washington (1997–2003). At the beginning of the series, Rebecca was the firm's receptionist and occasional paralegal. She passed the bar exam after attending law school at night for several years without the knowledge of anyone at the firm. She has worked for Bobby since he opened his first practice as a solo practitioner, and the two were very close. Rebecca left the firm for unknown reasons between the seventh and eighth seasons of the show. In reality, like a number of other cast members, Hamilton had been fired because of budget cuts.
• Steve Harris
  Steve Harris (actor)
  Steve Harris is an American actor who has appeared in a number of films including; Quarantine, Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Bringing Down The House, The Rock, The Mod Squad, and Minority Report. He is most famous for his role as Eugene Young on the legal drama The Practice...
  
   as Eugene Young
  Eugene Young (character)
  Eugene Young is a fictional character played by Steve Harris on the American legal drama, The Practice created by David E. Kelley. Eugene was one of the original cast members and stayed as a main character until the end of the series, which ran between 1997 and 2004.At the opening of the series,...
  
   (1997–2004), was the second highest-ranking partner at the firm, and senior partner for the show's final season. Eugene also struggled with his conscience, but was more strongly devoted to the letter of the law and legal ethics than either Bobby or Jimmy. This was largely due to the influence of his older brother, who died in prison after a coerced confession led to his conviction for a crime he did not commit. The first season made several references to the fact that Eugene was formerly a private investigator before becoming an attorney.
• Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
  
   as Ellenor Frutt
  Ellenor Frutt
  Ellenor Frutt, played by Camryn Manheim, is a fictional character from David E. Kelley's legal drama, The Practice. She often struggles with issues related to her weight, appearance, and relationships. She has not had much luck in finding love...
  
   (1997–2004), another partner at the firm. Ellenor, a single mother, had a child via artificial insemination, and often struggled with issues related to her weight and appearance. A running joke on the show was that nearly all of Ellenor's friends were murderers. This was because many episodes would open with Ellenor visiting or being visited by her previously unseen friends who would almost always reveal that they were being charged with murder, or that there was a body in their presence that they knew nothing about. Another recurring joke was Ellenor's tendency to knock across the room those who annoyed her past a certain point.
• Kelli Williams
  Kelli Williams
  Kelli Renee Williams is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lindsay Dole on the Legal drama The Practice and as psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on Lie to Me....
  
   as Lindsay Dole
  Lindsay Dole
  Lindsay Suzanne Dole was one of the lead characters on ABC's The Practice, a television drama about a law firm in Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dole was played by Kelli Williams. Her character tried civil cases and was Bobby Donnell's wife until they separated in season 7.Lindsay obtained...
  
   (1997–2003), a partner at the firm who went to Harvard Law School. She was Bobby's girlfriend and later, his wife. Lindsay was stalked and terrorized by four mentally unbalanced clients over the series, one of whom she was convicted of murdering (the verdict was later reversed due to prosecutorial misconduct
  Prosecutorial misconduct
  In jurisprudence, prosecutorial misconduct is a procedural defense; via which, a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which may have broken the law, because the prosecution acted in an "inappropriate" or "unfair" manner. Such arguments may involve...
  
   by A.D.A. Walsh). She and Bobby have a child together, but separated when Lindsey left to start her own firm, and eventually decided to divorce after she caught Bobby beginning an affair with a former girlfriend. At the end of the seventh season, Lindsay was invited by Eugene to rejoin the practice, but vanished without explanation before the eighth season. Williams, like other cast members, was fired due to budget cuts.
• Lara Flynn Boyle
  Lara Flynn Boyle
  Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
  
   as Helen Gamble (1997–2003), an Assistant District Attorney who often prosecuted cases in which the firm was involved. Helen, a personal friend of many of the firm's partners, is nevertheless relentless in her attempts to prosecute those who do wrong, sometimes crossing the line of legal ethics; after her friend Richard Bay was murdered on the orders of a drug lord he had helped to prosecute, Helen orchestrated the gunman's death by giving false information to the police about his willingness to surrender. During the series, Helen was a roommate to both Lindsay and Ellenor. She went to Harvard Law School with Lindsay. Helen also vanishes without explanation after the seventh season, as Boyle was fired from the show due to budget cuts.
• Marla Sokoloff
  Marla Sokoloff
  Marla Lynne Sokoloff is an American actress and musician, known for playing the part of Lucy Hatcher on the TV show The Practice, and Gia Mahan on the ABC sitcom, Full House.- Personal life :...
  
   as Lucy Hatcher (1998–2003, 2004), the firm's wise-cracking, nosy receptionist. Lucy was hired after Rebecca became an attorney. Lucy later became a part-time counselor for rape victims. Lucy initially vanished without explanation after the seventh season (like the other cast members, Sokoloff was fired due to budget cuts), but she returned as a guest star for the final episodes of the show.
• Jason Kravits
  Jason Kravits
  Jason Kravits is an American actor. His film credits include The Stepford Wives and Sweet November. Kravits has served more often as a television guest star. He can be seen in episodes of shows such as Friends; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Yes, Dear; and Gilmore Girls...
  
   as Richard Bay (1999–2001), a diminutive, hard-nosed Assistant District Attorney and frequent nemesis of the firm. In contrast to Bobby's numerous moral dilemmas, Richard always saw himself as being a "white knight of justice" and truly believed in the guilt of all those he prosecuted. He was close friends with Helen Gamble, and on several occasions tried to initiate a romantic relationship with her. He was machine-gunned to death in the courthouse parking garage after successfully prosecuting a drug lord; Helen later orchestrated the killer's murder by obtaining his identity and falsely telling the police that the man was prepared for an armed standoff should they attempt to apprehend him. Although Bay's killer attempted to surrender peacefully, his manner of holding his cell-phone, combined with Helen's statement, led the police to believe he was holding a gun, and he was shot to death.
• Ron Livingston
  Ron Livingston
  Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
  
   as Alan Lowe (2001–2002), who replaced Richard Bay as the firm's recurring adversary for a while. His character vanished without explanation after 13 episodes.
• Jessica Capshaw
  Jessica Capshaw
  Jessica Brooke Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jamie Stringer in The Practice and for her role as Dr...
  
   as Jamie Stringer (2002–2004), a high-strung, promiscuous Harvard Law School graduate and associate at the firm. Jamie joined the practice after Lindsay was convicted of murder, and eventually became involved in a brief romantic relationship with Eugene. When the firm dissolved, she joined Jimmy in his own practice.
• Chyler Leigh
  Chyler Leigh
  Chyler Leigh is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Lexie Grey on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. She also portrayed Janey Briggs in Not Another Teen Movie.-Early life:...
  
   as Claire Wyatt (2003), Lindsay's associate at her new practice. In the seventh season finale, she was invited to join the firm, but vanished without explanation before the eighth season due to Leigh being one of those fired due to budget cuts.
• James Spader
  James Spader
  James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
  
   as Alan Shore (2003–2004), a highly unethical friend of Ellenor's who was hired by the firm at the beginning of the show's final season. In the last few episodes of the show's run, he was fired from the firm and went to work at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. This transitioned his character into the spin-off series Boston Legal.
• Rhona Mitra
  Rhona Mitra
  Rhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...
  
   as Tara Wilson (2003–2004), paralegal and third-year law student. Tara was fired after informing Alan Shore of his impending dismissal from the firm, and helping him steal client files. Along with James Spader, Mitra also joined the cast of Boston Legal after The Practice ended, and her character became an attorney.

Recurring cast

• Bill Smitrovich
  Bill Smitrovich
  -Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
  
   as Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Walsh, was Helen Gamble's mentor
  Mentor
  In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
  
   and a chief prosecutor for the DA's office. Walsh despises criminal defense attorneys -especially those at Bobby Donnell's firm. Walsh once coerced a man charged with murder in order to obtain a confession. Bobby Donnell
  Bobby Donnell
  Bobby Donnell is a fictional character, a self-made lawyer and head of a law firm on the former ABC TV drama, The Practice , set in Boston, Massachusetts. Donnell was played by Dylan McDermott.-Early Life and Practice:...
  
  , who was a young and inexperienced lawyer at the time, believed his client was guilty and did not appeal the sentence. Walsh is also the D.A. who prosecuted and convicted Lindsay Dole for murder. It was later discovered that he had withheld a forensics report which might have supported a self-defense
  Self-defense
  Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
  
   plea. This contributed to grounds which allowed Lindsay's conviction to be overturned. He once told Helen Gamble there was a time when he once befriended criminal defense attorneys, but that time had long since passed.
• Holland Taylor
  Holland Taylor
  Holland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
  
   as Judge Roberta Kittleson. Kittleson is an older woman with a notorious sex life, but is considered an excellent judge. She has a relationship with Jimmy during a few seasons of the show. Later, when Lindsay is being threatened by a stalker, Jimmy wrongly believes that Judge Kittleson may be the culprit, which leads to tensions between them. They eventually break up.
• Linda Hunt
  Linda Hunt
  Linda Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance in The Year of Living Dangerously...
  
   as Judge Zoey Hiller, a senior Judge that many of the firm's lawyers frequently appear before in trial. Hiller is known for being an excellent judge that always goes by the letter of the law. She has a close friendship with Bobby. Though they frequently quarrel on application of the law, they both maintain a strong respect for each other.
• Kate Burton
  Kate Burton (actress)
  -Personal life:Burton was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the daughter of producer Sybil Burton and actor Richard Burton . She was thus the stepdaughter of actress Elizabeth Taylor and of Sybil's second husband Jordan Christopher. In 1979, Burton earned a bachelor's degree in Russian studies and...
  
   as A.D.A. Susan Alexander. She appears regularly in episodes from the pilot through the series finale.
• Anna Gunn
  Anna Gunn
  Anna Gunn is an American actress, best known for her roles as Assistant District Attorney Jean Ward on The Practice, Martha Bullock on Deadwood, and, currently, Skyler White on Breaking Bad. She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Glasses" and on the first season of Murder One...
  
   as A.D.A. Jean Ward. She is a friend to many of the firm's lawyers.
• Ray Abruzzo
  Ray Abruzzo
  Ray Abruzzo is an Italian-American actor, noted for his appearances on television.He made regular appearances in the following series: Dynasty , The Practice and The Sopranos .Other TV credits include: Falcon Crest, Murder She Wrote, L.A...
  
   as Detective Mike McGuire. Mike is regularly the detective who interacts with the firm attorneys and their clients.
• James Pickens, Jr.
  James Pickens, Jr.
  James Pickens, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC drama television series Grey's Anatomy, and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kersh on later seasons of the Fox Network science fiction series The X-Files.- Early life...
  
   as Detective Mike McKrew. Mike is a detective who regularly interacts with the firm attorneys and their clients.

Notable guest stars

The series holds the Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 record for most wins in the Guest Actor and Actress categories for a single series, as well as most nominations in those categories. Emmys went to John Larroquette

John Larroquette

John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...

, Edward Herrmann

Edward Herrmann

Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...

, James Whitmore

James Whitmore

James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...

, Beah Richards

Beah Richards

Beah Richards was an American actress of stage, screen and television. She was a poet, playwright and author....

, Michael Emerson

Michael Emerson

Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...

, Charles S. Dutton

Charles S. Dutton

Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...

, Alfre Woodard

Alfre Woodard

Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...

, Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone

Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...

, and William Shatner

William Shatner

William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...

. In addition, Tony Danza

Tony Danza

Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...

, Paul Dooley

Paul Dooley

-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...

, Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler

Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...

, Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin

Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...

, Rene Auberjonois

Rene Auberjonois

René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...

, and Betty White

Betty White

Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...

 were nominated but did not win. Larroquette, who won for his guest appearance during the second season, was nominated again for an episode from the sixth season, but did not win.
The series won the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for five consecutive years (from 1998–2002).

• Lake Bell
  Lake Bell
  -Early life:Bell was born in New York City, the daughter of Robin Bell, owner of the design firm Robin Bell Design, Inc. in New York, and Harvey Siegel. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Protestant, and Bell has stated that she was raised in a "comically dysfunctional family".Bell attended The...
  
   as Sally Heep (precursor to "Boston Legal
  Boston Legal
  Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
  
  ")
• William Shatner
  William Shatner
  William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
  
   as Denny Crane (precursor to "Boston Legal
  Boston Legal
  Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
  
  ")
• Andre Braugher
  Andre Braugher
  Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
  
   as Ben Gideon ("Gideon's Crossover", Season 5 – crossover with Gideon's Crossing
  Gideon's Crossing
  Gideon's Crossing is a US medical drama starring Andre Braugher. The series was loosely based on the experience of real-life physician Jerome Groopman and his book The Measure of Our Days. It premiered on October 10, 2000, and ran for one season, with its last episode airing on April 9, 2001, with...
  
  )
• Chi McBride
  Chi McBride
  Kenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He starred as Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, as Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, and recently appeared in Fox's drama Human Target.-Early life:...
  
   as Steven Harper ("The Day After", Season 5 – crossover with Boston Public
  Boston Public
  Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
  
  )
• Calista Flockhart
  Calista Flockhart
  Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
  
   as Ally McBeal ("Axe Murderer", Season 2 – crossover with Ally McBeal
  Ally McBeal
  Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
  
  )
• John C. McGinley
  John C. McGinley
  John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
  
   as Leonard Good
• Tony Danza
  Tony Danza
  Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
  
   as Tommy Silva
• Bruce Davison
  Bruce Davison
  Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
  
   as Scott Wallace
• Patrick Dempsey
  Patrick Dempsey
  Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
  
   as Paul Stewart
• Charles Durning
  Charles Durning
  Charles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
  
   as Stephen Donnell
• Charles S. Dutton
  Charles S. Dutton
  Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
  
   as Leonard Marshall
• Alfre Woodard
  Alfre Woodard
  Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
  
   as Denise Freeman
• Anthony Heald
  Anthony Heald
  Philip Anthony Mair Heald, known professionally as Anthony Heald , is an American actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jail nemesis, Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and for playing assistant principal Scott Guber in David E. Kelley's Boston Public...
  
   as Wallace Cooper
• John Larroquette
  John Larroquette
  John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
  
   as Joey Heric
  Joey Heric
  Joey Heric is a fictional, recurring character on The Practice, played by John Larroquette, who won an Emmy for the role in 1998 and was again nominated in 2002....
  
  
• Marlee Matlin
  Marlee Matlin
  Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...
  
   as Sally Berg
• Chris O'Donnell
  Chris O'Donnell
  Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
  
   as Brad Stanfield
• Vincent Pastore
  Vincent Pastore
  Vincent Pastore is an Italian-American actor, often cast as a mobster and best known for the role of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on The Sopranos.-Early life:...
  
   as Lenny Pescatore
• C.C.H. Pounder as Helene Washington
• Kim Raver
  Kim Raver
  Kimberly Jayne "Kim" Raver is an American actress.She is best known for her numerous roles on TV: as Kim Zambrano on Third Watch, Audrey Raines on 24, Nico Reilly on Lipstick Jungle, and, most recently, Teddy Altman on Grey's Anatomy.-Personal life:Raver was raised in New York City by her mother,...
  
   as Victoria Keenan
• Ernie Sabella
  Ernie Sabella
  Ernest "Ernie" Sabella is an American actor, who is best known for his role as the official voice of Pumbaa from the The Lion King.-Life and career:...
  
   as Harland Bassett
• Christopher Shyer
  Christopher Shyer
  Christopher Shyer is a Canadian actor who has appeared in over 50 film and television roles.-Acting career:...
  
   as Lawrence O'Malley
• Sharon Stone
  Sharon Stone
  Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
  
   as Sheila Carlisle
• Betty White
  Betty White
  Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
  
   as Catherine Piper
• James Whitmore
  James Whitmore
  James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
  
   as Raymond Oz
• D.B. Woodside as Aaron Wilton
• Aunjanue Ellis
  Aunjanue Ellis
  Aunjanue L. Ellis is an American actress known for her roles in Ray, in Undercover Brother, and on The Mentalist....
  
   as Sharon Young
• Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
  
   as William Hinks
• Gina Gershon
  Gina Gershon
  Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
  
   as Glenn Hall
• Christopher Reeve
  Christopher Reeve
  Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
  
   as Kevin Bealy

Crossovers with David E. Kelley Universe

There are a number of crossovers with other David E. Kelley shows, including Boston Public

Boston Public

Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...

, Boston Legal

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

, Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...

, and Gideon's Crossing

Gideon's Crossing

Gideon's Crossing is a US medical drama starring Andre Braugher. The series was loosely based on the experience of real-life physician Jerome Groopman and his book The Measure of Our Days. It premiered on October 10, 2000, and ran for one season, with its last episode airing on April 9, 2001, with...

.

Budget Reduction and Major Revamp

By the end of the seventh season, faced with sagging ratings, ABC conditioned the show's renewal on a drastic budget reduction. As a result, six cast members were fired: Dylan McDermott

Dylan McDermott

Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...

, Kelli Williams

Kelli Williams

Kelli Renee Williams is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lindsay Dole on the Legal drama The Practice and as psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on Lie to Me....

, Lara Flynn Boyle

Lara Flynn Boyle

Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...

, Chyler Leigh

Chyler Leigh

Chyler Leigh is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Lexie Grey on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. She also portrayed Janey Briggs in Not Another Teen Movie.-Early life:...

, Marla Sokoloff

Marla Sokoloff

Marla Lynne Sokoloff is an American actress and musician, known for playing the part of Lucy Hatcher on the TV show The Practice, and Gia Mahan on the ABC sitcom, Full House.- Personal life :...

, and Lisa Gay Hamilton

Lisa Gay Hamilton

Lisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...

. The addition of James Spader

James Spader

James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...

 and Rhona Mitra

Rhona Mitra

Rhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...

 to the cast for the eighth season somewhat revived the ratings; Spader went on to win an Emmy for his appearance. However, on March 11, 2004, ABC announced that The Practice would not return for a ninth season; rather, Kelley would create a new spin-off series Boston Legal

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

, starring Spader, Mitra, Lake Bell

Lake Bell

-Early life:Bell was born in New York City, the daughter of Robin Bell, owner of the design firm Robin Bell Design, Inc. in New York, and Harvey Siegel. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Protestant, and Bell has stated that she was raised in a "comically dysfunctional family".Bell attended The...

 and William Shatner

William Shatner

William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...

.

Episodes

The Practice had 8 seasons and a total of 168 episodes.

DVD release

The Practice, Volume 1, was released as a Four-Disc DVD Set in North America on June 12, 2007. The set includes all six episodes of season 1 and the first seven episodes of season 2. It also includes a featurette, "Setting Up The Practice".
The set was also released in Region 4 on June 6, 2007 and in region 2 on June 29, 2008.

On July 1, 2007, Volume 1 was released in Italy and Greece.

DVD Name	Ep#	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Practice: Volume 1	13	June 12, 2007	June 29, 2008	June 6, 2007

U.S. television viewership

Viewer numbers per season of The Practice on ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. The first two seasons include the household rating. Seasons 4 and 5 reached the top 10 rankings.

Season	Timeslot (Eastern & Pacific Time)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Viewers (in millions)	Viewer Rank
1st	Tuesday 10:00PM	March 4, 1997	April 8, 1997	1996–1997	9.2	#43
2nd	Saturday 10:00PM (September 20, 1997 to January 3, 1998) Monday 10:00PM (from January 5, 1998)	September 20, 1997	May 11, 1998	1997–1998	10.0	#82
3rd	Sunday 10:00PM	September 27, 1998	May 9, 1999	1998–1999	12.7	#34
4th		September 26, 1999	May 21, 2000	1999–2000	17.9	#8
5th		October 8, 2000	May 13, 2001	2000–2001	18.3	#9
6th		September 23, 2001	May 19, 2002	2001–2002	12.9	#26
7th	Sunday 10:00PM (September 29, 2002 to December 15, 2002) Monday 9:00PM (from January 27, 2003)	September 29, 2002	May 5, 2003	2002–2003	9.8	#55
8th	Sunday 10:00PM	September 28, 2003	May 16, 2004	2003–2004	9.1	#63

The exposure from its January 30, 2000, post-Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 episode (attracting 23.8 million viewers) plus their weekly lead-in from early 2000

2000 in television

The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...

 to mid-2001

2001 in television

The year 2001 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2001.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:*Meet the Press .*Candid Camera .*CBS Evening News ....

, the then mega-hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...

, helped the series reach its ratings peak from 1999–2001.

Awards Won

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Drama Series (1998)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
  
   (1998)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series John Larroquette
  John Larroquette
  John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
  
   (1998)
• Outstanding Drama Series (1999)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco is an American actor most famous for his role as lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the ABC legal drama The Practice...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Holland Taylor
  Holland Taylor
  Holland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Edward Herrmann
  Edward Herrmann
  Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Beah Richards
  Beah Richards
  Beah Richards was an American actress of stage, screen and television. She was a poet, playwright and author....
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series James Whitmore
  James Whitmore
  James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson
  Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
  
   (2001)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Charles S. Dutton
  Charles S. Dutton
  Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
  
   (2002)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Alfre Woodard
  Alfre Woodard
  Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
  
   (2003)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Sharon Stone
  Sharon Stone
  Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
  
   (2004)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner
  William Shatner
  William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
  
   (2004)
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader
  James Spader
  James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
  
   (2004)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best TV-Series – Drama (1998)
• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama Dylan McDermott
  Dylan McDermott
  Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
  
   (1998)
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
  
   (1999)

Peabody Awards

• Peabody Award (1999)

Television Critics Association Awards

TCA Awards

The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television excellence. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer.-Categories:...

• Individual Achievement in Drama David E. Kelley
  David E. Kelley
  David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
  
   (1999)

Awards Nominated

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series David E. Kelley
  David E. Kelley
  David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
  
   (1998)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Lara Flynn Boyle
  Lara Flynn Boyle
  Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Dylan McDermott
  Dylan McDermott
  Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Tony Danza
  Tony Danza
  Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Steve Harris
  Steve Harris (actor)
  Steve Harris is an American actor who has appeared in a number of films including; Quarantine, Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Bringing Down The House, The Rock, The Mod Squad, and Minority Report. He is most famous for his role as Eugene Young on the legal drama The Practice...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco
  Michael Badalucco is an American actor most famous for his role as lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the ABC legal drama The Practice...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Holland Taylor
  Holland Taylor
  Holland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Marlee Matlin
  Marlee Matlin
  Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Paul Dooley
  Paul Dooley
  -Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Henry Winkler
  Henry Winkler
  Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
  
   (2000)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Rene Auberjonois
  Rene Auberjonois
  René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
  
   (2001)
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series John Larroquette
  John Larroquette
  John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
  
   (2002)
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Betty White
  Betty White
  Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
  
   (2004)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best TV-Series – Drama (2001)
• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama Dylan McDermott
  Dylan McDermott
  Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
  
   (2001)

Television Critics Association Awards

TCA Awards

The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television excellence. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer.-Categories:...

• Outstanding Achievement in Drama (1998)
• Program of the Year (1999)
• Outstanding Achievement in Drama (1999)
• Individual Achievement in Drama Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim
  Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
  
   (1999)
• Individual Achievement in Drama Dylan McDermott
  Dylan McDermott
  Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
  
   (1999)
• Outstanding Achievement in Drama (2000)

External links

• USA Today Photo Gallery