Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law. So you like this couch, right?

It's a caboutier, what's not to like?

Right.

It's a lot more money than I was told to spend.

You shouldn't be dictated to by the timid. You were hired to design a new

office, you should design a new office. And I don't have to get approval from

anyone else. They turned this over to me, and I want offices that have a

sophistication, a little refinement, you know.

From my experience, attorneys are not usually inclined to spend money for

like that.

You've obviously been dealing with a more vulgar class of attorney.

This is my cousin, Eli Levinson. How do you do? There's a vacant office you can

use, but we're a little short -handed in the secretarial department.

You're being extremely gracious.

I'll make my own arrangements as concerns a secretary.

Eli! Hi, Denise. I can't believe it's you. Get in.

I can't believe what you're driving.

Hey, if you're going to have a car, have a car.

Whether you're here for a week or a month or whatever, Ann and I are your

family, and happily so.

I just want you to think of us that way, okay?

You were the travel agent who booked Mr. and Mrs. Moffat on their trip. Is that

right? Right.

Were you involved in the planning of the trip?

I was there to assist the folks. I was not per se planning the trip. You did

plan the trip? I did not.

Sure, it was my idea to go to Sarajevo. Excuse me.

Who responded enthusiastically when we talked about seeing former sites of the

Olympics? Did you advise them as to the political climate?

Not a word.

This is something I need to tell you? That there are problems over there?

Besides which, you weren't staying in Sarajevo. You were staying in Split. I

them a villa on the Adriatic for the price of a Motel 6, and they sued me.

we continue with the deposition?

What was the thinking?

Behind Azerbaijan.

Well, they wanted to go to Astrakhan for the carpets, and then they wanted to

come down the Caspian coast.

Well, that takes you through Azerbaijan. There is no way to avoid it. Did you

advise these people as to the incidence of tropical diseases in the regions they

were traveling to? You know, what is indisputable in all this is that you

seen places that very few people in the world ever get to see.

Whether it's East Timor or the Orinoco Basin, you came to me looking for

something out of the ordinary.

Well, I gave you something out of the ordinary.

You know what? I don't care how long it takes.

I don't care if I have to go to trial, if I have to pay for appeals.

Whatever I got to do, I'm going to do. Because in addition to the fact that

you're a despicable human being, you're the worst travel agent on the face of

the earth. A year from now, you'll only remember the good things.

Moffat versus Schiff is mine.

Mr. and Mrs. Moffat went on a world tour booked by Mr. Schiff.

It turned out to be a nightmare. They're suing for damages. We're in

depositions. Settlement appears unlikely.

What happens if it goes to trial? If it goes to trial, I'll engage one of our

crack litigators to try it. I've got back -to -back trials through the end of

the month. I am booked for at least that long.

Same here.

I'll handle it if you want me to.

Don't forget that you're going to be somewhat tied up by me.

How so?

I've got her working on the Irizarry divorce.

Should the need arise, I can make myself available.

Thank you, Jane. I appreciate that. I would like to turn our attention to the

issue of Eli Levinson.

Am I an issue? You are, now that your trial is over. I told Leland you might

open to the possibility of extending your stay.

I love it out here. I just don't know how realistic it is for me to think

staying. Well, let me speak to that question.

After a very brief deliberation, the partners here would like to express

unanimously their feeling that you would represent a significant asset to this

firm. We would like to extend to you an invitation to join our firm.

My God, I don't know what to say.

Don't say anything. Nobody expects you to answer in the spot.

Think about it, though.

I will think about it. It's a good life.

It appears that it is. Should there be any doubt, the offer is an offer of

partnership.

And with that, we're adjourned.

Have lunch with me today at my club.

Are you going to use the occasion to twist my arm?

Absolutely. Good. We're on.

Well, this is going to slow things up. Well, the paint specs have been in the

drawing since day one. If correcting the finish is going to slow us up, that's

unfortunate.

However, given that you lose money for every day you're over schedule, I think

you'll find a way to do it right and to do it on time.

Okay.

Hi. Hi.

I finally figured out a way to do the threshold detail that will work with the

slate. Great.

Yeah, I was up all night working at it. I couldn't get it. I couldn't get it.

I finally fall asleep.

I open my eyes at 5 .30 this morning, and I've got it.

Now I need for you to see a rug. You found one you like? I found one I love.

Great. When are you free?

Wednesday afternoon.

Fine. I really love what you're doing here.

Thanks. I'm pretty pleased myself.

Before we go see the rug on Wednesday, could we have lunch together?

Sure. Good.

Well, thanks to your obsession with detail, it appears as though I won't be

going skiing this weekend.

See, many of the new associates coming in have no sense of what it means to be

lawyer, beyond scrambling up some imaginary career ladder. I guess it's

sometimes not to think about that.

Well, I don't believe that you think about it.

The way you handled the Morrison case showed me that you think about your

client. I was very impressed with your commitment. Thank you.

I don't want to pressure you, Eli, but if it's at all conceivable that you're

ready for a change, I hope you'll give our offer serious consideration.

Thank you. You're welcome.

This is some place.

Oh, this is the oldest men's club in Los Angeles.

Really? I've never been inside a men's club before.

Maybe you'd like to become a member.

I hate to tell you this, Leland, but I don't think they'd be all that welcoming

to someone such as me.

Why wouldn't they be?

I'm Jewish.

So what?

I don't see too many Jewish faces here. I'm sure we have members who are Jewish,

Eli. Why, there's Martin Weiss. Weiss isn't necessarily a Jewish name.

Oh, well, Henry Schiller, Tom Morgenthau. Those may not be Jewish

Well, I'd like to nominate you for membership, unless you have some

that.

I guess I don't have any objection to it.

Good. I'll speak to the board, set up an interview.

Can you tell us the events that took place on October 7th, 1992?

The Coast Guard was notified by INS officials that a freighter carrying

Chinese immigrants was on its way to Los Angeles.

We intercepted the vessel about three miles off the coast of Long Beach.

What did you find when you boarded the ship?

265 immigrants crammed into the cargo hold.

Dr. Coburn, can you describe for the court the conditions in that cargo hold?

There was one makeshift toilet overflowing with human waste.

The floors and walls were damp. They reeked of perspiration and urine.

Can you describe the medical condition of the passenger by the name of Lin

Chinzo? Lin Chinzo exhibited symptoms of an advanced progression of hepatitis B.

We transported him immediately to San Pedro Hospital, but he went into renal

failure. He died 48 hours later.

What, in your opinion, led to the death of Lin Chin -so? The lack of nutrition,

ventilation, and sleep had so compromised his immune system he

off the hepatic infection.

In my opinion, the hepatitis itself, in all likelihood, was caused by the

conditions on that ship.

What if any documents were found on the boat, Doctor?

We seized receipts for fuel, insurance documents, and the title of the ship.

was listed as the title holder? Objection, hearsay. They've

business records, Your Honor.

They established knowledge on the defendant's part of conditions on the

Said knowledge is a critical element of prosecuting him for murder.

The objection is overruled. Proceed.

Once again, Doctor, who was listed as the owner of the vessel?

Ronald Chow. Did you find any other documents?

There was a log of high -feast phone calls indicating Ronald Chow had

the vessel 27 times during the course of the voyage.

I have nothing further.

Do you have any evidence that Ronald Chow knew about the conditions in the

hold? He owned the ship. He financed the voyage.

He was in telephonic communication with the captain. Do you have any evidence

that Ronald Chow knew about the conditions in the hold?

No, I do not.

I have no further questions.

The people call Liu Yushen to the stand.

Until the time of your arrest, what was your occupation?

I was captain of the Jade Moon. And during the course of your last voyage,

you in communication with the defendant by telephone?

No.

Mr. Liu, are you telling us you had no contact with Mr. Chao?

After we left the dock, I had no contact with him.

Ronald Chao knew nothing about the condition of the boat.

Has Ronald Chao pressured you to change your testimony, Mr. Lu?

No.

Is the witness aware that lying under oath constitutes a serious crime?

Yes.

I have nothing further for this witness.

No questions, Your Honor.

The witness is dismissed.

Would you tell us

what was said on the occasion when you and your wife first engaged Mr. Schiff's

services? We told them we were interested in going around the world.

what route you would take, Mr. Moffat? Let me put it this way. He led, we

followed. Isn't it the case, sir, that your wife indicated a desire to see

places that were, and I believe I'm quoting now, off the beaten track?

Assume that she did. We were depending on him to guide us. Well, if you had

you wanted Orlando, Florida, do you think I would have sent you to

Prior to this trip, Mr. Moffat, when was the last vacation you were taking?

What's the relevance of that? The relevance is that Herb here hadn't taken

vacation in 15 years.

He hated vacations.

And he made up his mind before he ever left that he wasn't going to have a good

time. And amazingly enough, getting kidnapped by Armenian separatists did

nothing to improve my disposition.

Let's talk about that for a minute. Why don't you describe the events that took

place in Baku, for which you now hold Mr. Schiff responsible?

I had gone to a drugstore looking for something to relieve my, by now,

gastrointestinal distress.

While on the street, I was forced into a car at gunpoint.

They said I was an agent for the Azerbaijanis.

I told them I had a store in Woodland Hills.

They asked me what my mission was.

I told them it was to purchase kaopectate.

Is it possible that you were kidnapped because you were seen videotaping a

political demonstration?

We didn't know it was a political demonstration. We thought it was a

Didn't the tanks on the sidewalk indicate to you that it might have been

something other than a purely festive event?

Excuse us. We were looking to bring back something other than shrapnel wounds.

You know, your wife has a spirit of adventure that you are sorely lacking.

I don't pretend to be Vasca de Gama, my friend.

And as far as I'm concerned, if I'm going to go someplace, at least let it

a little entertainment.

Herb, let's not start talking about Las Vegas.

What's wrong with Las Vegas?

You've seen everything there is to see there?

Herb, there's a whole big, beautiful world out there.

Yeah? Well, let me tell you something. That whole big, beautiful world is about

to find out just what kind of operation you run. I think this is a human

interest story.

What do you know about that? I think when the newspapers picked this up...

business is going to drop like a rock.

Go ahead, ask me another question.

So copies of these and this.

Ed?

Hi, Eli.

Hi. Do you have a minute?

Yeah, sure.

I've got a little bit of a dilemma in my hands.

What is it?

Leland's put me up for membership in his club.

His men's club?

Yeah. He says that whether I decide to join the firm or not, he'd like me to be

able to use the facilities.

They've also got a reciprocal arrangement with some club in New York.

There's an interview with two of the directors tomorrow.

So what's the dilemma?

I don't know that they let Jews into this club.

By the look of it, I'd say it was all wasp. What did Leland say?

He says it won't be a problem.

Do you actually want to be a member of this club?

Not particularly.

I knew he wanted me to be impressed by it, so I behaved as though I was.

It is a pretty nice place.

The problem is, if they reject me, Leland's going to feel compelled to make

big stink about it. What's wrong with that? If they have a restrictive policy,

maybe he should make a big stink about it. I'd rather that didn't happen.

He obviously enjoys belonging there. I don't want to disrupt that.

Just tell him you're not interested.

I just get the feeling that he doesn't have a lot of friends.

He knows a lot of people. I'm not sure how many qualify as friends.

I think he'd like it if I joined his club.

So what are you going to do, try to pass?

No, I'm just going to go in there and meet with them, and whatever happens,

happens. Good luck, I guess.

You think I couldn't pass?

As a white Anglo -Saxon Protestant?

Eli's not necessarily a Jewish name.

Look at Eli Whitney, Eli Yale.

Levinson. It could be German.

I don't think you're going to fool him, Eli.

We're hemorrhaging, Daniel. What do you mean we're hemorrhaging?

It means the cost of this renovation is getting a little out of hand.

I mean that we're hemorrhaging, and that means that the tourniquet is going on.

At certain stages of the job, it always feels like there's a lot of money going

out. This isn't a perceptual problem.

It doesn't feel like there's a lot of money going out. I'm staring at

What in there seems like it's out of hand?

How about $30 ,000 for a slate floor?

Yeah, that is a little high, Daniel. It's for the reception area, Leland.

the first thing people see when they come here. For $30 ,000?

Let them see linoleum.

What else?

$17 ,000 for a rug? That rug is an Eileen Gray.

What's Eileen Gray? She was an architect and a very important designer.

Really? Well, I'm not spending $17 ,000 to walk on one of her designs.

As much as we want the offices to look good, we do have to exercise a little

restraint. Believe it or not, I have been exercising restraint.

Really? Well, between the Sikh contractor and this architect, we're

killed. Hiring this architect was about the only right thing you guys did on

this job.

She's talented.

She takes chances. She's tough. I've seen her deal with the contractor. I've

seen her deal with the subs. Believe me, she's looking out for our interests.

You should remind her that our interests are best served by avoiding bankruptcy.

All right, what are you telling me?

The rug is out. We need to know about any other purchases before they're made,

and we need to put a cap on this thing.

Can you please state your name for the record?

How were you related to the man who died?

He was my husband.

And could you tell us, please, How you and your husband came to leave China.

We approached a snakehead, a smuggler in Fuzhou.

Can you describe for the court what happened on the journey?

We had to stay and hold during the day. At night, only a few could sleep at a

time. There was no room to lie down.

Did the smugglers provide food?

Some days, there was rice.

Some days, there was nothing.

Did they provide water?

If you had money, you could buy a bottle of water. If not, you get a mouthful a

day. Would you describe what happened to your husband, ma 'am?

I gave him my rice. The others gave him their rice.

By the end, he was too weak to hold up his head to eat.

Mrs. Lin, is there anyone present in this courtroom who was also present when

you boarded the boat in Hong Kong?

Him.

The man they called the big boss, he was there.

Let the record show the witnesses identified the defendant, Ronald Chow. I

nothing further.

Mrs. Lin, had you ever seen Ronald Chow before the day you boarded the

freighter?

I knew who he was. Everyone knew. And did you hear Mr.

Chow give any orders pertaining to the accommodations on the journey? No.

And isn't it true that you have no knowledge of what Mr. Chow did or did

know about the accommodations for the journey?

I know he's a murderer.

Enough!

Levinson, Avery Phipps.

Langston Albright.

How do you do?

So, uh, Mr.

Levinson.

Please, uh, call me Eli.

Actually, most people call me by my nickname.

And that would be?

Topper. Topper?

Right.

So, Topper, uh, Leland tells us you're from New York.

That's where I currently live, yes.

Is that where you're from originally?

Actually, I'm from Connecticut.

Whereabouts? Darien.

Really? Great sailing there.

Great sailing. You like to sail? Love it. If I'm not at work or I'm not on the

squash court, chances are I'm on the boat. Where do you generally sail?

All over.

Long Island,

Block Island, Rhode Island.

All the islands.

You've probably been up to Newport, then. I make it a point to get up to

Newport. In fact, come August, you'll generally find me, gin and tonic and

handshakes. Sailing around the harbor there.

Tell me, what do you sail?

You mean what kind of sail?

I mean what kind of boat.

It's wood.

The sail is canvas.

White canvas.

Triangular white canvas.

Ready?

Yeah. I found a color slate you're going to love. We have to hold off on the

slate. Why?

The senior partners have informed me that we can't spend that kind of money.

I thought you were given authority to make those decisions.

I thought I was, too. I may have overplayed my hand.

With whom?

With everybody, I guess.

So, no slate.

Okay.

What else aren't we getting?

The rug.

No rug? No rug.

Okay. What else?

They put an absolute cap on the budget. We have to go through it and figure out

what we can and can't do.

Then I guess there's not much point in us going out this afternoon and seeing

things. I'm answerable to people, all right? Nobody gave me a blank check.

It would have been good to have known that. This can't be the first time that

client has changed their mind about something.

You're right. It's not the first time. Then why are you so upset? Because I got

excited. For a few minutes there, I felt appreciated, stimulated, supported.

And that doesn't happen very often. It felt great.

Look. What it feels like now is a job.

Can we talk about this over lunch?

There's nothing to talk about.

Mr. Chao, would you tell the court why you bring Chinese immigrants into the

United States?

Many people in my homeland are being persecuted.

Pregnant women stopped at checkpoints and forced to have unwanted abortions.

I know what it's like to want to escape oppression.

26 years ago, I fled China myself.

Mr. Chow, how involved were you in arranging the passage of the immigrants

aboard the Jade Moon?

I played the role of banker, but I entrusted the details to the ship's

Mr. Liu.

And what instructions did you give Mr. Liu regarding the passengers?

I told him to make their journey as safe and comfortable as possible.

I had no idea he would betray them and me by putting into his own pocket funds

meant for food and medical supplies.

Do you feel in any way responsible for the death of Mrs. Lin's husband?

I had no knowledge of the inhumane conditions suffered by the passengers,

hired the man who committed these atrocities. I feel guilt about that, and

tried many times to contact Mrs. Lin to offer condolence and compensation

without success.

No further questions, Your Honor.

You claim that you arranged these trips out of compassion for your countrymen.

Tell us.

If that's the case, why do you charge them $20 ,000 a head? This sort of

operation is quite expensive.

20 ,000 times 265 passengers comes out to over $5 million.

Are you telling us you didn't make a profit?

Any profits are channeled right back into the next journey. Isn't it a fact

most of the illegals you bring over are put to work in restaurants you own to

pay off their passage?

I employ many of them, yes. How much you pay them, Mr. Chow?

I pay them a great deal more than they would ever receive in China. You pay

70 cents an hour, don't you?

Mr. Mulaney. These are peasants.

Seventy cents an hour is a good wage for them. Isn't it a fact that you don't

care about the welfare of these people? What you care about is money. Objection.

What you care about is a steady flow of cheap labor. I care about my people. I

told Mr. Liu to give Lin Xiaoxiao fluid and food and to have medication on

board. It isn't my fault that he ignored my instructions.

I thought you didn't know Lin Xiaoxiao was sick.

What I mean to say is at the start of the voyage, I told the captain to

medicine for all who became ill. Do you have any written proof in the form of

receipts or canceled checks to prove you provided adequate food and medical

supplies? All transactions were done in cash.

So the answer is no.

Correct.

I have nothing further from Mr.

Chow.

What exactly is the purpose of this meeting, Mr. Schiff? Conflict

Where's your attorney?

She's not here.

Why didn't you want my husband here?

Ah, for reasons that will become readily apparent.

What is this?

Kedar! I told you it was my dream to come to America.

Here I am.

I am to be an American taxicab driver.

Who is this?

This is Gaydar.

Why is he here?

He is here to supply us with some details of your trip that were left out

now. Oh, God.

You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing.

Will someone tell me what is going on? Well, Edie and Gaydar had something of

adventure together.

I had never done anything like that before.

Blame it on those torrid 11 teen nights, huh? There was a full moon.

And I wanted to take a walk along the shore of the Caspian Sea.

Herb wouldn't go with me. All he wanted to do was sit in the room and watch CNN.

I decided to go by myself.

Guédard worked at the hotel.

He offered to accompany me.

It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. We went for a

and had a very brief and very passionate affair.

And now you're going to blackmail her.

Moi? I don't know what means blackmail.

He sent me the ticket to come, and I came.

Kedar, what happened between us must never happen again.

I love my husband, and I want to stay married to him.

I understand.

Well, I know I'll never tell.

Assuming, of course, that we're able to reach an agreement.

If we're unable to, I will have to defend myself in court. I will have to

demonstrate that there were a few bright spots.

On your trip around the world? You are a despicable human being.

Come, Gaydar.

It's turning ugly.

Remember, Edie, we'll always have Azhar Bejan.

Excuse me.

Sorry.

Tommy, you...

You talking to yourself now? Hey, man.

What are you doing?

Trying to pry continuance out of Judge Salvin.

I didn't mean to interrupt you. No, I got to take off.

I'm just practicing my closing.

This is the Ronald Chow case, huh?

Yep. How's that going?

Chow scared off my key witness. It's not going too good.

From what I read in the papers, he's a slippery guy.

Oh, he is slippery.

Is he going to walk?

I don't know.

I mean...

I could fan the flames against the encroaching yellow horde. That doesn't

exactly go to the issue of guilt, does it? No, it does not.

On the other hand, a little demagoguery can work wonders.

I used it myself.

Did you win?

As a matter of fact, I did.

We all watched those tanks roll into Tiananmen Square, didn't we? And we all

shivered when we saw that one man stand in the path of one and refuse to get out

of the way. I don't know about you, but when I saw that, I found myself

thinking, if I lived in a society like that, I would do anything to get out.

Now, what Mr. Chow did was to provide.

A way to provide a means of escape.

And if it was John Brown or Raoul Wallenberg, well, we salute those men as

heroes. Why have we chosen to put this man on trial? There isn't a shred of

evidence to prove that Mr. Chow knew about the conditions on board that ship.

There is not a shred of evidence to prove that Mr.

Chow knew the status of Lin Chansou's health.

The ship's captain testified that Mr.

Chow, in point of fact, did not know that these were circumstances beyond his

control.

As a matter of fact, I think of this man as a hero.

He came to this country impoverished. He became successful.

And he cared enough about the plight of his people to actually try to do

something about it.

He shouldn't have been indicted.

And this trial should never have taken place.

Ronald Chow a hero?

Oh, I don't think so.

What I think is that he is a modern -day slave trader, a shameless

exploiter of human beings, and ultimately he is a murderer.

He smuggles thousands of undocumented Chinese into our country every year.

The fact that he represents himself as a savior of the oppressed only makes his

crimes all the more repulsive. A savior would not demand a fee equaling a

lifetime of earnings in rural China for the privilege of being rescued.

Ronald Chao knew full well what the conditions were like on the Jade Moon.

was on the dock when it set sail. He was on the phone with the captain. This was

a big investment after all.

I'd venture to say that nothing happened on this ship that he didn't know about.

And so, Lin Shenzhou is dead.

How many more are dying?

How much pestilence and disease has been released into our city by the other

passengers on this boat? Over two million illegal immigrants enter our

every year. Your Honor, Mr.

Mulaney, you will stop doing what you are doing right this second. Your Honor,

move for an immediate mistrial.

I'm going to deny that motion.

I'm also going to warn Mr. Mulaney that if he tries to bring the issue of

immigration into this trial one more time, I'm going to hold him in contempt.

The jury will disregard in their entirety all references made thereto.

Proceed, Mr. Mulaney.

I ask that you find Ronald Chow guilty of murder.

You're in.

What do you mean I'm in? I mean that Albright and Phipps were duly impressed

with you. You're now a member of the club.

You apparently carry a little weight down there.

No more than any other member in good standing.

Oh, come on, Leland. Those guys read me like a book. It was painfully obvious

that I didn't fit in.

I think you may have an overly narrow view of what it means to fit in.

You're saying they want me?

Yeah.

I don't believe it.

Eli, I sponsored you for membership because...

Well, you're someone with whom I'd like to spend some time.

I hope you accept it.

As a gesture of friendship.

I do.

Good, good.

I look forward to seeing you at the club.

Our club.

Whether you join this firm or not.

Thank you.

You're quite welcome.

Topper?

I don't understand. Why would I settle?

Herb, I'm up nights because of this case. I want it to be over. When that

a bitch comes across with the money, it'll be over. Until then, take a

tranquilizer. Hello, everybody.

Are we about to beat our swords into plowshares? Look at this guy.

He's unbelievable.

I'm hoping that we can walk out of here with a deal.

Yeah, I think we can put this whole affair to rest, in a manner of speaking.

think we can persuade the lion to lie down with the lamb.

Speaking of which, travel opportunities may be opening up on the West Bank. The

West Bank?

Christmas in Gaza?

Trekking through occupied territories?

Well, I know it appeals to the vagabond spirit in me.

Give us your best offer, Nina.

$15 ,000, payable over five installments over one year. I think we should take

it.

Would you mind telling my wife that $15 ,000 is not a serious offer?

Excuse me. Oh, good. I ordered a little snack. I hope you don't mind.

Get frightfully cranky when my blood sugar's low.

Keep it.

I think you should take it, Herb. I think you should take it and have done

this.

So it won't come out that my wife had an affair?

What are you talking about?

And you flew him here just for this?

May I suggest that we adjourn this meeting for today? I think both sides

confer among themselves.

How could you know about it? I couldn't sleep one night. I went to the window,

and I saw him walking you back.

When you came to the room, I pretended that I was asleep.

Then you took a shower.

That told me all I needed to know.

Why didn't you say something, Herb?

Didn't you care?

I cared plenty.

What could I do?

Ask you why you did it?

I know why you did it.

You wanted a little romance.

You wanted a little happiness in your life.

I didn't give you these things.

He did.

You went with him.

It broke my heart for me to realize that I was capable of going with him, Herb.

It broke my heart because I never stopped loving you.

Forgive me for interjecting, but could I just kind of wonder out loud whether a

lawsuit is what you two should really be involved with right now? What would you

suggest? How about a weekend at Esalen?

Scenic drive up the coast, visit some little galleries in Carmel, and then two

solid days of intensive group therapy at the Institute.

I have a better idea. Two tickets on the Concorde for Paris.

Three weeks in a suite at the Ritz, and $50 ,000 in spending money.

Shall we take that to be a counteroffer, Mr. Brackman?

How about it, folks?

Would that do it?

It would do it for me, Herb. Then it would do it for me, too.

Could I persuade you to settle for a junior suite?

Absolutely not.

Nina, drop the papers. I'm going to go home and get in bed.

Hey.

Hi.

I think I need to explain myself.

Come in.

Yesterday's diatribe was not directed or...

should not have been directed towards you.

It's all right if it was directed at me.

There are things we can do that are less expensive that'll still be good. It'll

be okay.

No doubt.

I'm sorry to put you through it.

Are you free at all?

Yeah, let me see when.

No, I mean now.

Now? Yeah, I don't want you to write it in your book.

If you can get away for like an hour, there's some place I want to take you.

Come on.

You said you liked Neutra.

Oh, yeah, that's great.

They're such an elegance to his lines. They're so simple.

I love the pillars.

The pillars?

He had such a distinctive vision, you know? You see it in all his work.

You're looking at the wrong house.

I am?

That's the Neutra.

Oh, of course.

I was actually thinking that the other one was not particularly representative

of his work.

How much do you know about Neutra, Daniel?

How much do you know about architecture altogether?

I did study it in school. I just forgot a lot of what I knew.

In other words, you've been slinging it around a bit, haven't you?

A bit, yeah.

How come?

I guess I wanted to make a good impression.

Why would you want to do that?

People going through construction can be quite vulnerable, you know.

Why are you telling me that now?

In case you were planning on taking advantage of me.

What if I was?

I'd tell you to go right ahead.

Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached its verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

What say you?

In the matter of the people versus Ronald Chow on the charge of murder in

second degree, we find the defendant guilty.

The jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court. This court is adjourned.

Mr.

Mullaney.

I want to tell you something.

You couldn't win this case on fact, so you won it on racism.

Mr. Klein, I won because the jury believed your client was guilty.

Out without racism. Hey, spare me the righteous indignation, Counselor.

If he'd gotten your client off, he'd gone right back to packing those scouts

full of poor people desperate enough to get on board.

He's a scum of the earth. He belongs in prison.

I feel no remorse whatsoever about what it took to put him there.

Excuse me?

Mr.

Mullaney, Mrs. Ling asked me to translate.

She'd like to say something to you. Sure.

She wants to know... If you hate the Chinese people. Well, tell her no. Tell

I just wanted to punish the man responsible for her husband's death.

She says,

I'm glad Chao is in prison, but I'm also glad there are many to take his place.

I'm being sent back to China because I'm illegal.

I will work and I will wait.

Someday, I will contact another snakehead, the same as Chao.

And I will pay him to let me lie in the same kind of boat.

Because for me, this is my only way out. Because for me, there is no other

way.

I was on the phone with my shrink for an hour and a half last night. How come?

Because I'm actually thinking about taking the firm up in a sophomore

What'd you shrink say?

He said it sounded like I was asking his permission.

Well, did he give you his permission?

No, he said I didn't need it.

So?

Well, the truth is, I could do it.

Sidney and Charlie would get along without me.

I'd go back there and wrap up whatever I need to wrap up in a matter of days.

Yeah, so?

Audrey and I are an on -again, off -again kind of thing. That wouldn't

me from moving.

Well, it sounds like nothing's stopping you. Well, there is what I'd be leaving.

Central Park,

day bars, fairways. I love fairways.

Buying the next day's newspaper on the night before.

Decent rye bread.

Those soft, sooty pretzels they sell near the courthouse.

Eli, I know exactly what you're talking about.

I mean, I thought, how could I leave my family, my friends?

And I finally got my own apartment. I had to leave that, too.

You don't hate it here.

What's there to hate?

I mean, there's different people, different opportunities, whole different

ocean. I mean, come on. The weather's not bad either.

Not bad? Eli, we're on the beach. It's almost November.

Gorgeous here.

Excuse me?

Man plans and God lacks.

Ain't that the truth.

It all along tethers this idea of what your life is going to be.

Things happen.

Your life isn't like that.

You realize this is something you could do, but is it something I will do?

You know what? What?

I'm not going to worry.

What about that?

I'm not going to spend a lot of time in contemplation.

I'm not going to weigh the pluses and minuses, and I'm not going to call 27

different people and ask them what they think I should do.

This one time in my life, I am going to act.

I am going to act. I am going to choose a course of action I am going to set out

on.

Denise, I am moving to Los Angeles.

Yeah? I am joining his firm and I am moving to Los Angeles.

I'm so happy.

Oh, me too. I'm so glad.

Now,

you know, can I make one suggestion?

Yeah.

We're on the beach, right?

Yeah. Why don't you loosen your tie and lose the shoe?

Let's not push it.

A whole different notion?

A whole different notion.