The Humanitarian - Recap

Patti is in the office and discovering that the bakery now demands COD, they can’t afford the deluxe spread, and Eli has left her to pick up the tab. Meanwhile, Eli calls the staff meeting to order once he realizes that the half-empty room is all the staff he has. Comparing notes, they realize that Posner & Klein has acquired several candidates they were just about ready to sign. Eli explains that they are hoping to get Jim Cooper, a billionaire philanthropist, to sign on with Weathersby & Stone. At Posner & Klein, the new team are celebrating how many clients they’ve signed and Matt explains they’ve made a substantial donation to Cooper’s MS research foundation and he may be signing with them.

After the staff meeting, Jordan doesn’t believe anything suspicious is going on and P&K simply know how they think. Eli and Taylor don’t believe it, but Eli thinks Taylor might be leaking information to Matt. Taylor objects and says she’ll prove her innocence by finding out who the mole really is. As she leaves, Jordan warns Eli that it might not be a good idea to pin their hopes on one big client, even if he’s a long-time friend of Jordan’s. However, Eli points out that they don’t have a choice and regardless, Cooper’s attempts to file suit against the government to use marijuana in his clinical trials is just the case they need.

Eli has Patti bring in their files on Cooper, including one showing that his son J.J. recently won a swim meet. Eli sends her out to get more info and send Jordan in, but the file burst into flames in his hand. He drops it but the file box goes up next. Eli isn’t sure if it’s a vision but grabs a fire extinguisher to be on the safe side. However, he ends up spraying Jordan in the face and realizes there’s no fire.

Eli and Jordan go to the swim meet where J.J. and his father Cooper are at. Cooper introduces them to his son and gives them three minutes to make their case and Eli proposes that they argue that the U.S. government is holding an illegal monopoly on monopoly and they will sue on the basis that the monopoly isn’t in the public interest. Amused and impressed, Cooper agrees to hire them. Outside, Eli is ready to do a victory dance but finds himself in a vision where Jordan is singing "You Don't Mess Around With Jim." Women are dancing around him twirling flame batons and the streets are streaked with flames. Eli looks up to see a burning building above their heads.

Patti asks Keith Bennett to defend her daughter Angela, a med student, on a DUI charge. Patti claims that Angela wasn’t drunk and when Keith balks, she not-so-subtly threatens him until he gives in. He meets with Angela, an attractive woman, and the two quickly hit off. Keith agrees to take the case.

Taylor is looking at web sites on pre-natal care when Matt arrives for their lunch date. She quickly hides the site and comments about how P&K are stealing their clients. Matt denies it but Taylor doesn’t believe it and asks him to help find the mole. He refuses and she comments about how things aren’t going to get easier. When he wonders what she’s talking about, she quickly shrugs off her comment as nothing and says that she won’t be joining him for lunch after all.

Eli and Jordan meet with O’Malley, the DEA representative, and inform him they’ll be taking the government to court. O’Malley, unimpressed, believes marijuana outside of government hands could be considered distribution and lead to hardcore drugs. Eli tries to refute the argument without success but Cooper insists on going ahead with the lawsuit. Outside, he explains that his wife Vanessa died of MS when J.J. was three. Eli suggests they sue the government and ask them to turn over some of the taxpayer-financed marijuana they have. Cooper agrees but as Eli gets into the elevator, he finds himself in another vision. The elevator opens to a Cooper Biotech laboratory that is on fire. Eli sees someone seated out on the window ledge but before he can get to them, the ceiling crashes down in flames. Eli snaps out of it to find himself sprawled in the elevator.

Eli discusses his vision with Frank, who warns that the visions may be God’s way of telling him to get off the Cooper case. Eli doesn’t believe it, since Cooper is trying to do good by finding a cure for MS. Frank notes that people who have disobeyed God in the past have gotten into big trouble.

Eli and Jordan go into court and the government lawyer calls a DEA director, Damon Smalls. Smalls insists that the government is already conducting two studies and there’s no need for Cooper’s. On cross-examination, Eli notes that neither study allows minors, so J.J. doesn’t qualify. Smalls doesn’t want teenagers getting high on government marijuana, but Eli argues that it’s de facto age discrimination.

Keith takes Angela to negotiate with ADA Samantha Jarrels. The DA’s office is waiting for the blood test but Jarrels stands by the testimony of the officer, Sawyer. However, Keith notes that Angela turned down Sawyer for a date and he’s testifying against her as revenge. Jarrels isn’t convinced until Keith digs up five other allegations, and notes a sixth one constitutes a lawsuit for sexual harassment. Jarrels agrees to drop the case and outside, Angela thanks Keith for his help. He awkwardly asks her out on a dinner date and she agrees.

Maggie is eating lunch at the new P&K cafeteria when Matt joins her. He explains that he’s there because Taylor cancelled their lunch date because he refused to help her with the mole. Maggie warns that Taylor will forgive him, but P&K won’t if they catch him working against the firm.

Eli comes back to his office and finds J.J. waiting for him. They discuss the case and J.J. says that he’s able to escape his domineering father and be truly on his own when he’s swimming. However, if he’s receiving marijuana as part of the clinic trials then he won’t be able to swim. J.J. says that he doesn’t want to participate and has told Cooper that, but Cooper doesn’t care. When Eli says he’s pursuing the case for J.J., J.J. tells him he doesn’t want it.

Patti asks Keith about his date with her daughter and warns him off. Keith says he’ll take good care of her but she impales a bagel with a butter knife and leaves.

Eli calls Cooper to the stand and the philanthropist testifies that J.J. asked him to find a cure after his mother died, and that J.J. still wants the trials and is willing to give up to swimming to participate. Aware Cooper is lying, Eli tries to get him to temper his testimony and Jordan, unaware of the situation, interrupts. The judge grants a recess to get their strategy straight. In private, Cooper tells J.J. to leave and Eli explains that he was trying to avoid a perjury charge against his client. Cooper is angry that Eli talked to his son and Eli explains that J.J. came to him. Disregarding that fact, Cooper warns that if Eli messes wit his family then he’ll mess with Eli’s: he’s the largest donor to Nate Stone’s hospital. Cooper stalks off and Eli says they should drop the case. Jordan refuses to hear it, saying that they agreed to represent ethical business. If they limit themselves to clients with perfect behavior, they wouldn’t have any clients and he wouldn’t be a lawyer. Angry at Eli, Jordan leaves.

Keith and Angela go to dinner and she figures him for a smooth-talking player with women lined up. He shows her his cell phone to prove he isn’t and she notices he calls his mother and a “Terry.” Keith explains that Terry is his younger brother, and he’s calling him to convince him to stay in high school. As they leave, Angela thanks Keith for the dinner and promises that they’ll get together again… and they kiss.

Maggie visits Eli and knows about his run-in with Cooper in court. She gives him a piece of paper with the name of the mole on it, and wonders why he didn’t come to her. Eli says that he didn’t feel right bringing her in on it. He wonders if her job’s at risk but she explains that because she heads up the pro bono division, everyone at P&K thinks she’s naïve and confide in her. She admits she’s happy where she is and Eli says he’s happy for her. The two of them both admit they miss… things.

Back in court, Eli gives his summation and avoids talking about Cooper’s character. Instead he goes after the law, noting that it supports Cooper’s use of marijuana in medical studies. Eli posits a hypothetical where even if his client were a megalomaniacal jerk, the law would still find in his favor. Cooper isn’t thrilled at the characterization.

Patti stops by Keith’s office and he assumes the worst. He hastily defends himself and tells her to back off, but she just smiles and says that Angela had a good time. As she leaves, Keith asks if Angela said anything else and Patti warns him not to push his luck.

The judge rules in Cooper’s favor. Eli points out that Cooper may have won but J.J. didn’t. He tries to get J.J. to tell his father his true feelings but J.J. gives in to his father again and refuses to say anything against him.

Jarrels calls Keith to inform him that they’ve received Angela’s blood test back. It’s negative for alcohol but positive for cocaine. She admits they can’t do anything since they dropped the charges, but thought Keith should know because of his relationship with Patti.

At the next staff meeting, Eli announces that Cooper has signed with them and they’ve obtained several other clients as a result. After the meeting, Eli and Jordan confront one of their attorneys, Rudy Conlon, and tell him they know he’s the mole. He doesn’t deny it and Eli asks why, noting P&K didn’t even make him an offer. Rudy seems unconcerned and Eli tells him that everyone is there because they want to do something better with the law. Eli leaves it up to Rudy whether he stays or goes, but tells him that if he stays he’ll have to prove he deserves to be there. Rudy agrees to stay on. After he leaves, Jordan admits he wouldn’t have been so gracious and Eli notes that he was with Eli. Jordan apologizes for snapping at Eli earlier, saying that they’re partners and he should have listened to Eli’s concerns. When Eli calls him “sir,” Jordan says that the staff should be calling him sir, and he can address Jordan by name.

That night, Eli has a drink at Frank’s place. Eli thinks that he’s established a new relationship with God but Frank warns that it’s still one-way, not a back-and-forth communication, and Eli ignored God. He again warns that when people ignore God, it never goes well for them.

Returning to his apartment, Eli finds J.J. waiting for him. J.J. is impressed that Eli stood up to Cooper and wants to follow his example: he wants to sue for emancipation. J.J. wants Eli to represent it but Eli doesn’t think it’s a good idea. J.J. says that without his mother to run interference, he can’t bear to stand with his father any more and asks Eli for his help.

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