Franklin & Bash

© 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jared is ordered to serve as a small claims court judge for an outstanding contempt of court citation. When he makes a regrettable ruling that disturbs the local rock-'n'-roll community, he once again finds himself going head to head against his father (Beau Bridges) in the courtroom. Infeld defends his spiritual advisor and life coach (Thomas F. Wilson), who was recently exposed as a fraud. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

On the heels of an unexpected visit by Peter’s mother, Colleen, Franklin and Bash are called to the county jail to help Steven Piper, a college campus parking officer whose alter ego is the crime fighting superhero Raven Viper. Though charged with manslaughter, Viper insists that purse-snatcher Paul Winstead accidentally fell to his death as Viper tried to subdue him. However, when prosecutor and Peter’s ex-fiancée Janie Ross offers to accept an insanity plea, Viper refuses and risks spending the rest of his life behind bars. Meanwhile, as Pindar frets over reconnecting with Megan Conray, a woman he had a crush on in college, Colleen moves in with Franklin and Bash as she looks to back out of a deal to sell the house Peter grew up in. As Peter looks to get to the truth by calling a trio of Viper’s crime fighting colleagues to the witness stand, damning video evidence of a prior encounter with Winstead makes it look like Viper acted as both judge and executioner and helps Janie get the charges increased to murder. So with their case sinking fast, Franklin and Bash press Viper for the truth about what happened on the night Winstead died. Meanwhile, as Peter runs into a dead end when he tries to buy Colleen’s house back, Pindar is crushed to learn that Megan has only agreed to see him again in order to help her circumvent a restraining order obtained by a former boyfriend. When their client’s story contradicts eyewitness testimony, Franklin and Bash discover that Winstead died while chasing Viper across the building’s rooftop. And once Viper admits that he was running away from the confrontation and not chasing the suspect, they prove that Winstead’s fall was an accident. Finally, after the murder and manslaughter charges against Viper are dropped, Peter uses an obscure clause in the property deed to persuade the new owner to void the sale of his mom’s house. And to help Pindar deal with his many phobias, Infeld recommends he see his self-help guru, Dr. Lee.

As the end of their first year with the firm approaches, Infeld announces that he is putting Franklin and Bash up for partnerships -- if two-thirds of the current partners agree. To establish their value to the firm, Infeld sends them to pitch potential client Larry Reynolds, the chief counsel at Pacific Shores Beverage Co. Things get off to a good start when Reynolds invites the guys to a concert at a company-owned winery. But when landing his helicopter on a hotel rooftop gets Reynolds thrown in jail, Karp warns Infeld that Franklin and Bash are in over their heads. Upon his release, however, Larry tells Franklin and Bash that the company's business is theirs if they can shut down a small roadhouse brewery that is claiming Pacific Shores' Kurt's Amber Ale as its own. While Peter and Jared await the vote, their pal Robbie Ambriano is arrested for resisting arrest after mistaking a sexy female police officer for a fellow partygoer. When Peter questions Officer Wendy Cowell, he sets out to land a date with her while also getting the charges against Robbie dropped. Meanwhile, the case against Joan Harris' small roadhouse brewery evaporates when her lawyer argues that Pacific Shores illegally gained ownership of the recipe for Kurt's Amber Ale. And to help Pindar get to the root of his many phobias, Carmen forces him to confront an old college roommate. Though Joan notes that the recipe for Kurt's Amber Ale has been in her family for over 25 years, she is forced to stop making it after the guys prove that her father lied about the ingredients in order to win a contest sponsored by Pacific Shores. However, when Reynolds then wants the prize money returned -- with interest -- Franklin and Bash wonder if they are representing the right client. Worried that the boys won't honor their obligation to Pacific Shores, Infeld sends Karp to see Joan. However, while Peter and Jared take care of the matter just as their partnerships are narrowly approved, their reluctance to continue working with Pacific Shores prompts Larry to drop his case against Joan. Finally, Peter's graphic demonstration of how Robbie could have misread Wendy's intentions when she tried to arrest him not only wins the case, but scores him a date, too. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When he's accused of obstruction of justice as a result of his romance with D.A. Margaret Pollock, Judge Derek Kohler enlists Franklin and Bash for legal help. While acknowledging their affair, Judge Kohler insists that he stopped presiding over any of Margaret's cases a year before they started dating. But as the D.A.'s office rallies around Margaret, prosecutor Janie Ross suggests that Peter think twice about taking the case. Meanwhile, when Lance Dillow is accused of lying about his sexual orientation in order to play in a gay men's softball league, he turns to his college roommate Damien Karp for help. And even though he admits to never having sex with a man, Lance still insists he is gay. When Kohler claims that evidence suggesting that he and Margaret were a couple while he was presiding over some of her cases has been faked, Franklin and Bash scour his record for someone who might want payback. Although the lawyers find that imprisoned embezzler Julian Aroyan threatened to get revenge when he was sentenced, he denies blackmailing Kohler. However, after failing to link another defendant in an upcoming money laundering trial to the case, news that Aroyan is in a prison educational program run by Margaret raises questions about the D.A., especially after Carmen finds that she has been tutoring him privately. Meanwhile, as Infeld discredits the testimony of the gay softball association's chairman, Karp undermines the damage done in court by Lance's ex-wife, Tanya Renner. Though Janie gets Kohler to admit having some doubts about his impartiality, Peter suspects that Margaret is trying to discredit the judge. And after finding that Margaret is romantically involved with Aroyan, Franklin and Bash rely on triggering the embezzler's short temper in court to expose the couple's scheme to overturn his conviction by raising questions about Kohler's judicial ethics. Finally, as the charges against the judge are dropped and Margaret is arrested for perjury, Lance's confession that he could never acknowledge his attraction to Karp when they were in college persuades the softball league to reinstate his team's championship trophy. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

With summer associate Bonnie Appel shadowing them, Franklin and Bash must choose a jury for the trial of Sal Gotelli, a chop shop owner who's been accused of beating up three mob thugs. While Sal claims he was attacked for his decision to stop trafficking in stolen car parts, the district attorney says that his assault on the trio was premeditated. But once Franklin and Bash use up most of their peremptory challenges to assemble a jury that is sympathetic to their self-defense claim, DA Brad Hewett traps them with evidence that Sal really did initiate the attack. While he admits to instigating the attack, Sal claims he did it to protect Annabel, a gift shop clerk whom he wanted to protect after she witnessed a carjacking. Shifting their strategy, Franklin and Bash then look for jurors who will believe that Sal acted out of love for Annabel. However, during her interview with Carmen, Annabel claims that she barely knows Sal. Even though Sal admits that his affection for her was very one-sided, the guys ignore Karp and Infeld's advice and continue to pursue their love defense. But when Annabel disappears after Sal warns her that her life may be in danger, more troubles arise when Jared and Peter discover that their client already has a girlfriend. After finding that a prospective juror is upset after learning that her husband is cheating on her, Franklin and Bash must find a way to get Hewett to disqualify her. With Pindar's help, they make it appear as though they had a conversation outside the courtroom with the juror in question, leading Hewett to ask the judge for her dismissal. But when Peter and Jared can't convince Sal's girlfriend Kiki to testify on his behalf, Bonnie helps devise a plan to get Hewett to do their bidding for them. And after Hewett takes the bait, he creates the ideal situation for Franklin and Bash when he tells the jury that he is calling Kiki to testify. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When a barroom brawl with a pair of male sailors threatens to keep them out of the Navy's Explosive Ordinance Disposal School, Petty Officers Monica Ward and Nicole Toomin turn to Franklin and Bash. Because their "victims" have already been transferred for EOD training, Peter and Jared suspect that Monica and Nicole are being prosecuted to keep them out of the all-male school. But after meeting opposing counsel Commander Steven Puckett and seeing some incriminating video of the fight, they decide to ask Hanna, a former Navy lawyer herself, for help. After recognizing summer associate Elisa Farrell from a strip club, Karp tries to avoid her, until working together on a real estate deal sparks a romance. As Karp worries that an office relationship would jeopardize Elisa's chances of staying on at the firm, he's asked to fire her after another partner claims that a mistake she made on the deal cost them $50,000. But when Karp delivers the bad news about her job, Elisa insists that she didn't do anything wrong. Meanwhile, as Pindar is taking the vintage switchblade that the guys are giving to Infeld in for repair, a traffic stop lands him in jail for possession of a concealed weapon. But after learning of the arrest, Infeld gets the charges dropped. When classified files reveal that a high-ranking Navy officer recommended the male assault victims for EOD training, suspicion falls on Navy Captain Gina Vaughn. And while Captain Vaughn insists that she's always supported Monica and Nicole, her previous testimony before Congress reveals that she doesn't believe women should fight on the front lines. So after Peter and Jared spark a courtroom confrontation that risks having their clients charged with mutiny and sedition, Vaughn admits she set up the fight in order to keep them out of the school. Finally, after Infeld learns that Elisa was right, he sends Karp to offer her a job. But because she's more interested in pursuing their romance, Elisa accepts another position instead. And as a result of their work to vindicate the two women, Hanna ends her behind-the-scenes effort to force Franklin and Bash out of the firm. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Following the death of her husband Henry, Martha Strauss is working with executors Franklin and Bash to sort through the estate, including donating his body to Bodyview, a company that preserves the corpse so that its internal workings can be displayed. While she hopes his body will be used to shed light on the heart disease that killed him, Martha is surprised to learn that Henry wanted to be exhibited doing a seductive dance. And when presented with the signed consent forms and divorce papers Henry secretly drew up before he died, the judge rules that Alana Soto, his dance instructor and girlfriend, is the best one to decide what happens with his corpse. Suspecting that paroled bank robber Samuel Jeffers is seeking to punish Infeld for losing his case years ago, Karp asks for a restraining order against the ex-con. However, having used his time in prison to become a lawyer, Jeffers convinces the judge to grant him a restraining order against Karp and Infeld until their evidence against him can be analyzed. But after Karp tells Carmen to hire someone to threaten Jeffers, she discovers that he isn't the one going after Infeld. Meanwhile, after she agrees to a date with her college boyfriend, courtroom sketch artist Nolan Tate, Hanna is stunned to discover that he's actually quite wealthy and not the poor struggling artist she has been trying to avoid. Upon finding that Henry had always planned to be buried with Martha, Peter and Jared argue that his plasticized corpse is now a work of art that Martha should own as the heir to his collection. After Nolan testifies on their behalf, the judge sides with Martha, leading her and Alana to agree on a compromise that allows Henry's dancing body to be placed in the cemetery where his wife will eventually be buried. Finally, after discovering that a bank teller Jeffers held hostage is behind the revenge scheme, Infeld apologizes to his former client and offers to be his legal mentor. And when Nolan says he's sorry for implying that Hanna sold out a promising artistic career in order to be a lawyer, she agrees to another date. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When senior partner Richard Tafflinger arrives from the New York office with his assistant Emily Adams, it's clear that they are out to get rid of Franklin and Bash. According to Emily, a criminal client who disappeared before her court date has resurfaced to accuse them of paying her to take off. While Peter and Jared admit to giving Tammi Stetten the money to get a tattoo removed before her trial, they insist they are innocent of any misconduct. But when they track down the doctor who was supposed to remove the tattoo but ended up giving her a new one instead, he cites doctor-patient privilege and refuses to say anything about her case. Facing off against his longtime nemesis Tafflinger, Infeld insists on standing by Franklin and Bash and assigns Karp to represent them in court. As they are visiting another client at the jail, the guys make sure that Tammi knows they've discovered her plan to testify against them. However, though Peter and Jared hope to prove that she used their money to get a new tattoo and not to run away, the judge rules that the tattoo cannot be considered evidence because it will violate Tammi's right to privacy. Meanwhile, as Tafflinger presses Pindar and Carmen for incriminating information, Jared's effort to win Emily over ends up sparking a romance. When Pindar discovers that Tammi did a stint with the roller derby's Hollywood Wheels, Jared finds a poster of the team that could force her to testify about the tattoo. And when a former teammate vividly demonstrates that their uniforms were revealing enough to dismiss any claim of privacy, the judge allows the tattoo to be entered as evidence. So after her well-documented history of getting tattoos to celebrate her crimes undermines her story, Tammi withdraws her complaint. And with his court case in tatters, Tafflinger has no choice but to back down, too. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.

On the heels of Peter's suspension for failing to pay his bar association dues, his friend Tommy Dale decides to drop out of the governor's race to keep a marital infidelity from going public. When campaign manager Eli Palmer tries to force him to stay in the race by threatening to sue for breach of contract, Tommy tells Franklin and Bash that the "other woman" is Eli's wife, and that it was his wife Janice who had the affair with her. Meanwhile, when Jared's dad Leonard wants to buy the firm and close down the Los Angeles office, Infeld vows to stop him. So as Jared's relationship with lawyer and co-worker Emily Adams heats up, he and Peter resolve to get Infeld the votes he needs. Certain they can overcome the scandal and still win the governor's race, Eli gives Tommy some damaging information to use against his opponent. But when Tommy still wants out, Eli threatens to expose the details of their wives' affair -- until some incriminating emails that could torpedo his career in politics convince him to stand down. And with Eli out of the way, Tommy then decides to stay in the race after he and his opponent both agree to go public with the negative stories that could be used against them. While Peter and Jared are worried that both Roger Dempsey and Karp are siding with Leonard, Emily believes that her New York colleague Brock Daniels is going to abstain from voting. But after Hanna discovers that Brock may be about to back the sale after all, the guys resolve to help stop it despite learning that Infeld originally hired them to make the firm unattractive to a potential suitor. And after booking seats on a flight to Utah that Jared's dad is using to take his allies on a fishing trip in advance of the vote, their embarrassing antics cost Leonard the support he needs. Finally, as the guys forgive Infeld, Emily announces that she's leaving the firm so she can pursue her romantic relationship with Jared. © 2012 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved.