Kingsfield's friend and former student, now the Attorney General of the United States, asks him if he would accept a nomination to the Supreme Court. Hart decides to celebrate Kingsfield's eightieth birthday, even though it is known that the professor disapproves of such festivities.

Connie attempts to help a returning student, now a single mother with no child care, and recruits Hart and Bell for assistance. Ford is assigned to an older woman's case against a slumlord.