Nick argues for a transvestite s custody of a boy he s raised as his own for nine years; Jake falls for a drug addict.

While at a dinner honoring Burton as Legal Services Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Jake meets Amy Heckt, an LSP client who s also being honored for having turned her life around. Yet, back at her squalid apartment for the night, Jake discovers how little she s actually done to end her drug and alcohol abuse. As he learns that Mary Gressler and her granddaughter Shannon are living with his dad, Nick is asked to help transvestite Sam Farrell regain custody of an twelve-year-old boy he has raised as his own for the past nine years. And when the hospital offers to settle his wrongful termination lawsuit, Lulu s husband insists on taking nothing less than one million dollars. Meanwhile, Mary balks when Burton tries to express his feelings for her.

Though he succeeds in getting Timmy Silber released from a county home, Nick is surprised when the boy s uncle, Hank Silber, files a motion for custody. And after Hank claims the idea was the boy s, Timmy reveals his fear that Sam will die of AIDS, the same disease that infected his father before a fatal motorcycle accident that is suspected to have been a suicide . Meanwhile, after balking at the hospital s initial offer, Brian heads to Columbus for a job interview. Meanwhile, despite Nick s warning to steer clear, Jake cannot keep from seeing Amy again and decides to report her to the county after he s left caring for her baby while she s on a date.


After the accusations result in her baby being taken away, Amy tells Alvin that she s prepared to testify that Jake drugged her and raped her. So, when asked for their advice, both Alvin and Nick both convince Jake to say that it was all just an unfortunate mistake. As Brian returns to Pittsburgh after landing a new job in Ohio, Burton and Mary remain uneasy about their relationship. And while an AIDS test gives him a clean bill of health, Sam still cannot unable to persuade Timmy to reconsider moving in with his uncle. Finally, as Brian accepts a modest offer to settle his lawsuit so he can get on with his life, Mary decides to take Shannon and move out.

From ATV