Thirteen years after giving up her career as a lawyer to focus on husband and family, Alicia Florrick returns to a large law firm to start over again. Her husband, the State's Attorney for Cook County, was forced to resign after a sex scandal involving public funds and prostitutes. On her first day, she is assigned a pro bono case and is defending a woman accused of killing her ex-husband and trying to cover it up with a fake carjacking. The previous trial ended in a hung jury which, Alicia learns, was very much leaning toward conviction.With the help of the firm's in-house investigator, Alicia looks to open up a new line of defense against the advice of the firm's senior female partner who previously handled the case. Written by garykmcd

Alicia is invited by senior partner Will Gardner to act as second chair in a law suit against the scion of a rich Chicago family who is being sued by a stripper for rape. The DA has refused to file criminal charges and the victim wants to extract some degree of justice. Alicia tends to believe her, especially after she turns down a very generous settlement offer, but she does carry a lot of baggage having worked as an escort for a period of time. The lawyers face a major problem when DNA testing seems to rule out the defendant. At home, Alicia's son and daughter are alone when someone anonymously drops off photos of their dad cavorting with a prostitute. Son Zach discovers something important however. Written by garykmcd

Alicia finds herself defending Kenny Chatham after he shows up at her office asking for help. Even he doesn't realize how serious it is until the police arrest him for felony murder. He and a friend had gone to a mutual acquaintance to pick up some marijuana and unable to get in, force a window. When their escapade is interrupted by a security guard, he runs off but when the guard is found dead, the friend claims Kenny killed him. Given her emotional involvement in the case, Alicia suggests that someone else be appointed as first chair. She's a bit surprised when the partners assign Cary to the job. He's keen to plead the case out and uses his charm on the young Assistant State's Attorney but Alicia is certain that Kenny is innocent and sets out to prove it. Written by garykmcd

Alicia is assigned to a high profile class action lawsuit against a pharmaceutical firm. In going through documents she finds a note that indicates one of the jurors may have been been bribed. The note isn't clear and they must decide which of two possible jurors it might be. In her private life, Alicia is interviewed by husband Peter's lawyer as they prepare for his appeal. He is looking for any information that would support their contention that Peter was lying or acting evasively at work not because he was involved in criminal acts but because he was trying to hide his philandering from her. When she finds evidence that he was home on a day he is accused of meeting someone, the evidence also reveals he may have been taking gifts. Written by garykmcd

Alicia takes on the case of three widows who are suing their dead husbands' former employers, a railway company, after they are killed in a train crash.The company is playing hardball and are seemingly ready and keen to go to court. The defense's argument is essentially that the company forced the men to work long hours and are therefore responsible for any errors that may have occurred. Alicia notices a discrepancy in another area however and they have only a few days to prepare a new defense. Alicia and Cary are interviewing for a new assistant. Alicia has also been arguing with her mother-in-law about the children and when they will visit their father. As tensions rise between them, she makes a point of telling her son that Alicia has been spending several late evenings with Will Gardner. Written by garykmcd

The firm takes on the automatic appeal of convicted murderer Clarence Wilcox who was convicted of killing a police officer during an armed robbery at a convenience store. Their argument is that a made-for-TV movie poisoned the jury pool but the appellate court denies them a re-trial. After meeting the man's wife, Alicia begins to wonder if they should launch an appeal based on the facts rather than technicalities. The woman claims her husband was with all of that evening but she wasn't put on the stand to testify because her previous record would have rendered the evidence less credible. As Alicia looks into the case, she discovers other anomalies, particularly as they relate to the police line-up and the eye witness who positively identified Wilcox as the culprit. Investigator Kalinda Sharma wants nothing to do with the case but tells Alicia to check on what the State knew with her husband, the imprisoned former State's Attorney. She's reluctant to do so but the the only way to be ... Written by garykmcd

Employees are on edge as Will Gardner and Diane Lockhart begin to cut positions and reduce costs. Alicia is expecting the worst when Will calls her into to his office but he in fact wants her to be the second chair in a lawsuit against Anna Loeb, the estranged daughter of the firm's absentee partner Jonas Stern. The woman is represented by storefront lawyer Ryan Alprin in a case where a pedestrian tripped over a cable and fell in front of Loeb's house and is now suing for her and her husband for $1.2 million, accusing them of negligence. Their lawyer decides on a unique argument: as Orthodox Jews, the Loebs couldn't repair the cable, which became detached on the Sabbath, as they are prohibited from working on that day. That defense soon runs into a problem and it's left to Alicia and investigator Kalinda to get to the root of the accusations. It all may fall apart however when Alicia learns something shocking about Alprin himself. Written by garykmcd

Alicia and Cary are assigned to prepare witnesses in the case of a university scientist who is accused of setting her lab on fire. The woman faces a possible 15 years in prison and is adamant that she is innocent. Unfortunately, her rambling manner makes her a less than ideal witness and they decide not to put her on the stand. They're preparing a reasonable case but come across some key evidence from one of the witnesses. Alicia also finds herself unexpectedly in court when the judge in her husband's case not only grants an evidentiary hearing but agrees to hear arguments about the possibility of bail. She's not sure she's prepared to suddenly have him back but she is certainly expected to say so in court. At home, her son Zach sets up a video camera to see who is leaving the brown envelopes they've been getting. Written by garykmcd

Alicia deals with tricky office politics when she's asked to represent the firm's senior partner after he's arrested. Meanwhile, Peter's evidentiary hearing hits the skids, leading Alicia to suspect that he may, in fact, actually be guilty of corruption. Written by CBS Publicity

Alicia takes on the case of a juvenile first offender, Terence Ramsay, who is charged with assault but claims he was bullied into at fight at school. She manages to negotiate a reduced plea with the prosecutor and no jail time but the judge in the case, Henry Baxter, inexplicably rejects the plea bargain and sentences the boy to 9 months incarceration. As Alicia looks into the judge's background, she finds a clear pattern in his sentencing - white offenders get probation while African-Americans always seem to get jail-time. A detailed analysis of other cases seems to show that the current pattern of sentencing is less than 2 years old so they set out find what may have happened to Judge Baxter to cause the change. Alicia's daughter finally makes a friend at school but runs into problems because of her Dad's past. Meanwhile, Diane is approached by representatives of the Democratic party trying to recruit her to run for a judgeship in the next elections. Her recruiters' reaction to her ... Written by garykmcd

Alicia gleans a bit more info into Peter's fall from grace when she represents Glenn Childs' wife, Marie Browning, in their divorce. Meanwhile, Will gets cozy with his opposing counsel, Emily, during a wrongful death suit against caustic TV commentator Duke Rosco. Written by CBS Publicity

When a star high school quarterback dies from an overdose of painkillers, Alicia represents the doctor who prescribed the medication. At home, Alicia and the kids deal with some bad news and she gives Peter information that makes his blood boil. Written by CBS Publicity

Tensions are high as Peter's appeal trial begins and Alicia defends a wealthy client in civil court whose innocence she doubts, even after he's found not guilty in criminal court of murdering his wife. Meanwhile, Diane decides to take precautions when a felon she successfully prosecuted is about to be released from prison. Written by CBS Publicity

Peter Florrick's hearing requesting a new trial finally opens and Alicia is having to deal with the possibility that he will soon be returning home. She tells him what she expects of him. When Peter's nemesis, State's Attorney Glenn Childs, subpoenas investigator Kalinda Sharma, she has to decide what she is going to say on the stand. With all of this going on, Alicia also has to deal with a high profile murder when one one the firms corporate clients, Sonja Rucker, shows up at the office claiming that she found their babysitter beaten to death in their bathroom. The immediate suspicion is that her unemployed husband, Eugene Rucker, might be implicated and it very quickly becomes clear that the police are working flat-out to get evidence against him and not really looking at other suspects. It doesn't help that Eugene is being less than honest with his own lawyers and that the police have already caught him in one lie. Written by garykmcd

While Peter gets acclimated to life at home and works on a comeback strategy with his political team, including Eli Gold, Alicia and Diane wrestle with spousal privilege laws in a murder case that hinges on their ability to get a wife to testify against her husband. Written by CBS Publicity

Alicia and Carey are assigned to work with Will who defends a fellow lawyer, Eric Dorfman. He's been charged with murder for supposedly telling his drug dealer client about a witness against him; the witness was subsequently killed. It's not the kind of case they would normally get involved in but the firm is having financial problems and the Assistant US Attorney in charge of the case, Harrison Rivers, has gotten up his nose. Soon the alleged drug dealer, Lemond Bishop, hires the firm as his new lawyers. He proves to be a fount of information as well. Peter is still adjusting to living at home. When Will calls Alicia at home, Peter begins to wonder about their relationship. His doubts aren't assuaged when he finds condoms in her night table. Someone is also tweeting about a supposed relationship between Alicia and Will. Eli Gold takes care of it. Written by garykmcd

Will and Alicia go up against their old nemesis, Patti Nyholm when their clients' insurance company refuses to pay for vital in-utero surgery for their as yet unborn child. Nyholm is arguing that it's an experimental procedure not covered by their policy but what she really wants is for him to drop the class action suit he has going on behalf of 68 other couples who were also refused coverage. Will refuses but gets information that may force Nyholm to reinstate the policy. Peter tries to strengthen his public support among Africa-Americans by getting support from a popular Minister. Written by garykmcd

Alicia and Will defend a college student accused of killing her sorority sister while under the influence of a sleep aid. At the same time, they also deal with their growing sexual tension and Diane and Kurt McVeigh continue their flirtation. Written by CBS Publicity

Stern launches his plan to take down Lockhart and Gardner and steal all their best lawyers, while a potential surprise witness emerges with dirt against Peter.

Alicia tries to help an Indian family in her building after the mom faces deportation unless the son helps the feds bring down a group of smugglers, while Will presides as the judge in a law school mock trial.

The firm is representing Caroline Wilder, the wife of a famous rock star who wants a divorce so he can marry a younger woman. Max Wilder is worth $40 million but is refusing her request for support of $300,000 a year. They're in court when they learn Max is comatose after a motorcycle accident that morning. Under the terms of his will, Caroline is responsible for his estate and not his fiancé. When it turns out Max may have been poisoned, the police suspect Caroline is responsible. At the office meanwhile, rumors are rife that decision day is coming: Will and Diane will make their decision about who stays at the firm, Alicia or Carey. Written by garykmcd

Will contacts Alicia in the middle of her celebrating getting the job at Gardner Lockhart. He asks her to pick up contracts at the home of Colin Sweeney but when she gets there, she finds him with handcuffs around his ankle and attached to the wrist of a dead woman. Alicia had defended him once before when he was accused of murdering his wife. She got him off but was never convinced that he was innocent. This time however, she's sure he didn't kill the victim but that doesn't mean she'll get him off. Meanwhile, the end is at hand in the State's attempt to re-try Peter Florrick. Peter doesn't have a lot of faith in his trial attorney however. Having lost his job, Cary gladly accepts an offer from an unexpected source. Written by garykmcd

Alicia tries to arrange for a Chicago PD narcotics officer, Jack Arkin, to provide evidence to the FBI on police corruption in return for immunity from prosecution and relocation under the witness protection program. Before the deal can be made, however, Arkin is gunned down in the line of duty. Alicia and others think it was a set-up, but ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh thinks the police are telling the truth. With the firm now seeking a negligence suit against the city, Carey Agos shows up as the State's Attorney to take Mrs. Arkin's deposition. Kalinda comes under suspicion when her friendship with one of the officers under suspicion comes to light. Meanwhile, Peter Florrick has decided to wait to run for office and Eli Gold wants Alicia to get him to change his mind. Written by garykmcd