Most of the season follows two different timelines. The primary timeline begins with Ellen Parsons' recruitment by Patty Hewes to "Hewes & Associates" and follows proceedings of a class action lawsuit against Arthur Frobisher by his former employees, whom Patty represents. The initial episodes follow Patty's attempts to capture potential witness Gregory Malina through Katie Connor. The arc further details Malina's involvement with Frobisher's lawyer Ray Fiske and the pressure Patty brings to bear on Fiske on Malina's subsequent death. The narrative includes multiple flashforwards of the alternative timeline, set approximately six months after Ellen's appointment, until both timelines converge in the penultimate episode of the season. The alternative timeline details the attack on Ellen, her arrest for the murder of her fiancé David Connor, and the subsequent murder investigation.

哈莉（凯西·贝茨 Kathy Bates 饰）是一位精明强干的律师，然而，因为她那大得惊人的脾气，哈莉被老板炒了鱿鱼，之后，哈莉结识了名叫马尔科姆（阿梅尔·艾米恩 Aml Ameen 饰）的青年，正面临一起指控，在哈莉的帮助下，马尔科姆洗刷了罪名，他对哈莉的辩护本事佩服的五体投地，于是提议想要为哈莉工作。 就这样，哈莉和马尔科姆租下了一间小小的鞋店作为办公室，开办了他们的律师事务所。一次偶然中，哈莉遇见了法律天才亚当（内森·科德里 Nathan Corddry 饰），后者亦加入到了哈莉的团队中来。与此同时，女孩珍娜（布兰特妮·斯诺 Brittany Snow 饰）成为了哈莉的新助手，她曾是一名鞋店销售员，对于法律和辩护可懂得不多。

这里汇聚了各种律师，他们各具本领，各显神通。Martha Costello（玛辛·佩克 Maxine Peake 饰）是一个三十多岁，单身，但依旧富于激情的辩护律师，准备申请皇家律师资格。Martha面临着极具挑战的案件以及令她惊讶的客户。她的信念、她的偏见、她的良知以及她的信仰的极限在刑事司法系统中被一系列的课程所检验。Clive Reader（鲁伯特·潘瑞-琼斯 Rupert Penry-Jones 饰）和Martha年龄相同。但他为人风趣，有天赋但同时也很精明。两人同时都是律师，同时都申请了皇家律师资格，在庭上的表现直接影响他们的命运，而Clive知道如何来玩这场游戏...... 究竟谁最后能成为皇家律师呢?