Michael J. Fox is one mean bastard!
It's such a treat whenever he appears on "The Good Wife" as the wily, charming Louis Canning. And it seems we'll get to see more of him in the second part of this season, since he buys Lockhart Gardner's debt.
While Will and Diane are happy for the possible reprieve from their bankruptcy deadline, Alicia is all too aware of just what kind of trouble Canning might bring to the firm.
Forget their creditors and Clarke Hayden ... allowing Canning into the firm could very well spell its doom.
Nature calls
Lockhart Gardner is representing a girl named Kaley who contracted the West Nile virus from mosquitoes around abandoned pools of foreclosed homes. They're suing Atlantic Commerce, the bank who foreclosed the homes, for leaving the pools unattended. The case could bring in a good settlement, $15 million, which is needed to help the firm's bankruptcy problems.
Alicia is in a remote area of Minnesota to depose the bank's president, Wilkes Ingersol, who's represented by her nemesis, Louis Canning. Ingersol's been dodging deposition for 14 months, and when he finally sits down with Alicia, he leaves after a few minutes, claiming an "emergency."
Back in Chicago, the case hits a bump when Kaley admits she climbed over a fence to swim in a pool -- she trespassed, which means the bank isn't liable.
This is too important financially for Lockhart Gardner to give up. Cary argues that the pool was an "attractive nuisance," so they still have a case. Still, they really need to talk to Ingersol to discover what he knew about the pool problems.
But Ingersol continues to give them the runaround, clearly with Canning's encouragement. A frustrated Alicia waits for several days, even meeting Canning's beautiful and sweet wife, Simone.
When Alicia asks how he landed such a wonderful woman (when he's so awful), he says, "Women like bastards. It fits in with all the fairy tales you grew up consuming."
Canning might be a liar, but there is some truth to that.
Shot across the bow
As the firm battles the bank, Will and Diane get served with a mediation notice ... from Clarke Hayden! Turns out he's still upset that they torpedoed his merger deal from a few episodes back. Clarke argues that they should be removed as managing partners.
Their mediator "goddess," Seraphina, listens to testimony from Cary, who reveals that he's been tutoring Clarke for the bar exam. Cary says he didn't feel he had a choice, since Hayden held such sway over their firm. Clarke looks hurt, then establishes that he attempted to pay Cary for the work and never implied any preferential (or penalizing) treatment. Seems like this bromance is over.