•
Judge Clark Brown (played by
Henry Gibson, 24 episodes): A Boston judge the Crane, Poole & Schmidt lawyers appear before often and even take on as a client in one episode. A 70-year-old who still lives with his mother, Judge Brown likes to humiliate criminals he convicts in addition to normal punishment. Although Judge Brown claims to be a "conscientious fact finder", both Alan and Denny are able to appeal to his insecurities to gain favorable rulings. Initially thought to be a virgin, Brown admitted to having relationships with men in the Season 3 episode "Selling Sickness." He also often utters strong adjectives like "Shocking!" or "Disgusting!" during witness testimony, and often describes things as "Outrageous!" Despite his eccentricities, Brown often delivers thoughtful and eloquent verbal opinions on his cases and is willing to entertain unconventional but moral lawsuits. •
Bethany Horowitz (played by
Meredith Eaton-Gilden, 18 episodes): A feisty
dwarf attorney nicknamed "The Badger", and an on-again-off-again romantic interest of Denny. Bethany is also the daughter of an old girlfriend of Denny's. At one point it was suspected Bethany was actually Denny's daughter, which theory was disproved by
DNA tests. Bethany ultimately was unable to reconcile the fact her mother had had a relationship with Denny, plus the fact that she was a practicing Jew while Denny was (nominally) Christian, and the two parted apparently for good, before reuniting again. • '''''' (played by
Betty White, 16 episodes): Alan's former assistant, first introduced in
The Practice. A church-going woman who enjoyed being privy to the goings-on at Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Catherine took to the matricidal Bernard Ferrion in an attempt to introduce him to
God. Convinced Ferrion would kill again, she later murdered him. With Alan's representation, Catherine was acquitted of the crime but was subsequently fired by Shirley. However, Catherine returned and was hired as a food delivery person at Crane, Poole & Schmidt and even after retiring from that job continued to be a frequent client of the firm for numerous reasons. • ''''
(played by Jill Brennan, 13 episodes): A thinly veiled parody of Nancy Grace. Jane frequently uses her television program to comment on high-profile cases the firm is trying and has a relationship with Denny, first meeting him while filling in as a guest-host on Larry King Live''. •
Melissa Hughes (played by
Marisa Coughlan, 12 episodes): Alan's former assistant. Alan hires her to replace Catherine Piper, and enlists her to help him combat his night terrors. He helps her discharge her credit card debt and avoid jail time for tax evasion and falls briefly for her, only to later reject her advances. •
Judge Robert Sanders (played by
Shelley Berman, 11 episodes): A crotchety old judge, who seems to be senile and utters comic-sounding phrases such as "jibber-jabber" and "poopycock." He also, in a jab by the writers at then-President George W. Bush, frequently claims to be "the decider." Judge Sanders often appears oblivious to the rules of evidence, blatantly sustaining and overruling objections incorrectly, and can be manipulated by attorneys, particularly Alan Shore. He also married Brad Chase and Denise Bauer in the labor room of a hospital moments before the baby was born after Denise went into labor at her wedding, because Brad insisted no child of his would come into the world a bastard. •
ADA Frank Ginsberg (played by
Currie Graham, 9 episodes): An assistant district attorney with political ambitions. He wants to get elected district attorney, and has tried to further this goal by promoting himself to the public with cases of questionable merit. Some instances of his misguided intentions include prosecuting a
sexual surrogate and her patient (Jerry) for prostitution, trying to imprison a homeless man who
cannibalized a dead body when death by starvation became imminent, and attempting to put Denny behind bars for illegally exporting
medical waste. On each occasion, Ginsberg's plans to use his cases as sensational self-promotion were ruined (typically by Alan Shore) when his targets were acquitted. •
Lincoln Meyer (played by
David Dean Bottrell, 8 episodes): A
campy eccentric, Meyer was a witness in the murder trial of his neighbor, a female judge on whom he had an unrequited crush. Meyer is a lonely
peeping Tom, and is revealed to have developed
psychosis, which causes him to sue anyone who calls out his eccentricity, and later cause physical harm to the point of murdering the judge who denied his motion, trying to murder a TV show hostess, and even kidnapping Shirley following her refusal to go out on a date. Meyer's house is eventually raided by the police following a hunch from the Crane, Poole & Schmidt partners and associates, and he is shot in the chest by his own
crossbow, which he set up as a
booby trap to prevent Shirley's rescue. •
Judge Harvey Cooper (played by
Anthony Heald, 8 episodes): First introduced in
The Practice, Judge Cooper becomes a nemesis of Alan Shore, Denny Crane and Jeffrey Coho. A transplant from Los Angeles to Boston, he frequently puts unnecessary emphasis on the syllables in Massachusetts. After presiding over several high-profile trials involving Crane, Poole & Schmidt, he appeals for their help in representing him in the Season 4 finale. •
Judge Gloria Weldon (played by
Gail O'Grady, 7 episodes): A beautiful judge that Alan rekindles a relationship with during Seasons 3 and 4. They eventually split over her desire to have children and Alan's reluctance. •
Daniel Post (played by
Michael J. Fox, 6 episodes): Denise's love interest with terminal
lung cancer. Daniel is a hugely wealthy businessman who initially goes to Denise for help winning a case against a man who is suing him for using his influence to get a test drug that might save his life. Their relationship develops until he restarts his
radiation therapy and then goes off to
Europe, presumably to die. Daniel returns in the season finale, alive, and proposes to Denise. In the third season, he dies during a lung transplant, however, and his remains are lost on the
black market. Denise was able to recover his head in a
haunted house Halloween attraction in
Salem, Massachusetts. •
Bernard Ferrion (played by
Leslie Jordan, 6 episodes): A short statured man, who whacked his mother over the head with a frying pan and proceeded to hire Alan as his lawyer. Bernard's mother dies shortly thereafter, but manages to tell about Bernard's act; however, Alan manages to acquit Bernard due to lack of evidence. Bernard's neighbor witnesses the killing, and for fear of incrimination, Bernard murders her in the same manner. He seeks Alan's help once more, but Alan deems him evil and turns him over to Tara, who also acquits him due to lack of evidence. Bernard keeps returning to Crane, Poole & Schmidt in unsuccessful attempts to regain his friendship with Alan, and befriends Catherine, who tries to "save his soul" by introducing him to religion. However, as Bernard keeps displaying signs of willingness to kill again just for the thrill and attention, Catherine starts to fear for her own life, and so kills Bernard in the same manner he killed his mother and neighbor, and hides his body in a freezer. • '''''' (played by
Christopher Rich, 6 episodes): A
Texan lawyer and Alan's nemesis. He is extremely (but falsely) friendly and charming, and uses this as a strategy in nearly all his cases. Only once does he drop his facade, revealing him to be a cold, amoral and manipulative lawyer. Alan immediately despises him, and he occupies the role of an antagonist until near the end of the show, where he defends Denny and Alan from adultery charges. This leads to Melvin and Denny becoming good friends, which irritates Alan further. •
Chelina Hall (played by
Kerry Washington, 5 episodes): Prior to coming to work for Crane, Poole & Schmidt in Boston, Chelina worked on behalf of
death row inmates for the Texas Innocence Project by petitioning the Texas High Court to reconsider execution sentence. She lost her
temper during her final appearance before the court, calling the chief judge "a disgusting, fat pig." Later, when one of her previous cases comes up for appeal, Chelina fears this incident may have prejudiced the judge against her and convinces Alan to argue the case in her stead. She was originally intended to appear in several episodes near the end of the first season, but when these episodes were retooled to appear at the beginning of the second season, her burgeoning romance with Alan was apparently cut short. Alan re-encounters Chelina in the second-season episode "Race Ipsa" (actually a holdover from season one) and in a comment that broke the fourth wall, Alan says that she has left the show "to be in movies" (which she did in real life), also making reference to the change in the show's airing time. •
Beverly Bridge (played by
Joanna Cassidy, 5 episodes): A woman that Denny meets, courts and marries in short order during Season 2. Other members of the firm are concerned she is a gold-digger only after Denny's money and that she will force him to retire and cash out his stake in the firm. The two divorce after Denny commits adultery at their wedding reception. •
Bella Horowitz (played by
Delta Burke, 5 episodes): Mother of Bethany, Bella attempts to rekindle her relationship with Denny while her daughter is dating him. She also claims Denny is Bethany's father, only to see this claim dis-proven. •
Barbara Little (played by
Katey Sagal, 5 episodes): The mother of Scott Little and a key player in the high-profile murder case the firm tries throughout the beginning of Season 3. She is secretly carrying on an incestuous relationship with Scott and commits perjury to prevent him from being convicted. •
ADA Christopher Palmer (played by
William Russ, 5 episodes): A frequent nemesis of the firm, Palmer usually appears in cases as an advocate for gun control. • '''''' (played by
Larry Miller, 4 episodes): Named Partner at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. Edwin arrived at a staff meeting pantless and was sent to a psychiatric hospital in the first few minutes of the pilot. He later escaped, much to Denny's concern, and he successfully participated in one case before deciding to go back. He returned again for one episode in Season 2 after being released, focusing his efforts on finding someone to sue. Edwin returned to the hospital on Shirley's advice. He reappeared in the final season, released from the hospital and retired, as the foster parent of a black boy and was present at the Thanksgiving Day dinner where Carl Sack asked Shirley to marry him and the possibility of the firm going under was discussed. •
Marlene Stanger (played by
Parker Posey, 4 episodes): A stone-cold, ruthless attorney. Known at her old firm as "The
Squid" (apparently the only animal that can kill a
shark, a term commonly used to describe someone with aggressive ambition in the legal or corporate world), Marlene is not above using underhanded tactics to win cases, and specializes in undermining her associates. She finds herself very unnerved by Alan, and eventually had sex with him in his office. Her hostile relationship with Denise led to the ruining of Denise's chance to make partner. At the end of Season 2, in accordance with the contract by which she joined Crane, Poole & Schmidt Marlene was made a partner; but in the third-season premiere, she transferred from Boston to the New York office. •
Ivan Tiggs (played by
Tom Selleck, 4 episodes): Shirley Schmidt's ex-husband and a
womanizer. After announcing his engagement to his sixth wife Missy, he attempted to rekindle his former relationship with Shirley, saying he would dump Missy if Shirley would take him back. When Shirley refused, he married Missy and later lied about leaving her to reunite with Shirley. The ploy worked, and he and Shirley were briefly reunited. When Shirley learned of his deception, she drafted a "post-nuptial agreement" that would relinquish virtually all of Ivan's possessions to Missy if he were ever caught cheating on her. He attempted to legally void the agreement (with Alan as his representation), but eventually handed everything over to Missy if Shirley would give him another chance. Shirley refused, saying "I can't love you anymore," and Ivan was last seen alone and penniless. •
Missy Tiggs (played by
Meredith Patterson, 4 episodes): The eccentric, obnoxious,
Broadway musical-loving, singing, snort-laughing, and very young sixth ex-wife of Ivan Tiggs. Despite the fact she is marrying her ex-husband, Shirley befriends her and even serves as the maid of honor at Ivan and Missy's wedding. After divorcing Ivan, she is last seen when brought into court by a black man with whom she had protected sex, after Missy took his sperm from a condom and used it to impregnate herself with an "Obama baby." The black man brought suit against her, which case was resolved to the satisfaction of no one. It is unknown if Missy gave birth or not as she disappeared after that episode. •
Rachel Lewiston (played by
Jayne Brook, 4 episodes): Paul Lewiston's estranged daughter who is addicted to crystal meth. The two reconnect and Paul discovers he has a granddaughter, Fiona. He enlists Brad Chase to force Rachel to go to rehab and takes custody of Fiona, only to have Brad fall for Rachel. •
ADA Holly Raines (played by
Ana Ortiz, 4 episodes): An assistant district attorney with whom Alan and Brad clash during Season 2. She attempts to obtain employment at the firm with the help of Alan, only to be disrespected by Brad and later faces him in court. •
Joanna Monroe (played by
Jane Lynch, 4 episodes): A
sexual surrogate who retains Alan's services as a lawyer multiple times, as Alan is a former client of hers. She also provides sexual surrogacy for Jerry Espenson to combat his intimacy issues. •
Leigh Swift (played by
Mary Gross, 4 episodes): A woman with Paraphilia and Asperger's syndrome who becomes a client of and girlfriend to Jerry Espenson. The two break up because of her intense, violent jealousy of Katie Lloyd. •
Emma Path (played by
Pamela Adlon, 4 episodes): A lawyer that frequently appears against Alan Shore and who is the target of his sexual harassment. •
Nora Jacobs (played by
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, 3 episodes): assistant to Alan Shore (he flirts with her which causes her to feel uncomfortable and harassed) • '''''' (played by
Freddie Prinze, Jr., 3 episodes): A young lawyer who was believed to be Denny's illegitimate son, the product of an affair with an anonymous woman. Denny, however, did not see him for fifteen years. Denny later confessed to Alan that when Donny's mother slapped him with a paternity suit, he settled, and Donny's mother later admitted that he wasn't the father. Many jokes were made about the closeness of Donny and Denny's names. When Donny found out that Denny was not his biological father, he was crushed, and his relationship with Denny became very strained; however, Denny still considers him his son and has referred to him as such on occasion. Just like Denny, Donny uses his own name as an exclamation at inappropriate times. •
Judge Robert Thompson (played by
Howard Hesseman, 3 episodes): A laid-back and unorthodox judge whose trademark is that he almost never actually sits on the bench when hearing a case, preferring to lean against the witness stand or the jury box during testimony (a fact which greatly unnerves Jerry Espenson). •
Professor Clifford Cabot (played by
Ed Begley Jr., 3 episodes): A
sexology professor who is a longtime and frequent client of the firm. •
Dana Strickland (played by
Rachelle Lefevre, 3 episodes): A high-priced escort prostitute who works for Lorraine Weller who became Jerry Espenson's "girlfriend." She sued Jerry for sexual assault. Later on, she gets arrested for prostitution and asks for Jerry's help, but is faced with a difficult choice of walking free by revealing who her boss, Lorraine, is. She decides she will not take the deal and flip on Lorraine. She never arrives to court, missing her hearing and when asked by Katie and Jerry if she knows where she is, Lorraine shrugs off the question and denies knowing anything. She is never heard from again, nor mentioned. •
Doris Thumper (played by
Yvette Nicole Brown, 2 episodes): A friend of Clarence Bell who is a shy and recovered borderline agoraphobic but is a talented singer. She is introduced in the Season 4 episode entitled “Green Christmas “. Clarence informs her that he must drop out of the singing competition if he wants to keep his job at the Law Firm once a video of them performing goes viral but later on is able to keep his job and continue to sing in the competition . By the end of the episode Doris and Clarence advance to the semifinals after singing “Big Blonde and Beautiful” from the musical Hairspray. == See also ==