It's 1981 in Dallas and Stan decides to throw a Christmas party at his home as a way of saying thanks to the clients who have sustained him during his first tumultuous year in the practice of law. As Stan's luck would have it, an ice storm hits Dallas and a client slips on Stan’s icy walkway causing him to suffer a massive coronary. Stan is blamed for his client’s untimely death and must shield himself from the wrath of the grieving widow. In the meantime, Stan is asked to defend a young college student charged with murdering her newborn child. Knowing he lacks the experience for such an undertaking, he enlists his former criminal law professor to be "Second Chair." What he doesn't know is the professor, who everyone calls "Snake" is a drunk and a womanizer.