Crane, Poole & Schmidt

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Crane, Poole & Schmidt is a fictional law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts and the setting of the ABC TV show Boston Legal, created by David E. Kelley. Kelley first introduced the firm in the final episodes of The Practice. In the final episode of Boston Legal, the law firm was renamed Chang, Poole & Schmidt after being sold to a Chinese consortium. A falling-out between the new Chinese owners and Denny Crane led them to remove his name from the firm.

Employees

Founding partners and CEO

• Denny Crane (William Shatner) (The Practice 8+)
• Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) (Season 1+)
• Edwin M. Poole (Larry Miller) (Season 1+)
• Zhu Chang (Raymond Ma) (CEO Of TSU Chang International Company)

Managing partners

• Paul Lewiston (René Auberjonois) (Season 1-3 Full Time And Part Time Seasons 4-5)
• Jerry Austin (John Michael Higgins) (Season 1 First Two Episodes)
• Barry Gold (Robert Wagner) (Season 2) - LA Office
• Carl Sack (John Larroquette) (Season 4-5) - Formerly New York Office
• Marshall Kennedy (Jim Jansen) - (Season 3.4.5)
• 20 other Managing Partners were seen in the Series Finale, when they agreed the sale of the firm
• Hyung Lee (Member of TSU Chang International)

Current partners

• Jerry Espenson (Christian Clemenson) (Season 2+) - Fired, then rehired
• Marlene Stanger (Parker Posey) (Season 2-3) - Currently In NY Office

Former partners

• Brad Chase (Mark Valley) (Season 1-3 Full time and a cameo in Season 4 as Assistant DA)
• Jeffrey Coho (Craig Bierko) (Season 3) - Resigned
• Lori Colson (Monica Potter) (Season 1-2) - Resigned

Current senior and junior associates

• Alan Shore (James Spader) (The Practice 8+)
• Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers) (Season 4 and 5)

Former senior associates

• Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen) (Season 2-3) (Resigned while on maternity leave, now working for United States)
• Claire Simms (Constance Zimmer) (Season 3)
• Vanessa Walker (Nia Long) (Season 3)
• Chelina Hall (Kerry Washington) (Season 1) - Resigned

Former junior associates

• Garrett Wells (Justin Mentell) (Season 2)
• Sara Holt (Ryan Michelle Bathe) (Season 2)
• Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra) (Season 1-2) - Resigned
• Sally Heep (Lake Bell) (Season 1) - Fired
• Lorraine Weller (Saffron Burrows) (Season 4)
• Whitney Rome (Taraji P. Henson) (Season 4)

Partners from The Practice

• Matthew Billings (Vince Colosimo)
• Sheldon Modry (Currie Graham) (Graham Played A Assistant District Attorney Frank Ginsburg During The Series Run)
• Hannah Rose (Rebecca De Mornay)

Assistants

• Nora Jacobs (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) (Season 1) - Alan's First Assistant
• Catherine Piper (Betty White) (The Practice 8+) - Second Assistant to Alan
• Melissa Hughes (Marisa Coughlan) (Season 2-3) - Third Assistant to Alan (transferred to work for Jeffrey Coho)
• Clarence Bell (Gary Anthony Williams) (Season 3-4) - Assistant to Claire and later Fourth Assistant To Alan

Attorney roles

Denny Crane primarily serves as a figurehead for the firm, taking advantage of every opportunity to further his own public presence in the media. He has given many memorable interviews, including two on CNN's Larry King Live. Crane occasionally argues cases in court, but is past his prime and is prone to forgetfulness, which he often attributes to Mad Cow Disease. When his authority is questioned he often reminds characters that his name is first on the door. Despite his growing senility, he is shown to have his moments of brilliance.

Paul Lewiston and Shirley Schmidt spend much of their time trying to maintain the firm's integrity and financial security. Lewiston brought Shirley back when Denny began to get further out of control, and they both considered forcing Denny out. While Shirley often tries cases, Paul's role at the firm seems to be mostly administrative. Although he is very rarely shown working on any legal cases, his authority on every practical level is seen as equal to that of the other senior partners (in fact he was offered to become a named partner, which he turned down)

Edwin Poole was shown to have a mental breakdown at the beginning of the show. He has returned three times since; once when he escaped and took a court appointment, and another where he was released, but ultimately decided he was still not completely healthy. In the fifth season he returns for the crucial episode for the show's closing, "Thanksgiving".

Throughout the show's history junior associates have been shown to get little practical work, often being assigned research or sitting in second chair to other attorneys. In season 1, Sally Heep handled one trial on-screen (and one other offscreen, her poor performance in which got her fired), Tara's legal role was somewhat less. In season 2, neither Sara or Garrett got to handle their own cases.

Crane, Poole & Schmidt office locations

Crane, Poole & Schmidt is known to have offices in these locations, at least one other office does exist.

• Boston, Massachusetts (500 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts)
• Los Angeles, California (corner of Arizona Avenue and Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica)
• New York
• Washington D.C.
• Chicago, Illinois
• Houston, Texas
• London, England
• Tokyo
• Hong Kong
• Mexico City