University trustee lends a storyline for 'The Practice'

For students who had to choose between work and procrastination, last Sunday's episode of "The Practice" on ABC may have served as a persuasive temptation toward the latter.

Created by Princetonian David E. Kelly '79, the Emmy-Award-winning series about a law firm showcased Princeton trustee Crystal Nix-Hines '85's scriptwriting capabilities. The end result of her work was an episode enjoyable for Nix-Hines and viewers alike.

"David Kelley is a true creative genius," Nix-Hines, a Wilson School major and chairman of The Daily Princetonian while at the University, said in an e-mail yesterday. "Writing for 'The Practice' is a terrific experience."

Kelly, who was captain of the varsity hockey team during the 1978-79 season, runs David E. Kelly Productions in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and is married to actress Michelle Pfeiffer. His current shows include "The Practice," "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Public."

For viewers, the one-hour 'Practice' episode was a cliffhanger featuring two main storylines.

Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco), an addicted gambler and attorney at the practice, is in desperate need of $33,000 to pay his bookie. After fruitless efforts to borrow money, he illegally borrows $15,000 from a client's trust fund to wage a bet on a horse rumored to be a "sure winner" in a race.

Though the horse wins — clearing Berluti financially — his deception at the office is discovered when the bank faxes a document of the account activity. Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott), another attorney, rebukes Berluti, telling him it is illegal not to report the temporary theft. He is very reluctant to "risk this firm on the word of an addict." The end of the episode comes before we find out if Donnell tattles on Berluti.

In the second plotline, Donnell represents a couple attempting to find the remains of their son Chad, who was kidnapped and allegedly killed 18 years earlier. At that time, the accused man — John Pierce — was not convicted for lack of sufficient evidence. Throughout the episode, Donnell attempts to force Pierce in the courtroom to relinquish information as to the location of Chad's remains.

With minutes left in the episode, Donnell seems to be unsuccessful. But as he returns to his office, he meets a woman and her son who introduced himself as James Tucker. Tucker tells Donnell, "I think I may be Chad Baldwin."

After her graduation, Nix-Hines worked as a reporter for The New York Times and then went to Harvard Law School. Fittingly, while at law school, her favorite television show was LA Law — a show of which Kelley was the lead writer.

With her law background, Nix-Hines assimilated well into "The Practice."

"A number of writers . . . are lawyers who, like myself, enjoy dramatizing legal issues," she noted.