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The Cases Of Alan Shore

Born in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1961, and educated in eastern Massachusetts, Alan Shore is well-known as being the best anti-trust attorney in the Commonwealth. Alan has worked for at least four law firms, including Carruthers, Abbott (where he was fired for embezzling); Young, Frutt & Berluti (where he was fired for his unethical practices); and, currently, Crane, Poole, and Schmidt, where he pulls in a salary of $375,000 per year. During his few months at Young, Fruit & Berluti he had made over 9 million dollars for the firm or about 6 times more than every other lawyer in the firm combined.

Little is known of Alan's family life. He has an older sister, whose diary he used to read. His uncle was a butcher, and he also had an uncle named Charles, though they may not be the same person. Someone very dear to him once died of Alzheimer's disease, but it is unknown if this person was a relative. The status of Alan's father is unknown, but according to Alan, his father was disappointed in him, something that, naturally, continues to haunt him. He believes he would be a horrible father, claiming his great-grandfather was a horrible parent and that it only got worse with every new generation. Alan's relationship with his mother seems conflicted at best. On the one hand, Alan had fond memories of his mother measuring him for trousers every autumn before school started. On the other hand, he claims it was the only time she touched him with affection. He also once attempted to shoot her in effigy, but missed, claiming he was only trying to scare her.

As a child, Alan was something of a prankster. He seemed to be harassed by the schoolyard bullies, but at the same time, developed friendships that lasted into his adult life. Never what would be considered a "manly man", Alan shrunk away from physical violence. He has never beaten anyone up, fearing the physical pain such a fight might cause to the point that he is unwilling and unable to defend himself, choosing to pay others to fight for him. For this, he sees himself as "craven."

Alan's history with women has been colorful. As a teenager, he slept with his best friend's mother. In college, not a day went by that Alan didn't want to sleep with his colleague, Samantha. Later on, his girlfriend, Christine, tried to run him over with her car. He subsequently defended her at a hearing to get her released from the psychiatric hospital, admitting both the possibility that he deserved what she did, and that he had toyed with her sanity. Alan cohabited with a little person for 3 years, and frequently solicited the company of prostitutes. He claimed that a relationship with him always had an eventual, adverse effect on the woman in question, and admitted that most of his relationships with women were sad. This may stem from his confession that the only thing he requires in a relationship is that he remain utterly alone. Being alone, however, scares him. He at one time enters into a relationship with a judge and he is happy untill the day she tells him she wants children at which point he leaves. Alan also once "rated" his assistant's sweaters, and admitted to engaging the services of a sex therapist. On many occasions he admits to his weakness of being attracted to most women and when talking to women his mind invariably goes to sexual fantasies.

Currently a widower, Alan was once married. At some point in the marriage, however, their relationship apparently became strained, for Alan claimed that he grew to hate his wife because she began to know him too well. After her death, however, he came to miss that aspect of her most of all.

An important relationship to Alan seems to be the one he shared with his colleague, Tara Wilson. Unlike his other relationships, he admitted, in his own way, to having fallen in love with her. The relationship did not work out, however.

There is something of a dark side to Alan's psyche. While at Young, Frutt, and Berluti, Alan was frequently accused of self-destructive tendencies, both professionally and personally, as well as possessing a very unhealthy amount of self-loathing. Unappreciative of those who try to engage him in a discussion of his psyche and not really delving into it himself, Alan has always enjoyed his melancholy. He has never considered himself to be loved and suffers from occasional night terrors, and has an irrational fear of clowns stemming from an incident in early childhood involving his mother and a hideous clown mask. As an adult, Alan went through a brief period of emotional and mental distress that caused him to have difficulty forming coherent sentences, an episode that frightened him greatly, as he relies heavily on his communication skills. Once living in a spacious home with a pool, Alan sold his permanent abode to take up residence in a hotel, a place he could leave at a moment's notice.

Alan has a very strong sense of self-defined justice that often leads him to employ illegal and unethical tactics in its pursuit, sometimes ruthlessly and without regard for who he hurts in the process, once even using his girlfriend, Sally Heep, to accomplish his goals, which are often morally grey but always just (from a certain point of view). He hated the bullies of his childhood, and continues to hate adult bullies just as much. He sometimes lacks personal restraint when trying cases he feels deeply about. He once goes before the supreme court to defend a man against the capital punishment, where his restraint breaks and he accuses the judges of not being fair nor just. He even insults some of them personally, though takes care not to upset the ones his counselors told him are apt to vote for his cause.

Alan also has a very compassionate side to him, with a special affinity for/connection to children. Hating to represent "evil" people, he frequently champions the causes of those who can't defend themselves, such as the homeless or mentally ill, employing the aforementioned tactics in his quest for justice. On more than one occasion, Alan has given of his own financial resources to those in need. He also does volunteer work with the Salvation Army.

Alan holds friendship to be nearly sacrosanct and far more important than his relationships with women. His best friend is Denny Crane, and in spite of Denny's odd behaviour at times, Alan has resolutely refused to use his friendship to manipulate Denny for the sake of the firm. He also refused to try a case against his friend and former co-worker, Ellenor Frutt, and resorted to very illegal and nasty tactics against the wife of a friend of his, claiming that he wasn't afraid to do jail time for it. Alan even besmirched his own character in court for the sake of advancing the defense of his best childhood friend, who was on trial for murder. In addition to giving money to clients in need, he has also done the same for his friends, in one case offering to "fix" the car of the owner of the shop Catherine Piper robbed in order to keep her out of jail. Betrayal of friendship is something Alan cannot abide, and something that wounds him deeply. There is one lnown exception to this rule however. He is very competitive in court so he may do something he later always regrets. He once used a medical condition of a lawyer friend (Jerry Espenson) to get an advantage and ultimately win the case. The friend later forgave him and believes Alan to be a morally great person and even thinks of him as a father figure, telling him on one occasion that he would make a wonderful father.

In his first year of employment at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt, Alan was held hostage by the ex-husband of one of his clients. He had been shot at some point in his past, but in this instance, he believed he was going to die. Once the situation was resolved, Alan confessed to Tara that he always believed that, due to the kind of life he led, death by homicide was God's plan for him. In the same vein, he also once confessed to being convinced that in a past life, he was murdered in his sleep. When he thought he was going to die, images of those he loved appeared in his mind. He said to Denny that he saw an image of Liza Minelli, probably in jest. While not a very religious man, Alan does believe that there must be something more after death, and would prefer to be buried, rather than cremated.

Alan's interests include wrestling, fishing, jigsaw puzzles, football, hockey, and the finer things in life. He loves wine, and has a wine refrigerator in his office. Like his friend Denny, Alan considers himself to be a very proud American; unlike Denny, however, Alan does not like guns or enjoy hunting, though he does own one gun which he never uses. He has a fear of flying and suffers from motion sickness. He is also afraid of water, though it does not stop him joining the Coast Guard, so he can serve the country. Alan also has a foot fetish and an uncanny ability to tie ties. And at some point in his past, he used to own a dog named "Alan" (the dog was named Alan when he got him) who, unfortunately, had to be euthanized due to cancer and hip dysplasia.

Near the end of his public life his best friend Denny proposes to him, saying how much sense it makes. They often express love to each other, they have sleepovers and call themselves flamingoes (due to a halloween party) though they are very deffinately not gay. He accepts the offer, because his best friend needs a spouse who will take care of him when his Alzheimer's progresses. After this he disappears from the media, presumably to enjoy a more private life.