Lori Colson was a Crane, Poole & Schmidt associate attorney who appeared in Season 1 and a few episodes of Season 2. Previously a District Attorney, Lori became a lawyer, she told Denny Crane, because she admired her mother's divorce lawyer who was "thin, smart, secure, confident in mind and body".

Lori left the firm in circumstances that are not entirely clear. Having filed an internal complaint and threatened to sue Denny for harrassment, Lori was last seen in episode in 2x05 [Men To Boys] admitting to him that she was struggling in the "boy's club" environment at the firm. Though Lori was never shown resigning, in episode 2x11 [The Cancer Man Can], Alan Shore suggests that Shirley Schmidt had a hand in her exit, saying she had "deftly ushered Lori Colson out of the firm".