Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Alicia secretly prepares to leave Lockhart Gardner and start Florrick Agos with Cary and other associates. The move turns into open conflict when Will discovers their plan and Lockhart Gardner fights to retain clients and block the rival practice. Alicia and Will’s relationship, already strained by her departure, becomes entangled with the battle between firms; the partners must win business while managing loyalties, staff and the cost of competing against the established practice. Peter serves as governor in Springfield while Alicia remains in Chicago.
The season’s personal and professional crises converge when Will is shot by his client Jeffrey Grant during a courtroom hearing and later dies at the hospital. Alicia learns the news from Kalinda and struggles with grief, guilt and the unfinished last voicemail Will left her. Diane, Cary and the lawyers at both firms also react to his death, which changes the balance of power and pushes Diane to reconsider her place at Lockhart Gardner. A proposed merger fails, and Diane instead approaches Florrick Agos about joining them. An accidentally open video call exposes their rivals’ plans against both Diane and the new firm. Eli ends the season by asking Alicia to run for State’s Attorney, a possibility she has not yet embraced.