Willam Daniels make his first appearance on the show as Judge Brody. His real life wife, Bonnie Bartlett, also appears on the show in Season 2, episode 18 "Shock and Oww!".
In the matter of Rhodes vs. AB Curtis Tobacco Company, on the count of wrongful death, the jury found in favor of the Plaintiff. The defendant was ordered to pay compensatory damages in the amount of $600,000, and punitive damages in the amount of $213 million. The defense immediately appealed, of course, but it was still a huge win. Big Tobacco initially offered a settlement of only $140,000.
Alan Shore's closing rant on tobacco companies was somewhat ironic, since at that point James Spader was still a smoker.