There are several similarities between this episode and the movie The Paper Chase (1973) Kristy's law class is contracts and her Professor is a cranky, surly type, similar to Professor Kingsfield. The professor also refers to a Mr Hart in the class, who is the main character in the movie. The first case is Sullivan v O'Conner - O'Connor was a class member of the movie. Lastly the case discussed in the latter part of the episode was similar to the Carbolic Smoke Ball discussion in the movie