in 1995, oprah winfrey hired mcgraw's legal consulting firm csi to prepare her for the amarillo texas beef trial. winfrey was so impressed with mcgraw that she thanked him for her victory in that case, which ended in 1998. soon after, she invited him to appear on her show. his appearance proved so successful that he began appearing weekly as a "relationship and life strategy expert" on tuesdays starting in april 1998.