L. A. Law : Synopsis, Pictures, Photos, Trivia, Filming Locations

This popular TV drama depicted life in a large Los Angeles law firm. The plots were strongly character-based and dealt with both the personal lives and professional activities of the partners, associates, and staff. Scenes centered around the courtroom and the law offices. Often, an episode would open with a surprising twist, which would then be played out during the rest of the show.

William M. Finkelstein became executive producer of "L.A. Law" shortly after his series "Civil Wars" (1991) was canceled. Finkelstein transferred two "Civil Wars" characters from their New York law firm to "L.A. Law": attorney "Eli Levinson" ('Alan Rosenberg' ) and his secretary, "Denise Ianello" (Debi Mazar).

In the opening title sequence, the car's "L.A. Law" license plate expiration sticker always showed the ending year for a given season (for year one it showed "87" for the 1986-1987 season).

Just like an earlier Steven Bochco series, "Hill Street Blues" (1981) most of the episodes were written to take place over the course of a single day.

In early 1991, a Season 5 episode had two female characters, Abby, played by Michele Greene and the newcomer C.J., played by Amanda Donohoe kissing each other after a really tough case. That was recognized as the first kiss between two women in a prime time series and was considered quite controversial.

Viewers could tell the tone of the episode by the way the show's theme song began: if it began with the saxophone, the episode would have a lighter tone. If it began with the strings, the episode had a dark edge to it.

Series creator Steven Bochco was so taken with the show being parodied on the cover of the October 1987 issue of Mad Magazine that he staged a photo shoot with the show's actors in the exact same positions that their caricatures had appeared on the magazine's cover. Mad Magazine ran the photo in a subsequent issue.

Series co-creator Terry Louise Fisher, former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, former entertainment lawyer for 20th Century Fox, and producer-writer for "Cagney & Lacey" (1982) , composed a form letter she was thinking of sending to lawyers who complained about the show: "Dear So-and-so: If I were a good lawyer, I'd still be practicing law. Instead, I'm stuck in Hollywood, making 10 times as much money. I hope you are as conscientious about your clients as you are about our show. Thank for your writing."

The license plate in the beginning of the opening credits was during the first seven seasons mounted on the rear of a Jaguar, but for the eight and finale season it changed to being mounted on a Bentley Continental R. The Bentley Continental R was mentioned for several of the first episodes of the season when Arnie Becker was thinking of buying one, and finally received one as a gift in episode 3 of the eighth season.

Filming locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

United States Government District Court Building - 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

• Creation date: 2003/07/01 by abdest