David E. Kelley's 'Law Firm' Turns Court Into Sport

Just when you think the line between reality and reality TV can’t get any fuzzier, it does.

We've all watched as cameras capture people's every waking moment. We've laughed, cried, groaned and fallen asleep on the couch as families swapped wives and mothers, couples got married and gleeful gluttons for punishment lived in huts.

We’ve even seen cameras in courtrooms before, but never like this.

Forget about Judge Judy and Court TV. Big-network shows such as The Jury Room and Law & Order: Crime & Punishment gave us a firsthand, documentary-style look at the intricacies of the American legal system. (And that wasn't all bad.) Now, though, The Law Firm turns court into a game. Real people’s legal conflicts are at the 50-yard line, and the result is a win-at-all-costs struggle—one where defendants and plaintiffs are reduced to the status of pawns and contestants/lawyers give high fives even when justice is diverted.

A Change of Heart
Once upon a time David E. Kelley, the show’s executive producer, had some less-than-flattering things to say about reality TV. When his hit series The Practice was crushed by rival series Joe Millionaire, he called the show “trash” and said, “They celebrate the junk. As long as they can get high ratings, they will do it. Where once they were ashamed of it, now they’ll throw a parade for themselves.”

I guess we’ll call his Law Firm a change of heart, and we’ll wait for the parade after it’s all over. But first, here’s how it started. Two weeks ago on NBC, 12 young lawyers began vying for $250,000 and the title of America’s best young legal professional. Now, every week, they’re handed new cases, and every week at least one of them hears the not-so-original line, “The verdict is in, and you are out.”

Sound familiar, Apprentice fans?

It should—the show is noticeably reminiscent of Donald Trump’s prime-time powerhouse. The model is largely the same, only here attorney Roy Black (he recently represented Rush Limbaugh) calls the shots and citizens facing real-world legal dilemmas tag along for the ratings ride. The series opened with a set of quarrelling neighbors as well as a county coroner impersonating a police officer—and it promises ever more intensity as it gains momentum. One promotional spot features a contestant gasping, “What could be more serious than life and death?” Not much, which begs this question: Why is “life and death” appearing on what basically amounts to a game show?

A Twisted Trail
Of course, it’s not as if this is Kelley’s first offense when it comes to making a joke of the law. The Practice spin-off Boston Legal touted a seriously twisted code of ethics, as did Kelley’s mega-hit Ally McBeal. This time, though, the stakes are raised to the level of real as he turns courtrooms into arenas for full-contact sport in which legal issues are partnered with a side bet of stardom and big bucks. For contestants, that means treading on the thinnest ice the law allows. Even when a defendant fesses up to lying, her legal team presses on, excitedly winning the case. Meanwhile, participants (the folks on trial) are legally bound to honor the verdicts. But no matter. It's like Kelley says, it’s all about ratings, right?

Reality TV can have ratings and standards. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition proves that “real” reality shows can, in fact, wander into our personal lives without leaving a trail of turmoil. But where Home Edition seeks to leave families better off than they were when the show found them, The Law Firm doesn’t seem to care what condition they're in after the verdict's read.

Kelley would do well to listen to the words of one of his own contestants, who said, "They’re not just cases, you know. They’re people.”

ONLINE EDITOR'S NOTE: Two days after this article was first published, NBC announced it was shunting the series to its sister (cable) channel Bravo.