Just Legal

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Just Legal

Jay Baruchel as Skip Ross and Don Johnson as Grant Cooper
Genre Courtroom drama
Creator(s) Jerry Bruckheimer
Starring Don Johnson
Jay Baruchel
Jaime Lee Kirchner
Susan Ward
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 8
Production
Running time 60 min.
Broadcast
Original channel The WB
Original run September 19, 2005 – September 10, 2006
Links

Just Legal was a short-lived television courtroom drama that premiered on The WB on September 19, 2005.

Contents

[edit] Actors

[edit] Synopsis

Just Legal, starring Don Johnson and Jay Baruchel, is, according to critical reviews, a drama about two "amusingly mismatched lawyers"[1] that "comes at you unassumingly."[2] David "Skip" Ross (Baruchel), 19, is a legal genius who graduated from law school at the top of his class, but now can find no one to hire him. Enter Grant Cooper, a washed-up middle-aged lawyer who has made one too many bad choices in his career, leaving him a jaded court-appointed attorney, rejected by his peers. Skip is Grant's golf caddy, and he convinces him just to let him write a legal brief for him; but when they arrive at the courthouse, Grant is told he needs a "second chair" (an attorney to sit at the second seat at counsel's table), and he gives them the only one he has: Skip Ross. Grant has no intention of actually bringing Skip into his practice, but his charm, enthusiasm, intelligence, and most of all, ability to actually win a case, win him over.

There are a variety of cases featured on the show, from murder cases to botched plastic surgery. Many of the storylines are based on real-life cases. Grant and Skip do all their own "dirty work" for their cases, going to crime scenes and interviewing witnesses, as Grant teaches Skip more about what it means to be a “real lawyer” and Skip teaches Grant more about what it means to trust in people.

The series is set in Venice and neighboring Santa Monica, California.

[edit] Character biographies

[edit] Grant H. Cooper

A functioning alcoholic with a cynical view of the world, Cooper is nonetheless touched by the enthusiasm and idealism he sees in his unlikely new protégé. Skip's brilliant mind allowed him to excel at all things academic, but he had a sheltered upbringing and now finds himself in the working world with very few social skills to fall back on. Skip desperately needs the practical advice that can only come from an experienced trial lawyer, and Cooper is only too happy to have someone around to do the “grunt” work. As he helps the young man make the transition from school and boyhood to the tough world of court and manhood, Cooper is reminded of the best part of himself - the part that got lost along the way.

Cooper repeatedly prides himself with being "jaded" after 27 years on the job. After refusing to agree to a plea bargain for one of his clients (several years before the series begins), he lost the case and that client was put to death by lethal injection, which for Cooper was the beginning of his downward spiral. From then on, he was forced to make a living as a small-time ambulance chaser, and has no problem admitting to it.

[edit] Dulcinea "Dee" Real

The law office has only one employee, Dulcinea "Dee" Real (Jaime Lee Kirchner), a former client of Cooper's who took the job to pay off her legal fees and fulfill her parole requirements. An African-American in her mid-twenties, Dee is tough, blue collar and strikingly beautiful; a woman who looks amazing in jeans, a t-shirt and an electronic ankle bracelet. Her crime was murder and although Cooper managed to get the charge reduced to manslaughter, he wasn't able to keep her out of jail. Though he won't admit it, Cooper feels guilty that Dee ended up serving time. Smart, capable and completely immune to Cooper's charm, Dee can hold her own against Cooper and Skip, and she often manages to intimidate them both.

[edit] David "Skip" Ross

David Ross is nicknamed "Skip" by his peers, not because he skipped classes, but rather because he skipped so many grades through his young life. At the age of 18, he is already a lawyer and a member of the California Bar Association, having graduated first in his class. His ambition is to become the best trial lawyer ever, originally inspired by one of his favorite movies, To Kill a Mockingbird. Unfortunately for him, no downtown law firm is willing to hiring him because of his age, except for his pal, Grant Cooper.

His young age is also hard on him because it's difficult for him to find a place to rent, since no one will believe him that he is an actual lawyer. With Grant's help, Skip learns the inner workings of the legal system and the "do"s and "don't"s about courtroom law. Unlike Cooper, Skip is an optimist and looks at everything in a positive way.

Skip can't escape the fact this his college friend, Kate Manat (guest star Susan Ward) has been hired by one of the downtown law firms and is often on the opposite side of the courtroom, a situation made more awkward by the fact that he is attracted to her.

[edit] Tom Ross

Tom Ross (guest star Reiley McClendon) is Skip Ross's little brother. He's cool, calm, suave, and a likable guy. Unfortunately for him, he isn't as smart as his older brother, since he has failed 10th grade. He also can't seem to understand why Skip is such a workaholic and why his brother doesn't have much of a social life. Tom also enjoys hanging out at his brother's apartment, even though Skip doesn't approve of it.

[edit] Episodes

# Name Air date Code
1 "Pilot" September 19, 2005 100
2 "The Runner" September 26, 2005 101
3 "The Limit" October 3, 2005 102
4 "The Body in the Trunk" August 13, 2006 103
5 "The Heater" August 20, 2006 104
6 "The Rainmaker" August 27, 2006 105
7 "The Code" September 3, 2006 106
8 "The Bar" September 10, 2006 107

[edit] Cancelation and reairing

The series was canceled in October 2005 after only three episodes of the show aired. On Sunday, August 6, 2006 at 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time/6:00 pm CST, it returned to The WB with the pilot reairing on August 6, followed by 5 unaired episodes on subsequent Sundays.

[edit] Trivia

  • Don Johnson's character, Grant Cooper, is much like his role of Det. Sonny Crockett of Miami Vice, in that both of them are cynical, jaded men of the law who do know right from wrong but are willing to stand up against the powers that be if necessary.
  • In the episode "The Heater," Grant Cooper says, "I used to live on a boat." This is a subtle reference to his days on Miami Vice, where he played Det. Sonny Crockett who lived on the boat St. Vitus Dance.
  • Cooper was also the surname of his partner Rico Tubbs's alias on Miami Vice ("Rico Cooper").
  • Names like Nancy Grace, Mark Geragos, Johnnie Cochran, and Greta Van Susteren have been mentioned in the show.
  • Famous modern day courtroom cases such as Scott Peterson and Robert Blake have been mentioned.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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