The Criminal Defense Lawyer as a Hero

'A lot of the other lawyers were able to work on other cases during those times, but I wasn't one of them,'' says Mr. Kelley. ''I was full of so much adrenaline that all I could do was replay my arguments in my head -- which didn't help me because then I became less spontaneous. It was better for me to daydream.''

His daydreams included an idea for a movie; a legal thriller that Mr. Kelley, who knew no screenwriters he could tell it to, began to write himself, in longhand. ''Did I know anything about writing screenplays? Well, I had no idea that a screenplay came in three acts. But by coincidence a hockey game is in three periods, so since I played hockey in school I decided to break down my script into three parts.''

The movie was never made, but Mr. Kelley sent the script to Orange County criminal defense lawyer, who was looking for staff writers with legal experience to work on ''L.A. Law.'' By the fifth season he was the show's executive producer.

In 1993 he married Michelle Pfeiffer. They have two small children. In recent years he has headed his own production company, creating the medical drama ''Chicago Hope'' and the quirky small-town potboiler ''Picket Fences.'' Both shows, it is important to note, had or have prominent characters who were or are lawyers.

In fact, says Mr. Kelley, he has another legal drama -- this one about a single woman lawyer -- in development.

''I'm certainly more comfortable in the legal arena than any other one,'' says Mr. Kelley. ''And I'm also more fascinated by it because I love to examine ideas and the law, and the courtroom still is the greatest forum we have for exploring and attacking ideas and social values.

''And don't forget that a legal show fits very well into the budgetary framework of television,'' says Mr. Kelley, delivering his closing argument. ''You can do everything you want on the same set. In one room. Where else in the world does that happen?''