NBC's "Harry's Law" Starring Kathy Bates is a Winner!

As the season premiere opens, Harriet Corn, a Cincinnati patent lawyer is sitting at her desk watching television smoking a cigarette with her feet up on the desk looking very lethargic. She has been a patent attorney forever. Her boss walks in and wants to know why she; the top lawyer and now she is the worst. She tells him she is tired of patent law and bored to death. So he fires her!

As she is walking down the street, a jumper bounces off an awning and lands on top of her. She saved his life by breaking his fall, but then she gets hit by a car driven by Adam Branch another lawyer. She is fortunate to have landed on a mattress that movers were unloading and free again from injury.

She then opens a storefront law office in a previous shoe store that left behind quite a bit of high end stock. Her old secretary, Jenna Backstrom refuses to leave her and the other lawyer who hit her with his car moves in to help her in her endeavor.

The jumper is a black kid named Malcolm a cocaine addict who was caught buying drugs from an undercover agent and this is his third offense. But she feels obligated to help him even though she has not practiced criminal law. He is cleaning up his act and going to college; even though he tried to commit suicide, she is his last chance.

Adam, the young lawyer gets to represent a young thug named Damien who offered protection to their business for a price. Harriet then turned the tables on him and offered him free representation in lieu of protecting their business. This came quickly when he shot a robber at a business he was protecting. The young lawyer gets to represent him, even though he wants "the old lady" to represent him.

In court Harriet uses her wiles to reach "just one" person who can help this kid and when the guilty verdict comes in, the judge sentences him to two years in prison -- suspended sentence, provided he goes to rehab and attends college. So the one person she hoped to reach with her heartwarming testimony was the judge and not one juror.

Adam appears at the arraignment and does a grandstand play to get a plea for Damien and succeeds. He is totally in his element and a great compliment to the warm and motherly Harriet. As the episode ends, Harry tells Adam he can go back to his lofty firm but he tells her that he never had so much fun in his life. He does not belong back there and demands to stay just as three thugs/clients enter who were recommended by Damien. It looks like there will be many more clients to come and a bright future for this feel good program.

Cast:

Harriet Corn ~ Kathy Bates

Adam Branch ~ Nate Corddry

Jenna Backstrom ~ Brittany Snow

Malcolm Davies ~ Ami Ameen