''Storefront Lawyers'' (also known as ''Men at Law'') is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

that ran from September 1970 to January 1971 and February 1971 to March 1971 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. The series starred Robert Foxworth,

Sheila Larken Sheila Larken (born February 24, 1944) is an American television actress, best known for playing the role of Margaret Scully, the mother of Dana Scully, on ''The X-Files''. Early life and career Larken was born in Brooklyn, New York City and ha ...

, David Arkin, and

A Martinez Adolfo Larrue Martínez III (born September 27, 1948) is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap operas '' Santa Barbara'', ''General Hospital'', ''One Life to Live'', ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', and ''Days of Our Lives' ...

Plot

David Hansen (Foxworth) is a big-shot lawyer who grew tired of his important and expensive

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

Horton, Troy, McNeil, & Caroll. Hansen left his job to start a non-profit firm called ''Neighborhood Legal Services'' based in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His associates were Deborah Sullivan (Larken) and Gabriel Kay (Arkin). Roberto (Martinez) is a law student who worked for them as a clerk. After 13 weeks, ''CBS'' decided to take the series in a different direction so that the lawyers could take on rich clients as well. The network retitled the series as ''Men at Law'' as the three protagonists went back to work for their former law firm.

Cast

Main

* Robert Foxworth as David Hansen *

as Deborah Sullivan * David Arkin as Gabriel Kaye *

as Roberto Alvarez

Recurring

* Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Devlin McNeil

Episodes

Reception

Critical response

In the book, ''The Cultural Lives of Cause Lawyers'' edited by

Austin Sarat Austin Sarat (born November 2, 1947) is an American political scientist who is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is also a Five College Fortieth Anniversary ...

and Stuart Scheingold, "The ''Storefront Lawyers'' featured two men and one woman, all WASPS, but the presence of a woman was a departure at the time when women still constituted less than five percent of the profession." "The ''Storefront Lawyers'' emphasizes that passivity, suggesting lawyers do nothing unless called upon. Given anxiety over lawyers trolling for clients, this portrayal suggests there is nothing to worry about. From the viewer's perspective such things simply do not happen." In his ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' interview, critic Richard Burgheim lumped the new CBS legal series together with another of the network's bids at "revelvance," noting "''The Storefront Lawyers'' (CBS) and '' The Interns'' (CBS) both exploit ''

Mod Squad Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

''s multihero angle, but neither one is genuinely mod or engrossing."

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0065347, Storefront Lawyers 1970 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings American legal drama television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles