okay, i think the pitch to the network was most likely, "it's House, but with lawyers!"

...it works, though, and it helps that the House clone is Jack Bristow - another character you loved to hate.
The flashy C.S.I.-like effects really speed up the pacing and add a bit of excitement to what could be just another show about a law firm.

The whole "Justice" angle they take is brilliant. I've never seen anything like it before, really, at least not to this extent. It calls out the mass media and the 24 hour news cycle, and the agonizing fact that the truth is hardly enough to win your case anymore. With the entire nation watching and scrutinizing every detail of a high profile case these days (otherwise known as "white middle class-or-higher female missing or murdered"), sometimes for months before it ever gets to trial, spin and appearances are far more important than straightforward honesty and integrity. Ron Trott says it best at the end of the show, and in the hundreds of commercials leading up to the premiere, "If you’ve got the right lawyer with you, we’ve got the greatest legal system in the world."

I loved the scene during the jury selection where the consultant tells the story of the divorced right-winger who wants to bash his ex's head in with a golf club - i think because it reminded me of the bits in run, lola, run, where she would bump into someone, then we'd see the rest of their lives played out on polaroids or something. good stuff.

and every episode will end with a flashback of the crime as it actually played out. nice twist.

It's a fairly original show with a decent cast and slick directing. what the story lacked, both the acting and directing made up for... as long as they don't pair this up with House (both those characters might be too much to take in one night), I could see it lasting a few seasons - i also hope it does, which probably doesn't bode well for it.

***Oh, and any show that portrays Nancy Grace (or a reasonable facimile thereof) as the bitter bloodsucking media whore that she is, is aces in my book.