Inadmissible

The “emotional resonance of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ the Dior-cloaked back-stabbing of ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ combined with the sun-drenched bed-hopping of ‘Entourage’ ” — that’s how TV show creator and executive producer David Hemingson describes “The Deep End,” a television series being shot in Dallas. He says the “saucy, salty” show depicts the trials and travails of first-year lawyers in the winningest firm in the West and explores the “tension between keeping the lights on and doing the right thing,” which Hemingson says informs most businesses and firms. “The Deep End” revolves around nine main characters. There are five associates starting their careers, plus Hart Sterling, an old liberal lion and moral center of the firm who returns after several years away (played by Clancy Brown of “The Shawshank Redemption”); Cliff Huddle, a nefarious managing partner/prince of darkness character (played by Billy Zane of “Titanic”); Susan Oppenhiem, the head of litigation and Huddle’s wife (played by Nicole Ari Parker); and Rowdy Kaiser, a recruiting associate and associate mentor who is a bit of a Han Solo character (played by Tony award winner Norbert Leo Butz). On Sept. 30, production took over The Joule hotel lobby in downtown, with echoes of “rolling, rolling” bouncing off the walls and cameras, microphones, cords, lights and equipment everywhere. So where did Hemingson get the idea for the show? He says he lived it as a young attorney fresh out of Columbia Law School 19 years ago, who was recruited into a small, selective class of associates. In between takes Sept. 30, when the temporary hush on the set lifted to allow conversation, he said the show combines moral quandaries people can relate to with “sexual politics and intrigue.” He plans to shoot six or 13 episodes in Dallas, so the production is here indefinitely. Co-executive producer Garry Brown (of “Prison Break”) says this is a mid-season show, meaning they’re preparing to go on the air in January or February. The show’s five associates, with the actor’s name followed by the character’s name, are: Matt Long as Dylan Hewitt; Ben Lawson as Liam Priory; Leah Pipes as Beth Branford; Tina Majorino as Addy Fisher; and Mechad Brooks as Malcolm Bennet.

They See London, They See France

W. Mark Lanier of Houston’s The Lanier Law Firm says he is starting a joint venture with Lisa Blue , a partner in Dallas’ Baron and Blue and the widow of the late Fred Baron . Lanier says he and Blue are pursuing international arbitration work and offering to handle the matters on a contingent-fee basis. “He is just one of the most remarkable trial lawyers I know, so I am so excited to be working with him,” says Blue about Lanier. Already, Lanier and Blue are co-counsel. They represent Southern Methodist University and some of its officials in real estate litigation. That litigation is related to the university’s acquisition of land that plaintiffs allege the school once earmarked as the location for the planned George W. Bush Presidential Library. Lanier says SMU officials first contacted Blue to handle that case and she invited him to join her. Subsequently, Lanier says, Blue and he began discussing handling international arbitration matters together, specifically in Paris and London, on a contingent-fee basis. Lanier says often large Texas firms want to avoid a particular arbitration matter to steer clear of a potential conflict but they don’t want to lose a corporate client’s other business. Under those circumstances, Lanier says, he and Blue believe those firms may turn to his and Blue’s plaintiff-oriented firms to handle the arbitrations on a contingent-fee basis. Blue — who speaks French, Italian and Spanish, all of which will come in handy when arbitrating on the Continent — says she views the new joint venture with Lanier as a win-win situation for them and the firms whose clients they’ll represent. She says she loves contingent-fee work (and wouldn’t pursue any other type), and the big firms are often adverse to such arrangements.

The Ordeal Is Over