Boston Legal is a dramedy about a Boston law firm, known as Crane, Poole & Schmidt, that aired for four years on ABC. Boson Legal is a spin-off of David E. Kelly's other legal drama, The Practice. Both shows followed the personal and professional lives of the lawyers who worked at the different law firms. Boston Legal centered around the Crane, Poole & Schmidt law firm that focuses on civil cases.

The final episode of The Practice saw Alan Shore fired from the law firm Young, Frutt & Berluti. Due to his small severance package, and thinking he had a legal right to take over Young, Frutt & Berluti, Shore hires Denny Crane from Crane, Poole & Schmidt to represent his case. After the jury awarded Shore a large monetary amount but found that the law firm does not have to hire him back, Denny Crane offers Shore a position with his law firm. This final episode led into Boston Legal's series about an eccentric lawyer, Alan Shore, who wins cases using questionable methods.

The pilot episode featured James Spader, Rhona Mitra, Lake Bell, Mark Valley, Larry Miller, John Michael Higgins, and William Shatner. Candice Bergen later joined the cast as Shirley Schmidt after the showed aired for one month. Boston Legal ran for five seasons, cutting the fifth season short with only 13 episodes. The show began running on syndication before the series ended in December 2008.

Boston Legal has won a Golden Globe, 12 other awards, and has 47 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Comedy Series.