Newark – This evening Seton Hall Law hosted a screening of Raising the Bar, the new TNT series co-created by 10-time Emmy Award-winning producer, Steven Bochco, and Seton Hall Law Professor David Feige.

Raising the Bar is based on Indefensible, Professor Feige’s 2006 book about his experience as a public defender in New York City’s South Bronx. Mark-Paul Gosselaar stars in the show, playing Professor Feige’s alter-ego, public defender Jerry Kellerman. Tonight he joined Professor Feige for a spirited question-and-answer session among students and faculty.

When asked about what he learned during his first stint as a television screenwriter, Professor Feige shared the advice Steven Bochco: “As a public defender my job was to see what would best serve my client, and in my world, there was only one right side. Steven Bochco showed me that there is no drama if we can’t portray both sides of a story and convey their nuances and conflicting points of view, which is what we attempt to do on the show”

Mr. Gosselaar, who starred in the television situation comedy, Saved by the Bell, described how he learned to emulate the life and attitudes of an officer of the court. “I’ve watched enough TV shows about the law to have my own conceptions of how a lawyer or, more to the point, how a public defender should behave. But once I read David Feige’s book I gained a deeper sense of what the real struggles are, and how I should portray them as Jerry Kellerman.”

Professor Feige helped Mr. Gosselaar prepare for his role in Raising the Bar by giving him a week-long immersion in the life of a public defender at Professor Feige’s old office at the Bronx Defenders. Mr. Gosselaar likened his experience to his preparation for a previous role on NYPD Blue, during which he rode in patrol cars with the Los Angeles Police Department and participated in arrests. “I’d be sitting in the front seat of the van and I’d hear someone in the back say, “Dude, was I just arrested by Zack Morris?”

Raising the Bar will premiere on Monday September 1 at 9 pm on TNT.
 

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The only private law school in New Jersey, Seton Hall University School of Law was founded in 1951, and is located in the city of Newark. Seton Hall Law School offers both day and evening programs leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Master of Science in Jurisprudence (M.S.J.) degrees. For more information on Seton Hall Law School, visit law.shu.edu.