Laying Down The <i>Family Law</i>

This week CBS This Morning is giving viewers a sneak peek at some new shows in the fall CBS lineup.

In Family Law, four attorneys join forces to survive in their dog-eat-dog world.

"We're going to do all the wrong things," says Kathleen Quinlan, one of the series' stars. "We're not going to be very politically correct, and people are going to get up and get upset with us."

Quinlan plays an attorney specializing in marital law, scrambling to put her life and law firm back together after her husband walks out with most of their practice in tow.

Her partners are played by Julie Warner, Christopher McDonald, and sitcom veteran Dixie Carter, who starred for several seasons on the sitcom Designing Women.

About her character, Carter says, "She's always going to be something of a mystery. She's going to be funny and dangerous, heaven knows."

Adds co-star McDonald, "You don't mess with her. She's like, zoom! Right for the jugular."

"Dixie's, like, an embarrassment, basically," says Warner. "That's what my character feels. You can't have this woman!"

While the caseload is colorful, these legal eagles mix like oil and water, and Carter's character is the butt of most of their jokes.

"She's just got to put up with it," explains Carter. "Growing old is not for sissies. That's what Bette Davis said."

The irony of Family Law is that these lawyers will be counseling people while their own lives are occasionally in chaos.