Is It Legal?

Is It Legal? is a British television sitcom set in a solicitors office in Hounslow, west London, which ran from 12 September 1995 to 9 December 1998. It was produced by Hartswood Films and was shown on ITV for Series 1–2 and Channel 4 for Series 3. It was written by Simon Nye, who also wrote other ITV sitcoms such as Men Behaving Badly and Hardware. It is based in the ramshakle and chaotic solicitors office of Lotus, Spackman and Phelps; it chronicles the trials, misadventures and miscarriages of justice, as the staff strive through one problem after another. When questioned about the accuracy of the series, Nye responded "don't expect an accurate portrayal of legal work. It's basically about working in an office in a less than exciting part of the world." The premise behind the series was to portray the monotomous atmosphere of office life and the constant workplace tension between the colleagues. Nye later noted "a solicitors' office seemed to be an ideal setting because they have people constantly passing through who are upset or in a state of tension or personal disaster and that's a rich vein of comedy."