RENE AUBERJONOIS JOINS THE CAST OF ABC'S "BOSTON LEGAL"

Tony Award-winning stage and screen actor Rene Auberjonois, whose career spans from Broadway's "City of Angels" and "Big River" to the feature films "The Patriot" and "Inspector Gadget," has joined the cast of "Boston Legal," transitioning from his guest-starring role to a series regular.

Auberjonois, who was nominated for an Emmy for his guest-starring role on David E. Kelley's "The Practice," plays Paul Lewiston, the straight-laced partner of Crane, Poole and Schmidt, who is the counterpart to Denny Crane's somewhat less predictable management style. He is the only partner at the firm who can actually speak the truth to Denny Crane, regardless of what the truth may be.

Alan Shore and Denny Crane, played by Emmy Award winners James Spader and William Shatner, lead a brigade of high-priced civil litigators in an upscale Boston law firm in this series focusing on the professional and personal lives of brilliant but often emotionally challenged attorneys. Fast-paced and darkly comedic, the series confronts social and moral issues and the pursuit of happiness and money, with varying degrees of priority. "Boston Legal," which recently received a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite New TV Drama, airs on Sundays (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Boston Legal" stars James Spader as Alan Shore, Monica Potter as Lori Colson, Mark Valley as Brad Chase, Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson, Lake Bell as Sally Heep and William Shatner as Denny Crane.

"Boston Legal" was created by David E. Kelley. Kelley, Bill D'Elia, Scott Kaufer and Jeff Rake are executive producers. The series is produced by David E. Kelley Productions in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television.