Former E.R. star Julianna Margulies has dedicated her new TV legal eagle role to her grandmother, who was one of New York's first female attorneys. The actress returns to TV as the lead in new drama Canterbury's Law, and admits she couldn't turn the role down.

She says, "I always thought I'd be a lawyer before I discovered acting. My grandmother was one of the first women lawyers of New York State, so for me it was an honor. She graduated NYU Law School in 1924, and when she graduated she couldn't take the bar exam because there was no women's bar association in New York. My grandmother started the Women's Bar Association in the Bronx with a whole bunch of other women... and that's where she practiced."

Margulies reveals she took her TV attorney role very seriously, learning all about the profession from a top federal defense attorney. She adds, "I went down went to Center Street in New York City, and I followed this amazing woman named Deidre Von Dornum. I followed her around for three weeks."

"I sat at defense tables with her. I went into the jails with her. They let me in everywhere. It was amazing how accommodating the judges all were. And she was a firecracker, and she let me pick her brain."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)