Lukas Reiter is an American television executive and former lawyer. As a law student he was a

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

competitor, and he later became the writer for ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

''. He has also written for television shows such as ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'', '' Close to Home'', ''

Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

'' and '' The Forgotten''. He has also served as a producer for shows such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', and '' The Firm''.

Early law career

Reiter was a

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

of the

Temple University Beasley School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the law school of Temple University, a public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 650 students. Student body Admission for the ...

and is a

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

alumnus with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in speech. He won the

championship at the 1995 National Trial Competition with Robert E. Kelly. He won the George A. Spiegelberg Award for Best Oral Advocate at the 1995

American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tri ...

National Trial Competition. Reiter felt he would become a

trial lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

. After obtaining his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, he became an

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...

Queens County, New York Queens is the largest by area of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn and by Nassau County ...

for the Homicide Investigations Bureau. He worked under Richard Brown.

Television executive career

Reiter's first script, which was about his professional experiences up to that date caught the attention of

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency, LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous client ...

agent Peter Micelli, who has continued to be his agent. He first became a writer for David E. Kelley on ''

'' and later for ''

'', serving both as supervising producer. In 2002, Reiter was nominated for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

in the Best Television Episode category for ''The Practice'' "Killing Time" episode (September 30, 2001) in which he co-wrote the teleplay with Teleplay by Jonathan Shapiro, Peter Blake & David E. Kelley. That year, he won a

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

when ''The Practice'' "Honor Code" episode (November 18, 2001) which he co-wrote with Kelly tied with

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

's " Two Cathedrals" episode of ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

''. Having been a fan of both the movie version and the book of ''The Firm'', Reiter sought out their creator,

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...

, to explain his own curiosity about what happened to the characters beyond the endings of those parts of the franchise. Later, Reiter worked with Jerry Bruckheimer on the series '' The Forgotten'' and '' Close to Home'' and then served as an executive producer for '' The Firm''. Reiter was the creator for ''The Firm''. In 2013, Reiter joined the writing staff of '' NBC's The Blacklist'', serving as a Consulting Producer, and later as a Co-Executive Producer in the show's first season, and eventually rising to the role of Executive Producer through the show's first seven seasons.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiter, Lukas Living people American lawyers Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni American television producers American television writers American male television writers Year of birth missing (living people)