Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith) is a Georgia bred, Harvard educated defense attorney. His fee is $250,000 but he's worth every cent of it as he defends his clients not only in Atlanta but all over the country. He is cantankerous and gruff and often uses colorful language, but beneath it all he has a heart of gold. He is assisted in his work by his daughters Charlene (Linda Purl) and Leanne (Brynn Thayer) who are also both attorneys and his investigators Tyler Hudson (Kene Holliday), Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard, Jr.) and Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck), who happens to be the son of Ben's boyhood friend/rival Billy Lewis (Warren Frost), along with an intern named Cassie Phillips (Kari Lizer), Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford), and Jerri Stone (Carol Huston). Ben's lady-friend is associate D.A. Julie March (Julie Sommars) and his contacts on the Atlanta police are Lt. Bob Brooks (David Froman) and Lt. Frank Daniels (James McEachin).