He is not alone in his addiction.

Lawrence Taylor, known to the crowd in Harkness Commons as "L.T.", takes pride in being the most hard-core "L.A. Law" groupie.

For the last two years Taylor has devotedly arranged the furniture and television in the student center for the "L.A. Law" sessions every Thursday night. "I turn around the couches and make little trails," he solemnly says. Taylor is also in charge of publicizing the trendy Law School bonding event--a job that does not appear to be too difficult.

Since the Law School ritual began several years ago, by 10 p.m. on Thursday nights there is standing room only in Harkness Commons. "I used to get here at nine and you couldn't get a seat," says second-year student Eric S. Goldberg.

"When I told friends of mine at other law schools what we did here, they thought it was weird--I was surprised to find they didn't do the same thing," he adds.

Weird or not, it doesn't appear that the Harvard students' affection for their West Coast role models--however unrealistic they may be--is fading. Thursday nights in Harkness Commons bear that out.

"The Law School closes, in effect," Derman says. "Everything just stops for `L.A. Law.'"