Hilary Duff joins NBC legal sitcom

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Singer/actress Hilary Duff is attached to play a young lawyer in an NBC sitcom that might be described as a legal version of "Doogie Howser, M.D."

The network has ordered a script for "Barely Legal," a comedy based on the true story of Kathleen Holtz, who in 2007 passed the notoriously difficult California bar at age 18 to become the state's youngest lawyer.

Duff, 21, who rose to fame in Disney Channel's "Lizzie McGuire" and released two chart-topping albums, joined the project as part of a production deal between NBC and producer Universal Media Studios.

"Barely Legal" hails from actor Rob Morrow ("Numb3rs"), who will serve as executive producer, and scribe Elisa Bell ("Little Black Book").

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter