If we tally the number of characters seen, heard or referenced across every Law & Order series combined, there could be as many as 33,000 fictional figures in this unparalleled TV universe (via The Flerlage Twins). No other small-screen story world of its kind could even come close to this total.

To narrow down the thousands of law enforcers and legal professionals across the franchise into a list of its 20 best characters is an almost impossible task. Law & Order’s best partner pairings come up to more than this number, without dividing each of them into two. Nevertheless, this TV universe features some particularly exceptional figures it just couldn’t do without.

20 Mike Logan

Played By Chris Noth

Among the most complex characters in the franchise, Mike Logan might be a notorious womanizer with a penchant for aggressive outbursts, but he’s also a deeply sensitive soul defined by his past trauma. Chris Noth’s Law & Order exit after a fallout with Dick Wolf was a sad moment for fans, but his 1998 feature-length return was worthy recompense.

19 Ben Stone

Played By Michael Moriarty

18 Elizabeth Rodgers

Played By Leslie Hendrix

One of TV’s best medical examiners, Elizabeth Rodgers pioneered depictions of the profession on the small screen, showing us a different side to law enforcement that we don’t usually get to see. More than the specifics of her work, though, Rodgers stood out for her dry sense of humor, and frequent clashes with the detectives in the series.

17 Paul Robinette

Played By Richard Brooks

16 Dominick Carisi, Jr.

Played By Peter Scanavino

One of the few characters in the franchise to have made the transition from law-enforcer to courtroom advocate, Dominick Carisi, Jr. ends up as an outstanding ADA in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, having started out as a straight-up New York cop from the streets of Staten Island. His transformation embodies exactly what makes the Law & Order shows so special.

15 Adam Schiff

Played By Steven Hill

So many of Law & Order’s best episodes revolve around Executive Assistant District Attorney Adam Schiff, whose rare ability to understand the salient points on which a legal case hinges was unrivaled throughout his time in the series. What’s more, Schiff’s legendary one-liners and no-nonsense persona rightly made him a firm fan-favorite.

14 John Munch

Played By Richard Belzer

13 Abbie Carmichael

Played By Angie Harmon

With Angie Harmon’s return to Law & Order still on the cards, many fans would love to see Abbie Carmichael back at the bar. While her time in the franchise was relatively short-lived, she more than made her mark. Carmichael was absolutely box-office in the courtroom, and her profound moral disagreements with Jack McCoy frequently brought out the best in him.

12 Ed Green

Played By Jesse L. Martin

11 Casey Novak

Played By Diane Neal

By the time Casey Novak departed Law & Order: SVU, she’d taken viewers on a journey far beyond her guarded exterior and unbeatable winning record in the courtroom. Her character growth represented an especially human aspect of the show, and gave us an insight into the psychological compartmentalization required to be a top prosecutor.