<Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> Various (1999--2000) Tracey Kibre (Homicide Bureau Chief ADA) Kim Greylek ("Lead") Gillian Hardwicke and Sherri West ("Scorched Earth") (SVU) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Succeeded by </Th> <Td> Casey Novak ("Serendipity") (SVU) Christine Danielson (Homicide Bureau Chief ADA) Jo Marlowe ("Torch") (SVU) Rafael Barba ("Twenty - Five Acts") (SVU) </Td> </Tr> <P> Alexandra "Alex" Cabot is a fictional character within the Law & Order universe portrayed by Stephanie March . She is a primary character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Conviction . </P> <P> Cabot first appears in the SVU episode "Wrong Is Right", when she is hired to work with SVU as their permanent assistant district attorney (ADA) overseeing the legality of its arrests, following a rotating mix of ADAs (among them Abbie Carmichael of the original Law & Order). She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and has an "uncle Bill" who is a federal judge . While Cabot empathizes with the sexual assault victims with whom she deals, her strict code of legal ethics often forces her to make harsh decisions and judgments that go against her personal feelings . Her moral strictness has garnered her respect within the SVU squad . </P>

Who plays alexandra cabot on law and order svu