Legal Briefs: The Ups and Downs of Life in the Law

(Hardback, New edition)

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In Legal Briefs: The Ups and Downs of Life in the Law, editor Roger Witten takes us behind the scenes of some of the most fascinating court cases of the last few decades, while introducing us to the sometimes strange, and sometimes comical situations these lawyers have experienced during their long careers.

This collection features twenty lawyers of varying backgrounds and expertise writing with pizzazz, humor, and passion about such significant events as the Watergate break-in; the 9/11 Commission; the Iranian hostage crisis, and more. They write of tackling issues concerning money in politics and Citizens United; same-sex parental custody rights; and the contempt charge against Martin Luther King Jr. And we are also treated to intimate portraits of some unique clients and towering figures in the legal world.

This book will delight all readers, not just those with a specific interest in the law. As Roger Witten writes in the introduction, these stories reveal the ups and downs of a life in the law by telling stories that are dramatic, moving, and/or amusing Some are tongue-in-cheek. Others are serious but never dull.

Author Bio

Roger Witten graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. On the suggestion of a law school professor, Archibald Cox, he clerked for Judge Harrison Winter on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. When Cox became the Watergate Special Prosecutor, Judge Winter graciously wrote to Cox recommending that Witten join Coxs staff, which Witten then did. In 1975, Witten joined and later became a partner at Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, now called WilmerHale. He practiced in Washington and New York, focusing on large-scale civil and white-collar criminal matters that typically had international dimensions. He specialized in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters; and was a leading advocate for campaign finance reform for clients that included Senators McCain, Feingold, and van Hollen, Common Cause, Democracy 21, and the Campaign Legal Center. He is now retired from active law practice.