Legendary Trial Lawyer Gerry Spence is a legend among the trial bar as one of the greatest trial lawyers of our times. His civil practice and defense of those charged with crimes has gained him an international reputation for his high profile cases and record results for the poor, the injured and the damned.
Mr. Spence did not lose a civil case from 1969 - 2010, and he has never lost a criminal case. Mr. Spence earned his law degree from the University of Wyoming Law School, graduating cum laude in 1952.
Four Famous Lawyers in History Every Attorney Should KnowJoe Jamail (aka King of Torts) During his time, Joe Jamail was the richest attorney in the United States and some would argue one of the most famous prosecutors to litigate. ... Abraham Lincoln (aka Honest Abe) ... Clarence Darrow. ... Mary Jo White.
93 years (January 8, 1929)Gerry Spence / Age
After winning the Fieger acquittal in 2008, Spence told jurors, "This is my last case. I will be 80 in January, and it's time for me to quit, to put down the sword." In 2010, Spence was still listed as an active partner in the Spence Law Firm, located in Jackson, Wyoming, and continues to make public appearances.
Imaging SpenceGerry Spence / Spouse
Kardashian first announced her decision to become a lawyer in April 2019 and is currently set to take the bar exam this year.
Medical Lawyers typically make the highest yearly salary. This type of lawyer provides their clients with a variety of legal advisement and services related to medical law. This includes the areas of health care law, personal injury, medical malpractice and a variety of other related areas.
Top 10 Highest Paid Lawyers in India (Famous Lawyers)1 – Ram Jethmalani: INR 25 lacs.2 – Kapil Sibal: INR 8-16 lac.3 – Fali Sam Nariman: INR 8-15 lacs.5 -Soli Jehangir Sorabjee: INR 8-15 lacs.6- Kesava Parasaran: INR 8-12 lacs.7- Abhishek Manu Singhvi: INR 6-11 lacs.8- Kottayan Katankot Venugopal: INR 5-7.5 lacs.More items...
(a chemist) and Esther Sophie (a homemaker; maiden name, Pfleeger) Spence; married Anna Wilson, June 20, 1947 (divorced, 1969); married LaNelle Hampton Peterson Hawks (a designer), November 18, 1969; children: (first marriage) Kip, Kerry Spence Suendermann, Kent, Katy; Christopher Peterson Hawks, Brents Jefferson Hawks ...
Gerry Spence is widely recognized as one of the greatest trial lawyers of all time. He has spent his lifetime representing the poor, the injured, the forgotten and the damned against what he calls “the new slave master,†a combine of mammoth corporations and gargantuan government.
Paul ClementPaul Clement argued the most times with 30 total arguments. Neal Katyal was second with 21 arguments. Jeffrey Fisher had the third most with 18 arguments and Kannon Shanmugam had the fourth most with 15 arguments.
During that case, Spence would focus on each juror, unwrap his vulnerabilities and turn the proceedings into a moral drama. "He seemed really committed, that he was on the right side and trying to get justice," says Dorothy Hoffman, 63, who served on Weaver's jury.
And now the $3.1 million settlement the Justice Department paid the family of Randy Weaver -- the white separatist whose wife and son were shot to death by federal agents in a standoff at Ruby Ridge, Idaho -- has put Spence smack in the middle of the news and has fired up his missionary zeal.
Spence answers critics by pointing to the results. "I gave the terrible opening statement that won the trial," he says. The Epiphany
Spence has an enviable record in court, winning virtually every case. Some of those big decisions have been reversed by higher courts, such as the $25 million verdict he won against Penthouse International for libeling a Wyoming beauty queen, or the $10 million he won for the family of Karen Silkwood, who was contaminated by plutonium. Miss Wyoming ended up with nothing from Penthouse, and Silkwood's estate settled with Kerr McGee for a small portion of the actual award.
After law school, Spence and his family settled in Riverton, Wyo., where he set up a successful corporate law practice in a cinder-block building one block off Main Street. Even then, she says, Gerry had an introspective, deeply spiritual side to him.
It became Spence's most difficult case, a complicated financial trial heard before a by-the-book judge and 12 New Yorkers who equate Stetsons with Clint Eastwood movies. The U.S. Justice Department had charged Marcos with stealing millions from the Philippines and secretly investing the money in New York City office buildings.
He shook them with Karen Silkwood. He shook them with Imelda Marcos.
Dr. Jean Pierre Le Mayeur, a French dentist, came to America in 1780 where he worked in New York for British clients. It is said that Le Mayeur was offended by British attitudes about Franco-American relations, and made a run for the other side.
In order to prepare Dr. Le Mayeur’s jacket for display, we revisited some previous conservation treatments.
The Fieger case. Spence still has a way with juries. This summer he won the acquittal of Geoffrey Fieger, the lawyer who represented Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and who was charged with conspiring to donate more than $125,000 to former Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign.
After the Silkwood case, Spence went on to win a string of big-money verdicts, including $52 million against the McDonald's Corp., $46 million against Aetna Insurance Co. and a $26 million libel verdict against Penthouse magazine, when he represented former Miss Wyoming Kimberli Jayne Pring.
Lawyers need to be proud of who they are and what they do, Spence said, and they also have to be "real" and "honest" and better human beings both inside and outside the courtroom.
The jury awarded the Silkwood family more than $10 million on behalf of her children.
The Silkwood case, for example, came to him as "a fluke."
"They changed their name because they were ashamed of being trial lawyers, which is a terrible, terrible thing ," he said.
WILSON - When this country was in its infancy, doctors were applying leeches to various parts of President George Washington's body to treat his medical ailments. A physician withdrew 4 to 5 pounds of Washington's blood for a "treatment" that modern doctors believe probably helped kill him in 1799.
In 2008 in a politically charged case brought by the Justice Department in Michigan against attorney Geoffrey Fieger, Spence won complete acquittals for his client on a ten-count indictment alleging federal campaign contribution violations, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Spence represented Brandon Mayfield, a modest Oregon attorney, against the United States in which Spence was instrumental in obtaining a federal court to hold the Patriot Act unconstitutional. He has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney.
He was honored for law and letters by the American Academy of Achievement. This year the Wyoming State Bar honored Gerry with a 60-year achievement award for his lifetime of service to the people of Wyoming. Spence is the author of eighteen nationally published books, including: O.J.:
He graduated cum laude from the University of Wyoming Law School in 1952, and has spent his lifetime representing the poor, the injured, the forgotten and the damned against what he calls “the new slave master,” a combine of mammoth corporations and gargantuan government.
He has not lost a civil case since 1969.He has had more multi-million dollar verdicts without an intervening loss than any lawyer in America. Spence is the founder of the nationally acclaimed Trial Lawyers College which established a revolutionary method for training lawyers for the people.
In 2008 in a politically charged case brought by the Justice Department in Michigan against attorney Geoffrey Fieger, Spence won complete acquittals for his client on a ten-count indictment alleging federal campaign contribution violations, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Spence represented Brandon Mayfield, a modest Oregon attorney, against the United States in which Spence was instrumental in obtaining a federal court to hold the Patriot Act unconstitutional. He has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney. He has not lost a civil case since 1969.He has had more multi-million dollar verdicts without an intervening loss than any lawyer in America.
Buckskin jackets, often dyed and elaborately detailed, are a staple of western wear and were a brief fad in the 1970s. The American jacket/tunic known as a wamus was originally made ...
Buckskins are often trimmed with a fringe – originally a functional detail, to allow the garment to shed rain, and to dry faster when wet because the fringe acted as a series of wicks to disperse the water – or quills.