UC Hastings Interview with Scott Turow
Scott Turow, New York Times bestseller and practicing lawyer, visited UC Hastings College of the Law on February 3, 2011 for an engaging interview conducted by UC Hastings Professor and Associate Dean of Research, Evan Lee.
"When I applied to eight law schools in 1975," Turow said, "there was only one I didn't get into." Turow confessed that that school was UC Hastings. He drew a laugh from the audience, setting the tone for the conversation to follow.
Turow reflected on a range of topics, from the creative process to his views on human nature; from his education to his career as an assistant District Attorney and private law practitioner; and from the evolving characters in his books to some of the real people he represented in the tumultuous world of criminal defense law.
"Going to law school was the great break of my literary career," Turow said in reflecting on his choice between going into academia and practicing law. Turow, a Wallace Stegner Fellow in the Stanford Creative Writing Program before enrolling in Harvard Law School, said that one of the most important things he learned at Stanford was not to be afraid to call himself a writer.
On writing, when entering Harvard Law, Turow made a solemn vow to himself. "I would not allow myself to go silent," he said. "Even 20 minutes a day keeps the gears oiled." His commitment led to the writing and publication of One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School. In it, he reflects on the vulnerability and shifting sense of identity as first-year students enter a law school's doors. Over 30 years since its publication, it remains standard reading for students before entering law school.
"The law is about the little bit of human life that people can control," Turow said. He tends to think of the lawyers in his novels as being deep and decent. In writing, as in life, Turow has the view that we all get out of bed and try to be the best we possible can be, and sometimes we fail. "One of the hallmarks of my novels is that no one is a hero all of the time."
"I am deeply grateful for the legacy of Presumed Innocent in my life," Turow said. In 1990, the same year his runaway bestseller was made into a major motion picture, Turow chose to practice law part time and to do more pro bono work. He made a commitment to represent those who needed the help the most.
In one case, he represented Alex Hernandez, who had been wrongfully convicted twice of abducting, raping, and murdering a 10-year-old girl. Hernandez was originally sentenced to death, and then to 80 years in prison after his third trial. In reading the transcripts of Hernandez's trials, Turow didn't believe that an innocent man could be convicted twice. He concluded that "Once you take respect for the law out of the equation, you can convict someone multiple times." Hernandez eventually was freed.
When Dean Lee asked why Turow continues to practice law, Turow said, "the health insurance." More seriously, he added, "I enjoy my involvement in the law in a profound way. I can't explain why. I don't like difficult deadlines. I don't like difficult clients. And I don't like difficult opponents."
Currently, Turow is serving as the president of the Authors Guild, continuing his work at the Chicago law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, and pursuing a new novel about a politician and a decades-old murder. And, at the request of his son, he is considering writing a science fiction novel about an alternative to imprisoning recidivist criminals.
The event was part of Legally Speaking, a series featuring in-depth interviews with prominent lawyers, judges and academics co-produced by UC Hastings College of the Law and California Lawyer.