Rating: 
Summary: Great, but lawyers should see Comon Sense Rules of Advocacy
Review: Some good lessons in Spence's book, but learn how YOU can be a more effective courtroom advocate with "Common Sense Rules of Advocacy for Lawyers" by Keith Evans, which is also a wonderful book for 3Ls and new lawyers who want to learn how to be effective advocates. However, Common Sense Rules of Advocacy is NOT a book for litigators, but for advocates.What others have said about Evans book: "Valuable review for the old timers and an excellent primer for those who are starting the climb."
-- Jacob A. Stein, Stein, Mitchell & Mezines, Washington, DC "Superb how-to book ...that is refreshingly readable."
-- Karl Tegland, author, "Courtroom Handbook on Washington Evidence" "A wonderful 'Bible' for the trial lawyer who wants to win. If only we had had this in law school!"
-- Browne Greene, Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, Santa Monica, CA "Even the most experienced trial lawyer can pick up some new techniques here."
-- Frederick C. Moss, Professor, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University "Valuable insights and practical lessons for anyone who advocates for a living."
-- Steve Clymer, J.D., mediator, arbitrator, and facilitator with ACCORD Dispute Resolution Services, Inc. "Remarkable compendium of useful advice."
-- Roxanne Barton Conlin, Roxanne Conlin & Associates, Des Moines, IA (first woman President of Association of Trial Lawyers of America) "Great introduction for the new lawyer and a wonderful learning tool for the advocate with experience."
-- Sherman L. Cohn, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center (first national President of American Inns of Court) "Terrific guidebook."
-- Philip H. Corboy, Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago, IL You can see more testimonials and more information about Evans' book at RulesOfAdvocacy.com. Or search Amazon for ISBN 1587330059.
Rating: 
Summary: A Peek At What's Inside The Man and Attorney
Review: Telling expose of what he sifts out of his life story. Indicative of his legal approach is the life changing backgournd of this interesting, now national figure. The road to where he is today of dealing with individuals who contend against big biz and government find their roots in this Wyoming bred and based defense attorney. Haunting him is the tragedy of his young mom committing suicide at the tender age of 20. Time sure doesn't heal any wounds, just kind of glazes them over. Revealing his comments with grandma about the unanswered prayer for a bicycle. He asks basic questions, and gets to the core of issues quick. No wonder he's so sought after as trial lawyers are these days.
Rating:
Summary: A Peek At What's Inside The Man and Attorney
Review: Telling expose of what he sifts out of his life story. Indicative of his legal approach is the life changing backgournd of this interesting, now national figure. The road to where he is today of dealing with individuals who contend against big biz and government find their roots in this Wyoming bred and based defense attorney. Haunting him is the tragedy of his young mom committing suicide at the tender age of 20. Time sure doesn't heal any wounds, just kind of glazes them over. Revealing his comments with grandma about the unanswered prayer for a bicycle. He asks basic questions, and gets to the core of issues quick. No wonder he's so sought after as trial lawyers are these days.
Rating: 
Summary: Excruciating
Review: This book relates the details of the life of Gerry Spence, a well-known trial lawyer. From his earliest days of life through the beginnings of his second marriage, Spence reveals to us what his life was like, who his influences were, and how he reacted. The driving focus of the book is Spence's mother, who took her own life when he was a young man. At the time of her death, she and Spence had had a falling out, and Spence sees much of the rest of his life as trying to make peace with her. At the end of this book, some of Spence's famous cases and clients are mentioned in an epilogue; however, these topics are not discussed in the memoir section at all.
As an outsider to Spence's family, this book was extremely hard to get through. Some of the details of his early life in rural Wyoming were quite interesting, and he certainly reveals some of his character as he variously compares arguing in the courtroom to wild game hunting or playing poker. The stories of his first marriage and its breakup, and how he took up with another woman are not exactly things to be proud of, and I'm not sure his family would really want to see these details published. When his marriage was on the rocks, he decided to sell his family's home in Wyoming together with all their possessions and start life anew in Mill Valley, California. Within a month, though, he abandoned his family in Mill Valley, where they were far from relatives, friends or any other people who might provide emotional support, to go back to his mistress in Wyoming. I couldn't help thinking about Judith Wallerstein's book about children of divorce ("Second Chances") when I read this section. For her studies, she chose families facing divorce in the early 1970s living in a town in California. Was it Mill Valley where she did her studies? Did she include the four Spence children in her work? Was it the Spence children whose standard of living took a drastic nosedive when their father moved in with someone else? But it was the woe begotten prose addressed to Spence's mother that was the most difficult part of this book to get through. I had hoped to develop some sympathy for lawyers, or at least for this one, or maybe even learn something about growing up in the West during the Depression by reading this book. Instead, after reading this book, I find myself repelled even by the thought of reading any more memoirs by lawyers.
Rating:
Summary: A SELECTIVE CHRONOLOGY, BUT A GREAT BOOK NONETHELESS...
Review: This is the 400 page story of one of America's most intriguing and venerable attorneys. Starting with the stormy night he was born, Gerry Spence chronicles his childhood, oftentimes in great detail. The pain and the joy, the bittersweet achievements and the enlightening failures Spence faced during the first 30 years of his life occupy the first two thirds of the book. The pace quickens as Spence reveals the next 20 years in the remaining hundred pages. Don't look for too much recapitulation of his landmark trials in this book. Partly because they are chronicled in separate texts, and partly because the "trials didn't make the man," Spence mentions his early trials only in passing. In an "About the Author" page, the Karen Silkwood, Penthouse, U.S. Steel, Aetna Insurance, Imelda Marcos, and Randy Weaver cases are given a cursory mention
Rating: 
Summary: Too much
Review: This was too much Spence for me. Having met an investigator who worked for Spence and saw the man behind the fringe, I must say that his public persona and actual self seem to differ substantially. After learning some of the information that will never be written -- at least not by Spence -- I lost much of my desire to read his crafted memoir.
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