Scott Turow to give free lecture

Lawyer and best-selling author Scott Turow will give a free lecture, “Reflections of a Man with Two Heads,” at 5 p.m. Monday, April 9, in Room 1100 of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.

The lecture by Turow, author of “Presumed Innocent,” “The Burden of Proof” and others, is presented by the Legal Studies Program. His latest novella is “Limitations,” a legal mystery featuring George Mason from “Personal Injuries.” Originally serialized in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, the book edition contains original material.

Turow also has written two non-fiction books-“One L” (1977), about his experience as a law student, and “Ultimate Punishment” (2003), a reflection on the death penalty. He has frequently contributed essays and op-ed pieces to publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. Turow’s books have won a number of literary awards, including the Heartland Prize in 2003 for “Reversible Errors” and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award in 2004 for “Ultimate Punishment.” His books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

Turow continues to work as an attorney. He has been a partner in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a national law firm, since 1986, concentrating on white collar criminal defense, while also devoting a substantial part of his time to pro bono matters. In one such case, he represented Alejandro Hernandez in the successful appeal that preceded Hernandez’s release after nearly 12 years in prison – including five on death row – for a murder he did not commit.

Turow was born on April 12, 1949 in Chicago. He graduated with high honors from Amherst College in 1970 and from Harvard Law School with honors in 1978. From 1978 to 1986, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago. He was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Illinois Attorney General William J. Scott, who was convicted of tax fraud.

Turow also was lead government counsel in a number of the trials connected to Operation Greylord, a federal investigation of corruption in the Illinois judiciary.