Gerry Spence - Part 2

From 1969 until his retirement in 2008, legendary trial attorney Gerry Spence never lost a civil case. And in his entire career, as both prosecutor and defense attorney, he only lost one criminal case, and that verdict was reversed on appeal. He began his career as a criminal prosecutor in the Rocky Mountain West, before embarking on a highly lucrative career as a defense attorney. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1996 Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, Spence discusses the life choices that led him from a successful career defending big insurance companies, banks and corporations, to that of a full-time advocate for individual citizens in their struggles with larger entities, whether powerful corporations or the United States government. He first gained national representation representing the family of Karen Silkwood, winning the dead whistle-blower's family a $10.5 million settlement from nuclear power company Kerr-McGee. He later won multi-million dollar settlements from McDonald's and from Penthouse magazine. He also won memorable victories in high-profile criminal cases, winning the acquittal of survivalist Randy Weaver following Weaver's standoff with federal Agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. He told the story of his many courtroom battles in a dramatic memoir, Gunning for Justice.