One Man"s Justice: A Life in the Law

Price 28.03 USD

EAN/UPC/ISBN Code 9781550549195


A rare and fortunate few among lawyers fundamentally transform the application of justice within the law. In his legal life spanning more than four decades, Tom Bergerís cases have broken new ground and created new openings for laws to be applied in a more sane and humane fashion. In the twelve major cases featured in this compelling book, "justice" was won not just for the benefit of Bergerís clients but for everyone. Berger may be best known for his championing of aboriginal rights, but he has made a comparable impact upon a panoply of other causes, often representing those whose rights are ignored or neglected by the status quo. Berger writes passionately of the points of law and underlying principles upon which his cases turned. Excerpts of dramatic courtroom give-and-take and accounts of behind-the-scenes legal strategizing bring Bergerís adventures in the law to vivid life. Rich characters people his recollections, from an aging judge brashly displaying his anti-union sentiments to clients poignantly trying to reclaim some sense of dignity in lives that have been trampled by the machinations of the legal system. Whether recounting his early days as a lawyer representing drug addicts and prostitutes, his mid-career stint as a judge cut short by his outspoken stand on a point of principle, or his later career as lead counsel to a team of advocates committed to social equity, Bergerís book makes clear the impact one manís justice can make upon us all.