"Richard Zitrin is a great storyteller, and this book is filled with wonderful accounts of many of the fascinating cases that he has handled as a lawyer. At the same time, Zitrin is raising profoundly important questions about the ethical duties of a lawyer and how to achieve justice. Zitrin gives a real sense of what it is to litigate cases, but also what it means to practice law with passion and compassion."
-Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean & Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley
"I don't think I can adequately describe how absorbed I was in reading what Richard wrote. Richard put into words not only what was happening and what we did, but more importantly provided a real living context that seems to be disappearing in everyday life."
-Johnny Spain of the San Quentin Six
"Richard Zitrin has written a powerful, moving and deeply human memoir, replete with gripping, heartbreaking and inspiring stories, about his life as a criminal defense attorney and the people he has represented. The institutionalized inequities of the legal system, especially as they relate to race and the treatment of Black people, are vividly laid bare, as are Zitrin's noble attempts to confront them. Zitrin offers a timely example of what it truly means to be antiracist, and how this by necessity entails personal risk, ethical grounding, and an unswerving commitment to justice."
-Chad Williams, Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies, Brandeis University
"Richard Zitrin is a great lawyer because he is a great storyteller. These are his best stories. They are compelling not only because they are true but also thanks to the behind-the-scenes details which bring to life what an advocate must do for his cause and his client. Any lawyer or law student would benefit from this book. Anyone interested in law and justice will enjoy it too. Zitrin has brought the law to life."
-Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College, City University of New York, and the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White
"Richard Zitrin's book should be read by every lawyer, everyone who wants to be a lawyer, and anybody who wants to understand why lawyers do what they do."
-Steven Lubet, Professor & Director, Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
