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University of Wyoming

Gerald L. Spence

◊ Attorney, author


Wyoming Connections


Spence has received the UW College of Law Distinguished Alumni Award, the College of Arts and Sciences Exemplary Alumni Award (1993), and the UW Distinguished Alumni Award (2000). The University of Wyoming awarded him with an honorary doctorate in 1990.

Hometown:
Laramie, Wyoming

College:
Arts and Sciences; Law

Degree:
B.A. English (1951)
J.D. Law (1952)
H.D. (1990)

Famed attorney Gerald "Gerry" Spence, a 1952 graduate of UW's College of Law, started his career in 1954 as county and prosecuting attorney in Fremont County, Wyoming, a position he held until 1962. His bar certifications include Wyoming in 1952, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1952, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982. He was a partner in various law firms in Riverton and Casper, Wyoming, between 1962 and 1978. He has lectured at law schools and conducted seminars at legal organizations around the nation. He hosted The Gerry Spence Show on cable network CNBC from 1995 until 1996. He served as a legal commentator during the O.J. Simpson trial and has appeared often on Larry King Live.

Spence is recognized nationwide for his powerful courtroom victories, including that for the estate of Karen Silkwood against Kerr-McGee and those for the defenses of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos and white separatist Randy Weaver.

Spence is a member of the Wyoming State Bar, the American Bar Association, the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He has written seventeen books, including How to Argue and Win Every Time, 1995; A Boy's Summer, 2000; Gerry Spence's Wyoming: The Landscapes, 2000; Half Moon and Empty Stars, 2001; Seven Simple Steps to Personal Freedom, 2001; The Smoking Gun, 2003; and Win Your Case, 2005.


Spence founded and is director of the nonprofit Trial Lawyers College and founder of the nonprofit public-interest law firm Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming (LAW). He is a former senior partner in law firms such as Spence, Moriarity & Schuster in Jackson, Wyoming (1978-2002), and Spence, Moriarity & Shockey (2002-03). He is the current senior partner of Spence Law Firm, established in 2004.

He currently resides in Jackson. Click here to read more about Spence.

Photos courtesy of Trial Lawyers College and American Heritage Center