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Lawyers Turned Authors

July 9, 2015 Hastings and Hastings

At some point in every lawyer’s life, one considers leaving the world of justice and unleashing their inner artists. Indeed, lawyers tend to make good writers because the legal profession requires an extremely high proficiency with the written word and exposure to the vast spectrum of human nature. Below are a few notable lawyers turned authors, some of whom may surprise you.

Henry Fielding

This name should seem familiar to anyone versed in western thought. Henry Fielding is best known for his novel, The History of Tom Jones a novel traces the life of a man amidst an existential crisis who eventually finds meaning in the world by falling in love. The work is a satirical rampage on the brevity and transience of life with the silver lining that sharing it with another human can make it worth living. But before becoming the novelist of the 1700’s, Fielding was a lawyer, and then eventually a magistrate.

Meg Gardiner

Before scaring the living daylights out of her reader’s with her psychological thrillers, Meg Gardiner attended Stanford Law School. “[In] College I decided I could be a novelist who waits tables, or become a lawyer who writes novels.” After graduating Stanford, Gardiner took the bar and practiced law before writing eleven novels. She is one of the few thriller novelists who has earned the praise of legendary Stephen King.

Tucker Max

Legendary author of the raunchy, bawdy memoirs titled, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, attended Duke Law School on an academic scholarship before writing his New York Times # 1 bestseller.  Although he never practiced Law, he earned his J.D., passed the bar in North Carolina, and claims he uses his law degree while running his multi-media website and blog.