Episode 11
Welcome to The Matthews Mentality Podcast. Today, we are joined by Alan Dershowitz, a Brooklyn native who has been called ‘the nation’s most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer,’ ‘ the most distinguished defenders of individual rights,’ ‘the top lawyer of last resort,’ and ‘America’s most public Jewish defender.’ While he is known for defending clients such as Anatoly Sharansky, Claus Von B’low, O.J. Simpson, Michael Milken, Mike Tyson, and Donald Trump, he continues to represent numerous indigent defendants and takes half of his cases pro bono. He is a vocal defender of civil liberties and the Constitution through his media appearances and is the Felix Frankfurter Professor at Harvard Law School. He is the author of 40 works of fiction and non-fiction, including 7 bestsellers.
Show Notes
[01:01] – Introduction
[02:48] –Typical Day/Week
[03:25] – Deciding What Calls to Take
[05:00] – Where Does Alan Spend Most of His Time Today
[06:28] – Growing Up in Brooklyn
[09:05] – Working Hard was an Expectation Growing Up
[11:21] – Motivation at a Young Age
[12:47] – The Transformation To Becoming Top Of Class at Yale
[14:13] – Childhood Hardships & Overall Childhood
[15:41] – Brooklyn College & Alan’s Path to Becoming a Lawyer by Default
[17:50] – The Yale Experience
[20:11] – The Why
[21:49] – Taking Advantage of Opportunities After College
[22:35] – Clerking with David Bazelo
[25:15] – Advice & Perspective for Those Coming Out of College Today
[26:49] – Clerking with Arthur Goldberg & Becoming a Professor at Harvard at 25
[30:22] – First Big Case – Jewish Defense League
[31:23] – Mindset & Mentality Behind Taking Cases His Peers Wouldn’t Take
[33:33] – Claus von Bülow Case – Gave Alan The National Attention That Started His Career
[34:49] – Mike Tyson Case
[36:36] – OJ Simpson Case
[38:13] – Julian Assange Case
[39:11] – Regrets Taking a Case & Where ‘The Juice Wasn’t Worth the Squeeze’
[39:51] – Jeffrey Epstein Case
[40:49] – Donald Trump Case
[44:18] – Advice for Anyone Feeling Pressured from Peers
[46:43] – Biggest Loss
[48:35] – Biggest Win
[50:46] – Motivation Behind Writing 52 Books
[52:49] – Managing His Time & Overarching Motivation
[54:50] – The Mentality That High Achievers Share
[59:53] – Characteristic/Trait for Those That Haven’t Achieved What They Want in Life
[01:01:17] – Current Pursuits
[01:01:58] – Advice for Listeners to Achieve What They Want in Life
[01:02:35] – Book or Resource Recommended for the Audience
[01:05:16] – His Legacy
How to Connect with Alan Dershowitz
To Connect on Twitter click HERE
To Connect on LinkedIn click HERE
To Connect on Instagram click HERE
