author
William M. (William Moses) Kunstler
1919–1995
Best known for defending the Chicago Seven, this outspoken attorney became one of the most visible civil-rights lawyers in America. His career brought him into some of the country's most contentious courtroom battles, where he built a reputation for taking unpopular cases and arguing them fiercely.
1 Audiobook
... and justice for all
by William M. (William Moses) Kunstler
About the author
Born in New York City in 1919, William Moses Kunstler studied at Yale and later earned his law degree from Columbia. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II before beginning a legal career that eventually moved from conventional practice into civil-rights work.
Kunstler became nationally famous as a defense lawyer for political activists and other controversial clients. He was closely associated with the National Lawyers Guild, served on the board of the ACLU, and helped found the Center for Constitutional Rights. He is especially remembered for representing the Chicago Seven, but his work also touched major struggles involving civil rights, free speech, prison uprisings, and protest movements.
By the end of his life, he was seen by supporters as a fearless defender of constitutional rights and by critics as one of the most provocative lawyers in the country. That mix of admiration and backlash made him a lasting, complicated figure in modern American legal history.