# Gerry Spence
**Gerry Spence** (Gerald Leonard Spence; January 8, 1929 – August 13, 2025) was an American trial lawyer from Wyoming, known for his fringed buckskin jacket and for a string of high-profile courtroom victories including the [Karen Silkwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-silkwood) case, the defense of [Randy Weaver](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-weaver) after the [Ruby Ridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruby-ridge) standoff, and the acquittal of Imelda Marcos on federal racketeering and fraud charges[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). He founded the Trial Lawyers College to teach his storytelling-based method of advocacy and wrote more than a dozen books on law and lawyering[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | January 8, 1929, Laramie, Wyoming; August 13, 2025, Montecito, California, at age 96[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) |
| Education | University of Wyoming Law School, 1952, cum laude (other accounts say first in his class)[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf) |
| Signature case | 1979 verdict of $10.5 million against Kerr-McGee for the estate of nuclear worker Karen Silkwood; reversed on appeal and settled for $1.3 million[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) |
| Notable defenses | Randy Weaver (Ruby Ridge) and Imelda Marcos acquitted; Geoffrey Fieger acquitted on a ten-count federal indictment in 2008[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [3](https://gerryspence.com/) |
| Teaching | Founded the Trial Lawyers College at Thunderhead Ranch, Dubois, Wyoming, now called the Gerry Spence Method[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) |
| Standing | Ranked second behind Clarence Darrow in a composite of three surveys of contenders for "lawyer of the century"[4](https://www.isob.com/Files/Journals/Volume%2036%20No%203.pdf) |
| Books | More than a dozen, including the bestseller *How to Argue and Win Every Time* and the 1996 autobiography *The Making of a Country Lawyer*[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) |
## Early life and education
Gerald Leonard Spence was born in [Laramie, Wyoming](https://www.edgepedia.org/laramie-wyoming), on January 8, 1929, to Gerald M. Spence, a chemist, and Esther Spence[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). The family moved several times for his father's railroad work and scraped by during the [Depression](https://www.edgepedia.org/depression) by renting out rooms to boarders; his mother sewed his clothes, often from the hides of elk his father had hunted[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). Two deaths shaped his early years: his three-year-old sister Peggy died suddenly of meningitis when Spence was about four, and his mother took her own life in 1949[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [5](https://wyohistory.org/oral-histories/interview-gerry-spence). In a 1991 interview he connected both losses to the fear and empathy he later brought to the courtroom, saying that a lawyer who understands the risks of trial work and cares about the client "is afraid"[5](https://wyohistory.org/oral-histories/interview-gerry-spence).
At 16, in the final year of World War II, he joined the Merchant Marine and sailed on supply vessels; after returning he enrolled at the [University of Wyoming](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-wyoming), graduating from its law school in 1952[2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf). He passed the Wyoming bar exam on his second attempt[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
## Early career: prosecutor, politician, insurance defense
Spence began in private practice in Riverton, Wyoming, and was elected Fremont County prosecutor in 1954, a post he held for eight years[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929). In 1962 he ran for Wyoming's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican and lost in the primary[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf).
**A turn against the corporate side.** Through the 1960s his defense practice was closely tied to the insurance industry[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929). In a frequently told account, a grocery-line conversation after a trial victory for an insurance company, in a case Spence knew the plaintiff had not been at fault, changed his direction[7](https://www.spencelawyers.com/firm-news/the-life-and-legacy-of-attorney-gerry-spence). By the late 1960s he had shifted to representing plaintiffs and criminal defendants; his firm moved from Casper to Jackson in 1978 and continues as The Spence Law Firm, LLC[2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf).
## The Silkwood case and national prominence
Spence's national profile rose with the Karen Silkwood litigation. Silkwood, a nuclear plant worker and union activist contaminated with plutonium at Kerr-McGee's Oklahoma facility, died in a car wreck in 1974[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). In May 1979 a federal jury in [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city) awarded $10.5 million in damages to her family, with Spence as lead attorney[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/05/19/silkwood-family-awarded-105-million-in-damages/d1a89193-bbc1-4d5e-a07b-55a66e7ef355/). An appeals court reversed the verdict, and the parties later settled out of court for $1.3 million[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). The case became the basis for the 1983 film *Silkwood* starring [Meryl Streep](https://www.edgepedia.org/meryl-streep)[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
## Later landmark cases
Spence's record spanned civil and criminal trials. He won a $26.5 million libel verdict against Penthouse Magazine on behalf of Kim Pring, a former Miss Wyoming[2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf), and a $52 million verdict against [McDonald's](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcdonalds) in a dispute over a handshake deal between a small ice-cream manufacturer and the fast-food company[2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf).
On the defense side he won the acquittal of Ed Cantrell, public safety director of [Rock Springs, Wyoming](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-springs-wyoming), in a murder trial[2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf). He defended [Imelda Marcos](https://www.edgepedia.org/imelda-marcos), the former Philippine first lady, against federal racketeering and fraud charges in New York federal court; the 1990 trial ended in acquittal[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [2](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf). After the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff in Idaho, in which an FBI agent as well as Weaver's wife and 14-year-old son were killed, Spence won acquittal for Randy Weaver on murder and other counts[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). In 2008 he won complete acquittals for Michigan attorney [Geoffrey Fieger](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoffrey-fieger), best known for representing Jack Kevorkian, on a ten-count federal indictment alleging campaign contribution violations, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice[3](https://gerryspence.com/).
**The record he claimed.** Spence said he had not lost a jury trial since 1969, and in 1995 he claimed never to have lost a case; *The American Lawyer* magazine responded by citing a 1985 manslaughter trial in Oregon and a Wyoming trial in which he represented himself on a speeding ticket[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/09/06/gerry-spence-attorney-at-lore/1bee185b-af93-4bf3-bb46-4a4ed728c196/).
## Method and teaching
Spence's method centered on storytelling and personal authenticity. "Everything that we are doing in a courtroom is a story," he told a seminar; "tell it credibly, tell it from your heart"[10](https://thedailyrecord.com/2007/11/21/gerry-spences-trial-lawyers-college-helps-lawyers-get-in-touch-with-themselves/). He argued that a lawyer's only product in the courtroom is credibility, and that most lawyers fail to convey their clients' stories because they are "lost in their minds" and cannot feel anger or indignation[10](https://thedailyrecord.com/2007/11/21/gerry-spences-trial-lawyers-college-helps-lawyers-get-in-touch-with-themselves/). Training at his college used psychodrama, an exercises-based technique in which lawyers reenact experiences to become more open and therefore more credible in front of juries[10](https://thedailyrecord.com/2007/11/21/gerry-spences-trial-lawyers-college-helps-lawyers-get-in-touch-with-themselves/).
In 1994 he founded the Trial Lawyers College at his Thunderhead Ranch near Dubois, Wyoming, a retreat that accepted only a minority of applicants and trained practicing attorneys in this approach[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [11](https://katzjustice.com/virginia-criminal-jury-trials/). The school, now called the Gerry Spence Method, continues after his death; its vice president and chief instructor, Joseph H. Low IV, said Spence had dedicated his life to "fighting for the rights and freedom of ordinary people"[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). Spence also founded Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming, a pro bono firm for indigent clients[3](https://gerryspence.com/). One observer of the method reported that a lawyer who returned from three weeks at the college moved, in her next trial, from a self-described "C+" performer to a solid "A-"[12](https://law.shu.edu/documents/interpersonal-skills-cle-8-great-trait-trial-lawyer.pdf).
## Public presence and writing
Spence was a frequent television commentator. During the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial he made an average of seven national television appearances a week, was on retainer with NBC, and appeared regularly on CNN[13](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/TRIAL-JOURNAL-3158457.php); he had earlier created and hosted the CNBC weekly program *The Gerry Spence Show* in 1995[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929). In surveys of legal professionals compiled by a contributor to the International Society of Barristers Quarterly, Spence ranked second behind [Clarence Darrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/clarence-darrow) among contenders for "lawyer of the century," and he was one of only four lawyers to appear on all three underlying survey lists[4](https://www.isob.com/Files/Journals/Volume%2036%20No%203.pdf).
His books included *Gunning for Justice*, *With Justice for None*, *From Freedom to Slavery*, *Police State*, and the bestselling *How to Argue and Win Every Time*[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/09/06/gerry-spence-attorney-at-lore/1bee185b-af93-4bf3-bb46-4a4ed728c196/) • [14](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/gerry-spence-and-his-fight-against-power). His 1996 autobiography, *The Making of a Country Lawyer*, covered his early years and drew a connection between his mother, who sewed his childhood clothes from elk hide, and his wife Imaging, who later sewed his fringe jackets[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). He was also a poet, photographer, and painter, and continued painting and writing into his final days[10](https://thedailyrecord.com/2007/11/21/gerry-spences-trial-lawyers-college-helps-lawyers-get-in-touch-with-themselves/) • [1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
His honors included an honorary doctor of laws from the University of Wyoming (1990), a lifetime achievement award from Consumer Attorneys of California, and induction into the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2009[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929).
## Personal life and death
Spence married Anna Wilson in 1947; the marriage ended in divorce in 1969, and he married LaNelle Hampton Peterson Hawks, a designer known as "Imaging," in November 1969[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929) • [1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503). He and Imaging divided their time between Wyoming and California before selling their [Jackson Hole](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackson-hole) home about four years before his death[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
Spence died on August 13, 2025, at his home in [Montecito, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/montecito-california), surrounded by family, at the age of 96; his family's statement did not cite a cause[1](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503).
## References
1. [Fringe-wearing Wyoming trial lawyer Gerry Spence dies at 96, Associated Press (August 14, 2025)](https://apnews.com/article/d20eb2a568c2e80f6503a0ae2bc51503)
2. [Gerry Spence, Wyoming State Bar *The Wyoming Lawyer* newsletter (2025)](https://www.wyocourts.gov/app/uploads/2025/01/CH_25_Fall_web.pdf)
3. [Gerry Spence, official website](https://gerryspence.com/)
4. [Contenders for lawyer of the century, International Society of Barristers Quarterly](https://www.isob.com/Files/Journals/Volume%2036%20No%203.pdf)
5. [Interview with Gerry Spence, WyoHistory.org (Wyoming State Archives, interview 1991)](https://wyohistory.org/oral-histories/interview-gerry-spence)
6. [Spence, Gerald (Leonard) 1929–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/spence-gerald-leonard-1929)
7. [The Life and Legacy of Attorney Gerry Spence, The Spence Law Firm (2019)](https://www.spencelawyers.com/firm-news/the-life-and-legacy-of-attorney-gerry-spence)
8. [Silkwood Family Awarded $10.5 Million in Damages, The Washington Post (May 19, 1979)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/05/19/silkwood-family-awarded-105-million-in-damages/d1a89193-bbc1-4d5e-a07b-55a66e7ef355/)
9. [Gerry Spence, Attorney at Lore, The Washington Post (September 6, 1995)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/09/06/gerry-spence-attorney-at-lore/1bee185b-af93-4bf3-bb46-4a4ed728c196/)
10. [Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College helps lawyers get in touch with themselves, The Daily Record (2007)](https://thedailyrecord.com/2007/11/21/gerry-spences-trial-lawyers-college-helps-lawyers-get-in-touch-with-themselves/)
11. [Gerry Spence Wins Trials by Embracing & Revealing His Entire Self, katzjustice.com (2017)](https://katzjustice.com/virginia-criminal-jury-trials/)
12. [Eight Traits of Great Trial Lawyers, The Review of Litigation / Seton Hall](https://law.shu.edu/documents/interpersonal-skills-cle-8-great-trait-trial-lawyer.pdf)
13. [Trial Journal, San Francisco Examiner (February 20, 1995)](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/TRIAL-JOURNAL-3158457.php)
14. [Gerry Spence and His Fight Against Power, Los Angeles Review of Books (2014)](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/gerry-spence-and-his-fight-against-power)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › Practising lawyers and advocates*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license