A Toast to the Lawyer/Novelists of 2008

It’s been a good year for legal thrillers. And before the sun sets on 2008, we want to take a moment to look back and honor the eight current and former lawyers whose suspense novels were published this year, each them brimming with insider elements only a lawyer could love:

David Baldacci, JD (www.DavidBaldacci.com) – The former trial and corporate lawyer is the author of 17 novels, including this year’s NY Times bestsellers – Divine Justice and The Whole Truth.

Jeffery Deaver, JD (www.JefferyDeaver.com) – The former legal journalist and Wall Street lawyer is the author of 23 suspense novels, including this year’s NY Times bestsellers – The Bodies Left Behind and The Broken Window.

Joel Goldman, JD (www.JoelGoldman.com) – The former Kansas City trial lawyer is the author of five crime novels, including this year’s Shakedown. Goldman juggled his law and writing for about 10 years, finally retiring to write full-time in 2006.

James Grippando, Esq. (www.JamesGrippando.com) – The former Miami trial lawyer is the author of 13 legal thrillers, including three this year – Born to Run, Last Call and Lying With Strangers. Grippando is currently Of Counsel at the David Boies law firm.

Phil Margolin, JD (www.PhillipMargolin.com) – The former criminal defense lawyer is the author of 13 thrillers including this year’s Executive Privilege. Margolin retired from law to write full-time in 1996.

Steve Martini, JD (www.SteveMartini.com) – The former legal journalist-turned-lawyer is the author of 12 legal thrillers, including this year’s Shadow of Power. Martini practiced for 10 years before retiring from the law in the mid-1980s. His first novel was published in 1992.

David Rosenfelt, JD (www.DavidRosenfelt.com) – The former entertainment lawyer and marketing executive for Tri-Star Pictures is the author of eight thrillers, including this year’s Don’t Tell a Soul. Rosenfelt wrote film and TV scripts before turning to legal thrillers.

Michael Schein, Esq. (www.MichaelSchein.com) – The Seattle trial lawyer and former professor of American legal history is a first-time author with this year’s Just Deceits, a fact-based legal thriller involving John Marshall, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sheldon Siegel, Esq. (www.SheldonSiegel.com) – A corporate and securities lawyer in San Francisco, Siegel is the author of six courtroom thrillers, including this year’s Judgment Day.

How’s your own novel coming along? We thought so. That’s why we recommend the weekend fiction workshop in April in Chicago, sponsored by SEAK, the legal education company. The workshop will be taught by lawyer/crime novelist Robert Dugoni. For details, go to www.seak.com and click on Writing Workshops.