"Taking The Stand" with Alan Dershowitz, discussion moderated by Harvey Silverglate- 11/7/13

BOSTON - Oct. 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents Taking the Stand with Alan Dershowitz; discussion moderated by Harvey Silverglate. Thursday, November 7, 6:30-8:00 pm. Admission is free and open to all. C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University, 55 Temple St., Boston, MA 02114. Conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station. For more information, call Ford Hall Forum at 617-557-2007 or visit www.fordhallforum.org.

Alan Dershowitz is a legal expert, a scholar on constitutional law and criminal law, and was the youngest full professor of law in the history of Harvard Law School. His client list includes Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, Leona Helmsley, Jim Bakker, O.J. Simpson, and currently Wikileaks’s Julian Assange. Now, in his legal biography, Dershowitz breaks down the critical and complex issues of First Amendment rights, civil rights, abortion, and murder. He also explains the emerging role of science within a trial’s defense beyond what we might have seen on CSI.

Sharing his views with moderator Harvey Silverglate, a lawyer specializing in criminal defense, academic freedom and civil liberties, Dershowitz opens up about his famed legal career and personal opinions like never before.

Further background information on the participants:

Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He has written more than 1,000 articles in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, The Harvard Law Review, and The Huffington Post. Dershowitz is the author of 30 fiction and non-fiction works, including a New York Times #1 bestseller and five other national bestsellers. In 1983, he was presented with the William O. Douglas First Amendment Award and he has won numerous honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. He has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a fellowship at The Center for The Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences, and several Dean’s Awards for his books.His Taking The Stand: My Life in the Law has recently been published by Crown Publishers.

Harvey Silverglate has been practicing law since 1967 and worked at his firm, Zalkind & Silverglate, from 1969 to 1973. In the years before and since, he has practiced with many of the area’s leading lawyers. Silverglate concentrates his practice in three areas: criminal defense, academic freedom, and civil liberties, including First Amendment rights. He has written widely on legal matters in such publications as National Law Journal, Forbes.com, and the Wall Street Journal, and authored/co-authored two legal books. Notably, he co-founded and currently chairs The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) which Ford Hall Forum honored with its First Amendment Award in 2010. Silverglate also co-founded the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, formed the Independent Privacy Board of Predictive Networks, and served on the board of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

About Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University:

Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest free public lecture series. The Forum provides an open venue for sharing opinions and discussing controversial points of view. It advances the First Amendment through freedom of expression, encouraging attendees to engage directly with speakers. Ford Hall Forum discussions illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking orators from a broad range of perspectives. These experts participate for free, and in settings that promote a culture of involvement in a non-partisan environment.

The Forum began in 1908 as a series of Sunday evening public meetings held at the Ford Hall, which once stood on Beacon Hill in Boston. While the original building no longer exists, the public conversations have continued throughout the Boston area with the generous support from state agencies, foundations, corporations, academic institutions, and individuals. In its 104th year of programming, the Forum continues to build upon its partnership with Suffolk University. Suffolk is now housing the Forum's administrative offices just a block away from where the original Ford Hall once stood.

Ford Hall Forum programs are made possible through the generous contributions from individual members as well as corporations and foundations, including Compass Eight, The Fred & Marty Corneel Fund, Helen Rees Literary Agency, Iron Mountain, LCMG Certified Public Accountants, The Lowell Institute, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, North Hill, Penny Pimentel, The Pfizer Foundation, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation, Prince Lobel & Tye, Suffolk University, and WBUR 90.9 FM.

For more information on Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, visit www.fordhallforum.org.