Alan Morton Dershowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938. His mother Claire and father Harry were both devout orthodox Jews. Adhering to the orthodox Jewish faith, Dershowitz went to Yeshiva University High School. He was a rebellious student, barely making it into college. However, college life agreed with him, and he got outstanding grades at Brooklyn College. He graduated in 1959 and was accepted into Yale Law School. While there, he rose to the very top of his class and served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. He graduated in 1962.

When Dershowitz sought employment immediately after school, thirty-two Wall Street law firms rejected him, despite his excellent academics, due to his Jewish heritage. Not daunted by this blatant anti-Semitism, he continued his job search, ending up as a law clerk for Judge David Bazelon, U.S. Court of Appeals, and later for Justice Arthur Goldberg of the...