Clarence Seward Darrow is one of the most famous attorneys in U.S. history. A complex man, Darrow defended many labor union and political radicals between 1894 and 1914, yet also made enormous fees representing corporations. His defense of Leopold and Loeb for the 1924 murder of a young boy brought modern psychology into the courtroom, while his defense of John Scopes for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school has entered popular culture as the famous "Monkey Trial."

Darrow was born on April 18, 1857, in Kinsman, Ohio. He spent only one year in college before becoming a country schoolteacher. However, he soon tired of teaching and enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School. When he could no longer afford law school, Darrow "read the law" with a Youngstown, Ohio law firm, serving as a legal apprentice. After studying law with the firm and performing clerical duties, Darrow passed the Ohio...