Gerry Spence, legendary trial lawyer who fought to ‘free the people of this country from the slavery of its new corporate masters,’ dies at 96
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The fringe jacket-wearing trial lawyer from Wyoming was known for a string of major court wins starting with a multimillion-dollar judgment against a plutonium processor in the landmark Karen Silkwood...
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August 15, 2025
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Success·ObituaryGerry Spence, legendary trial lawyer who fought to ‘free the people of this country from the slavery of its new corporate masters,’ dies at 96By Mead GruverBy The Associated PressBy Mead GruverBy The Associated Press Gerry Spence in 1995.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesGerry Spence, the fringe jacket-wearing trial lawyer from Wyoming known for a string of major court wins starting with a multimillion-dollar judgment against a plutonium cessor in the landmark Karen Silkwood case, has died
Spence, 96, died late Wednesday surrounded by family at his in Montecito, California, according to a family statement. “We are ud of his legacy and his contributions to the world, but most importantly, we are ud to be part of the family he built with love
We feel this loss deeply and we will carry him with us always,” read the statement from granddaughter Tara Spence McClatchey
Spence dedicated his life to fighting for the rights and freedom of ordinary people, colleague Joseph H
Low IV said in a statement. “No lawyer has done as much to free the people of this country from the slavery of its new corporate masters,” said Low, vice president and chief instructor at the Gerry Spence Method school for trial lawyers
A polished raconteur with a gravelly voice whose trademark suede fringe jacket advertised his Wyoming roots, Spence was once among the nation’s most recognizable trial attorneys
He achieved fame in 1979 with a $10.5 million verdict against Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee on behalf of the estate of Silkwood, a nu worker tainted with plutonium who died in a car wreck a week later
Silkwood’s father accused the company of negligently handling the plutonium that contaminated his daughter
An appeals court reversed the verdict and the two sides later agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $1.3 million
The events became the basis for the 1983 movie “Silkwood” starring Meryl Streep
Spence successfully def former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos against federal racketeering and fraud charges in 1990
And he won acquittal for Randy Weaver, charged with murder and other counts for a 1992 shootout with federal agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, that killed an FBI agent as well as Weaver’s wife and 14-year-old son
Spence led the Spence Law Firm in Jackson, Wyoming, and founded the Trial Lawyers College, now called the Gerry Spence Method
The retreat at Thunderhead Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, helps attorneys hone their courtroom skills
He wrote more than a dozen books, including the bestselling “How to Argue and Win Every Time.” He made frequent television appearances on legal matters
Spence and his wife, Imaging, divided their time between Wyoming and California before selling their place in Jackson Hole four years ago
An artist and poet, Spence continued painting and writing into his final days, according to the family statement
Gerald Leonard Spence was born Jan. 8, 1929, to Gerald M. and Esther Spence in Laramie
The family scraped by during the Depression by renting out to boarders
Spence’s mother sewed his clothes, often using the hides of elk hunted by his father
Years later, Imaging Spence sewed his fringe jackets
Spence drew a connection between the two women in his 1996 autobiography, “The Making of a Country Lawyer.” “Today when people ask why I wear a fringed leather jacket designed and sewn by my own love, Imaging, it is hard for me to explain that the small boy, now a man of serious years, still needs to wear into battle the tective garment of love,” he wrote
Pivotal in Spence’s young life were the deaths of his little sister and mother
Peggy Spence died of meningitis when he was 4 and his mother took her own life in 1949
Spence’s father, a chemist, worked a variety of jobs in several states but the family returned to Wyoming
Spence graduated from Laramie High School and after a stint as a sailor, enrolled in the University of Wyoming
Spence graduated cum laude from the University of Wyoming law school in 1952 but needed two tries to pass the state bar exam
He began his law career in private practice in Riverton, Wyoming, and was elected Fremont County secutor in 1954
In 1962, he ran for the U.S
House of Representatives, losing in the Republican primary
Spence returned to private practice but said in his memoir he grew discontented with representing insurance companies and “those invisible creatures called corporations.” Spence received numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Wyoming and a lifetime achievement award from the Consumer Attorneys of California
He was inducted into the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2009
Spence and his first wife, Anna, had four children
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, LaNelle “Imaging” Spence; brother, Tom Spence; children Kip Spence, Kerry Spence, Kent Spence, Katy Spence, Brents Hawks and Christopher Hawks; 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild
He was preceded in death by sisters Peggy and Barbara
Funeral arrangements were pending
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