Alaska Bar Association draws heat over selection of former Epstein lawyer, Dershowitz , as keynote speaker…
The selection of famed trial attorney Alan Dershowitz to deliver the keynote at this year’s Alaska Bar Association annual convention is being criticized by members upset over Dershowitz’s past defense of men like Jeffrey Epstein and O.J. Simpson.
Dershowitz seems an untenable choice in a state that traditionally ranks near the top of states for violence against women, they argue.
But Dershowitz, a retired Harvard University law professor, counters that those who make those claims know nothing of his record.
The Alaska Bar Association’s governing board will meet, tentatively next week, to reconsider the invitation to Dershowitz to address membership at the October meeting.
“In a state like Alaska that has grave problems with violence towards women, violence towards children — including sexual violence — it’s just 100% the wrong message to send,” Scott Kendall, an Anchorage attorney who previously served as chief of staff to former Gov. Bill Walker, told Alaska’s Energy Desk. “My reaction was, ‘No way on Earth would I go to that dinner.’ “
