Well-known attorney fulfilled by public service

Tom Mesereau encourages students to volunteer

-By Kendall Davis

As an advocate for the voiceless, a lawyer becomes a protector and a defender, says defense attorney Tom Mesereau. 

A celebrated and much-publicized lawyer who defended Robert Blake and Michael Jackson, Mesereau spoke to USC Law students Oct. 4 as part of the Public Interest Law Foundation speaker series.

Tom Mesereau spoke to USC Law students Oct. 4

Mesereau said the most fulfilling form of work, for him, is in the public interest.

After graduating from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Meserau joined a litigation firm. He also practiced as a deputy prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for one year, and as a “troubleshooter” at Getty Synthetic Fuels, Inc., for three years. Mesereau communicated to students his frustration in those positions. 

“I had a tough time finding myself after I graduated from law school,” he said. “The more I worked, the more I thought: ‘I just want to be an individual.’”

Mesereau said he decided to find what fulfilled him the most. 

“I realized that there were lawyers in American history who really did make a difference,” he said. “I always wondered what Southern Justice was … I kept hearing horror stories about the death penalty in the Deep South. I put some feelers out about trying death penalty cases in [that region].” 

The quest to find himself took Mesereau across the country, where he defended a homeless black man accused of murdering a white woman in an upscale portion of Birmingham, Ala. Mesereau, whose client was acquitted, said his work on the case was “immensely satisfying.”

“I think you owe it to yourself to find satisfying work,” said Mesereau, who continues to try two death penalty cases a year, pro bono.

Mesereau added that some of his colleagues thought he was “crazy” for accepting pro bono work, but, he noted, “I wasn’t satisfied. I needed to try something different. What I did isn’t for everyone … but don’t be afraid to make moves if you’re not satisfied.”

Finding satisfaction is especially important in the legal profession, given that 70 percent of practicing lawyers are unhappy with their work, Mesereau said.  

When not traveling for work, Mesereau devotes his time to serving the Los Angeles community, noting that Crenshaw United Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church both have outreach programs aimed at helping inner city residents who are in jail or facing criminal convictions. Mesereau recommended that students volunteer in Los Angeles, which he called “the most segregated city.”

Mesereau iterated that even public interest work has its hardships.

“Nothing is a picnic every day,” he said. “There are days you just don’t feel like it. But for me, it’s the most fulfilling thing I could be doing with my time. If I died this evening, I wouldn’t trade anything for what I’ve done and the people I’ve helped.”