Bios
Leslie H. Abramson '69
Leslie H. Abramson is one of the most well-known criminal defense specialists in the country. She has owned her
own practice since 1976 and during that time has served as Chief Counsel on 18 death penalty cases. Her clients
have included Phil Specter, who was charged with fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson and Erik Menendez,
accused with his brother, Lyle, of killing his parents, among many other high-profile defendants. She is the
author of the book The Defense is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law.
In the mid-90’s Ms. Abramson was a legal analyst and commentator on the O.J. Simpson trial. She has also appeared
on 20/20, A Barbara Walters Special, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, Politically Incorrect,
Dateline NBC, Court TV, Face the Nation as well as many local and national news broadcasts.
Ms. Abramson earned her B.A. from Queens College in New York in 1964. She earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in
1969 where she was Order of the Coif. From 1970 - 1976 she served as the Deputy Public Defender of Los Angeles County.
Harland W. Braun '67
Harland W. Braun is a premier Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, certified criminal specialist by the State
Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is particularly esteemed for his expertise in navigating the
State and Federal Judicial Systems, his ability to interface with news media when desirable to help guard against bias
in high-profile and celebrity cases, and his efforts to insure his clients receive fair and equal treatment. Mr. Braun
has been in private practice since 1973. In the thirty-plus years he has been practicing law, he represented Officer
Theodore Briseno, acquitted in the federal Rodney King beating case. He represented Assembly Whip Gwen Moore in
political corruption case in Sacramento. He represented attorney Vincent Bugliosi in perjury case arising out of
Charles Manson prosecution. He represented physician Robert Nejdl in the "Kaiser Doctors" murder case establishing that
a physician can disconnect an I.V. in a comatose patient. He represented Elizabeth Taylor's physician, Michael
Gottlieb, in over-prescribing case. He has also represented celebrities Robert Blake, Roseanne, Chris Farley, Steven
Segal, Easy-E, Ed O’Neill, Gary Busey, Harry Morgan, Dennis Rodman and many others in both high-profile and discreet
criminal matters.
Mr. Braun received his B.A. from UCLA in 1964 and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1967, where he was a
member of the UCLA Law Review.
Roger Jon Diamond '67
Roger Jon Diamond is certified by the California Bar as a criminal law specialist. He has handled a number of
criminal cases including death penalty murder cases, rape, robbery, and tax evasion, among others. Highlights of
his career include:
In his extensive career, Mr. Diamond has obtained a dismissal of the death penalty case of People v. David Sconce,
who was charged with poisoning a rival mortician. The murder case was part of the Lamb Funeral Home cases that
are the subject of three books. He won an acquittal for Randy Karnes, who shot the unarmed victim three times but
still claimed self defense in this first degree murder case. He was appointed by the California Supreme Court to
represent Bobby Davis who murdered four Highway Patrol Officers in 1970 in the worst law enforcement disaster in
history. Diamond represented Andrew Luster, who fled in the middle of the trial and was later apprehended in Mexico.
He also obtained a summary reversal of the obscenity conviction in the case of Reitano v. California, 413 U.S.
911 (1973).
Mr. Diamond has handled a number of trials and appeals in other jurisdictions including Texas, New York, Florida,
West Virginia, Nevada, Hawaii, Tennessee, and others. He is admitted to practice in New York and California and
all federal circuits.
Mr. Diamond received his B.A. from UCLA in 1964, and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1967. He published a
student comment at the UCLA Law Review.
Tim Rutten
Tim Rutten is Associate Features Editor of the Los Angeles Times, for which he also writes the "Regarding Media"
column and serves as book critic. Over the past 34 years, he has served variously as the paper’s "Opinion" editor,
legal affairs editorial writer, assistant national editor, news analyst and City/Country Bureau Chief. In the
latter capacity he directed The Times’ coverage of the LAPD’s Rampart scandal. His journalism and criticism also
have appeared in the Economist and the New York Review of Books. Along with the late Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. he is
author of the New York Times bestseller Journey to Justice.
