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Judge Fairchild was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1956 and served from January 1957 to August 1966. Although reelected in 1966, he did not serve a second term because on August 11, 1966, President Johnson appointed Judge Fairchild Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He began service on August 24, 1966, and served as Chief Judge from February 7, 1975, to July 1, 1981. Judge Fairchild took senior status on August 31, 1981, and until his death, served as a Senior Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit and, by designation, for eight other federal circuit courts.

Judge Fairchild attended Deep Springs College and Princeton University and received an A.B. degree from Cornell University in 1934. Graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1937, he received his LL.B. after completing office practice in 1938. He served as Attorney General of Wisconsin, 1948-1951, and United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, 1951-1952. He also acted as chairman of the Governor's Commission on Constitutional Revision, 1960-1965, served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Administration of the Probation System, 1969-1972, and was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1975-1981. Judge Fairchild received honorary degrees from the University of Wisconsin, St. Norbert's College, Carthage College, and the John Marshall Law School.

Judge Fairchild was a member of the American Bar Association; the state bar associations of Wisconsin and Illinois (honorary); the Federal and Seventh Circuit Bar Associations; the Milwaukee, Chicago, and Dane County Bar Associations; the James E. Doyle Inn of Court (honorary); the American Judicature Society; the Institute of Judicial Administration; and the American Law Institute, where he serves on its council. Judge Fairchild also regularly and enthusiastically attended the annual meeting of the Tri-County Bar Association.

Judge Fairchild and his wife, Eleanor (also deceased), had four children: Edward T. Fairchild, Susan Fairchild Chase, Jennifer Fairchild Lord, and Andrew D. Fairchild; eight grandchildren: Elliot T. Fairchild, Justin M. Fairchild, Laura K. Chase, Thomas E. Chase, Mitchell F. Watson, Robyn L. Fairchild, Ned A. Fairchild, and Emily A. Fairchild; and four great-grandchildren: Zachary S. Watson, Andrew Watson, Kaylin Watson, and Nicole Watson.

Thomas E. Fairchild Lecture

The Thomas E. Fairchild Lectureship was established at the University of Wisconsin Law School as a tribute to Judge Fairchild, a 1937 law graduate, former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, later Chief Judge and Senior Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. For over 40 years, Judge Fairchild demonstrated both a scholarly regard for those principles of law that generations have molded into the American definition of justice and equality and a remarkable sensitivity to the ever-changing human conditions that make the search for justice and equality an ongoing one.

Initiated by Judge Fairchild's law clerks, the lectureship brings to the University of Wisconsin-Madison a distinguished member of the legal profession from the bench, bar, or academia to speak on a topic of importance to the profession.

2009 Fairchild Lecture

"Its Only Words:
Thoughts of a Lawyer & Novelist"

Scott Turow

4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2009

Godfrey and Kahn Room
University of Wisconsin Law School
975 Bascom Mall, Madison, Wisconsin

Limited Seating: Advance registration required
RSVP Online by April 14, 2009
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2009 Speaker Biography

Scott Turow

Scott Turow is a writer and attorney. He is the author of eight best-selling novels: Presumed Innocent (1987), The Burden of Proof (1990), Pleading Guilty (1993), The Laws of Our Fathers (1996), Personal Injuries (1999) and Reversible Errors (2002). In November 2005, his longtime publisher Farrar Straus & Giroux brought out his latest novel, Ordinary Heroes, about an Army lawyer on the European battleground during World War II. A novella, Limitations was published as a paperback original in November 2006 by Picador following its serialization in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. He has also written two non-fiction books—One L (1977) about his experience as a law student, and Ultimate Punishment (2003), a reflection on the death penalty, and has frequently contributed essays and op-ed pieces to publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Playboy and The Atlantic. Mr. Turow’s books have won a number of literary awards, including the Heartland Prize in 2003 for Reversible Errors and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award in 2004 for Ultimate Punishment. His books have been translated into more than 25 languages and have sold more than 25 million copies world-wide.

Mr. Turow continues to work as an attorney. He has been a partner in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a national law firm, since 1986, concentrating on white collar criminal defense, while also devoting a substantial part of his time to pro bono matters. In one such case, he represented Alejandro Hernandez in the successful appeal that preceded Hernandez’s release after nearly twelve years in prison – including five on death row – for a murder he did not commit.

Scott Turow was born on April 12, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated with high honors from Amherst College in 1970. That year, he received an Edith Mirrielees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which he attended from 1970-72. From 1972 to 1975, Mr. Turow taught creative writing at Stanford, as E.H. Jones Lecturer. In 1975, he entered Harvard Law School, graduating with honors in 1978. From 1978 to 1986, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago. He was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Illinois Attorney General William J. Scott, who was convicted of tax fraud. Mr. Turow was also lead government counsel in a number of the trials connected to Operation Greylord, a federal investigation of corruption in the Illinois judiciary. Mr. Turow has been active in a number of charitable causes, including Literacy Chicago. In 1997-98, he served as president of the Authors Guild, which is the national membership organization for professional writers, and continues to serve on its governing board. He is a trustee of Amherst College.

Mr. Turow has been appointed to a number of public bodies. He is currently a member of Illinois' Executive Ethics Commission. From 2002-2004, he served as chair of the Illinois State Appellate Defender’s Commission, which oversees the state agency which represents indigent criminal defendants in their appeals. He served as one of the fourteen members of the Commission appointed in March 2000 by Illinois Governor George Ryan to consider reform of the capital punishment system; the Commission was appointed after Governor Ryan declared a Moratorium on executions and delivered its report in April 2002. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Turow was a member of the Illinois State Police Merit Board, which determines matters of hiring, promotion and discipline for members of the Illinois State Police. He also has served in 1997 and 1998 on the United States Senate Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois, which recommended appointment of federal judges.

Mr. Turow lives outside Chicago.

Directions to the Law School and Parking Information

Directions to the Law School

Parking: We recommend people park in either Lot 7 under the Grainger Hall School of Business at the corner of University Avenue and Brooks St.(entrance to Lot 7 is on Brooks Street.) and the Lake Street Ramp, located on N. Lake Street. [More Campus Parking Info]

Previous Fairchild Lectures

1988	A Judge's Use of History Justice John Paul Stevens	1989 Wisconsin Law Review 223
1989	The Development of Legal Doctrine Through Amicus Participation: The SEC Experience Dean David S. Ruder	1989 Wisconsin Law Review 1167
1990	The Court of Appeals and the Future of the Federal Judiciary The Honorable Kenneth W. Starr	1991 Wisconsin Law Review 1
1991	The Judicial Function and the Elusive Goal of Principled Decision Making The Honorable Harry T. Edwards	1991 Wisconsin Law Review 837
1993	Appellate Justice: Fairness or Formulas The Honorable Mary Schroeder	1994 Wisconsin Law Review 9
1994	Refreshing Institutional Memories: Wisconsin and the American Law Institute The Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson	1995 Wisconsin Law Review 1
1995	The Life of the Law: Principles of Logic and Experience from the United States Justice Sandra Day O'Connor	1996 Wisconsin Law Review 1
1996	The Shelf Life of Justice Hugo L. Black John P. Frank, Esq.	1997 Wisconsin Law Review 1
1997	Moment of Truth for the Legal Profession Sol M. Linowitz, Esq.	1997 Wisconsin Law Review 1211
1998	The Future of the Independent Counsel Statute The Honorable Lawrence Walsh	1998 Wisconsin Law Review 1379
1999	Old and In the Way: The Demographic Transformation of the Legal Profession and Its Implications for the Delivery of Legal Services Professor Marc Galanter	1999 Wisconsin Law Review 6
2000	Will the Death Penalty Remain Alive in the Twenty-First Century? Stephen B. Bright, Esq.	2001 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2001	The Market for Data: The Changing Role of Social Sciences in Shaping the Law Professor Elizabeth Warren	2002 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2002	Revitalization of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the Mid 20th Century The Honorable Patrick Lucey, The Honorable Gaylord Nelson, Mrs. Ellen Proxmire, Mr. Alexander Shashko	2003 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2003	The Role of District Courts The Honorable Reena Raggi	2004 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2004	Citizenship in a Time of Repression Michael Traynor, Esq.	2005 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2005	Upholding an Oath to the Constitution: A Legislator's Responsibilities The Honorable Russ Feingold	2006 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2006	Thomas E. Fairchild: A Judge's Legacy The Honorable Joan Humphrey Lefkow	2007 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2007	Snapshots from the Seventh Circuit: Continuity and Change, 1966 to 2007 The Honorable Diane Wood	2008 Wisconsin Law Review 1
2008	"Thoughts On How the Legal System Treats Jurors" U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald

Audio & Video of Previous Events

Fairchild Lecture 2008

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Fairchild Lecture 2007

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Fairchild Lecture 2006

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Fairchild Lecture 2005

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