NYT bestselling author Mark Curriden (“Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching that Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism”) will be the morning plenary speaker at the 2010 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference on Friday, Oct . 22.  He will be telling the true account (based on his book) of the only two African-American lawyers practicing law in Tennessee in 1906 and their representation of a black man falsely accused of rape and sentenced to death.  This sequence of events led to the first and only criminal trial ever held in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Mr. Curriden will also be speaking at a breakout session later that day regarding “The News Media and Your Law Practice.” So who is Mark Curriden? He is a writer and frequent lecturer on topics including legal history, trends at the Supreme Court of the United States, the American jury system and relationships between lawyers and journalists.  He has made presentations on these topics to numerous federal and state judicial organizations, state bar associations, law firms and law schools throughout the country.  In April 2004, Mr. Curriden was appointed to serve on the ABA’s Blue Ribbon Panel on the future of the American jury system. Interested in learning more about Mr. Curriden and his writings? Keep an eye out for a special interview with him in the upcoming September issue of the Illinois Lawyer Now Quarterly.  You can also read Chapter One of his book “Contempt of Court” on the Barnes & Noble website. We are thrilled to be bringing Mark Curriden to Illinois’ solo and small firm lawyers at this year's Conference! To find out more about the Conference and to register, please visit  www.isba.org/soloconference