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What began as a courtroom sketch artist trying to capture the essence of larger than life defense attorney, Tony Serra, in a San Francisco courtroom, turned into the illustrative biography, Lust for Justice. Paulette Frankl didn’t set out to write about Tony Serra, but to sketch the likeness of the dramatic way he handled controversial cases no one else wanted.

“I sensed his energy,” she remembers. “I got him on an emotional basis.” Serra is prone to stalking like a lion in court rooms, using his whole body to put on courtroom theater that strikes past juries’ preconceptions to get to understanding on some archetypal level. Frankl shouldered her notepad and resolved to become his traveling court illustrator. “If I can ever capture this man and express him, I will have arrived as an artist,” she recalls thinking.

Tony Serra has spent his life defending society’s outcasts. He began his practice in the 1960’s, an era he calls the golden age of law. Perceiving himself in the role of a warrior, Mr. Serra has continued to battle for more freedom for more people through law. His role in the Chol Soo Lee case was depicted in the film True Believer. Tony Serra has always known how to express the poetry of the law, while fighting in the ditches and dark alleys of legal practice. He has gained national prominence for his closing argument techniques.

Paulette Frankl has been an artist all her life. Her first public art exhibit was at the age of seven for the sophisticated Los Angeles art world in a joint show with her father, Austrian born world-renowned Art Deco designer Paul T. Frankl. Her courtroom art has been aired on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, WGN-TV and Talk America, and has taken her all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Amazon review of Lust for Justice:

Paulette Frankl has written an enthusiastic and elucidating portrayal of a unique radical attorney–warts and all. Through her intriguing writing style, you’re allowed to participate in the trials of this exceptional man, in and out of the courtroom. Some of the cases read like mysteries, but the greatest mystery revealed is the man himself, outrageously uncompromising, convincing, even pig-headed and exasperating. But the kind of lawyer you want on your side.

The dynamic art work of the author beautifully enhances the drama of this wild man advocate. A great read and a book you’ll want on your shelf for years to come, as a reminder of how to fight continuing battles in our society.

Paulette Frankl’s drawings of Tony Serra in courtroom action: http://www.lustforjustice.net/Art%20and%20Photos.html