Shon Hopwood’s life story is one of redemption. A former serial bank robber, at the age of 23 Shon was sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison. What came next no one could have predicted: with no formal legal training, Shon became perhaps the most successful “jailhouse lawyer” in American history, with his first petition for certiorari (on behalf of another inmate) granted by the United States Supreme Court. With the help of attorney Seth Wexler, the case was ultimately decided in his client’s favor 9-0. Upon release, Shon attended the University of Washington School of Law and clerked for D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown. He recently became a professor at Georgetown Law and sought-after keynote speaker, all the while advocating for prison and criminal justice reform. Shon’s book about his experiences, Law Man, was met with critical success.
