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What was your first job?

I worked in a deli factory on the lower east side of Manhattan in 1952. I tied the strings that separated the hot dogs, which was all done by hand in those days.

How old were you?

I was 14. I got locked in the freezer once for what seemed like an hour, but was probably about 20 minutes. I was worried the company would think I was more valuable as a frozen piece of meat than as a worker.

What did you learn on your first job?

For one thing, I'm still a superb turkey slicer. I can cut off the skin and put it back on so it looks like it's never been sliced! I've always worked. I came from a poor family, so working and going to school at the same time was natural. It taught me multi-tasking, although we didn't call it that back then. I learned I could never be idle, I need to be doing many things at once.

How much did you make?

Less than a dollar an hour, I don't remember exactly.

Who was your best, or worst, boss and why?

David Bazelon was my best and worst boss at once. He was chief justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals, and I was his clerk shortly after getting out of law school. He worked me to the bone; he didn't hesitate to call at 2 a.m. He taught me everything--how to be a civil libertarian, a Jewish activist, a mensch. He was halfway between a slave master and a father figure.

What was your big break?

When I was 14 or 15, a camp counselor told me I was smart. I had never been very good in school, but he told me once that I was smart but my mind operated a little differently. Later, it was probably getting a Supreme Court clerkship.

What has been your biggest failure?

Failing to win a new trial for someone I knew was innocent. I'm talking about the Mike Tyson [rape] case. It was maybe more a disappointment than a failure. We should have won a new trial easily, but Indiana's legal system makes China look fair.

How many hours do you work in an average week now?

I do a lot of things other than teaching and billing hours, like writing and reading. I'd say 60-65 hours a week. I do take 10 weeks off in the summer, where I put in four hours a day of writing and take the rest of the day off. I've published 11 books over the past several years.

What is the worst thing about work?

Looking at the clock, seeing work as a means rather than an end. I love my work.

What is the best thing about work?

It's doing work that helps people. I never do anything for money; I get paid a lot of money as a by-product. Early in my career, I figured that would make me relatively poor, but I've ended up relatively rich.

Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a prolific author.

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