Barred From the Bar: The Winding Road From Prisoner to Lawyer

By Mary Pilon, Bloomberg News

While he was serving a 20-year sentence in a Texas state penitentiary, Timothy McManus became a regular at the law library. The cool, quiet place offered relief from the tension and cacophony of the prison yard. As he wrestled with the nuances of depositions and law journal articles, he began to see that the library offered more than a break. He was hooked on the law.

Released in 2011, McManus (an old family name he uses for privacy) has spent years offering inmates and recent parolees free legal research and help preparing appeals. From his ...