Born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area and Southern California, Steve Martini jumped from college into a job as a Los Angeles newspaper reporter. He later became a capital correspondent in Sacramento, specializing in legal issues, and it was while he covered the Charles Manson murder trial that he became interested in the law. After earning his law degree from University of the Pacific?s McGeorge School of Law, he worked as a legislative representative for the State Bar of California, served as special counsel to the California Victims of Violent Crimes Program and was an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. In 1984, Martini combined his talent for writing and the law, producing fictional attorney Paul Madriani and earning a critical and popular following. Martini lives on the West Coast.