Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline – Life, Career, and Memorable Wisdom

Dive into the life of Lisa Scottoline — award-winning American author and former lawyer. Learn about her early years, shift from law to fiction, bestselling novels, key themes, and standout quotes that reflect her voice.

Introduction

Lisa Scottoline (born July 1, 1955) is an American novelist celebrated for her legal thrillers, richly drawn characters, and deft blending of suspense, humor, and emotional depth. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a lawyer and law clerk. Over her career, she has published dozens of bestsellers, won the Edgar Award, and co-writes a humorous column with her daughter. Her work resonates with readers who enjoy stories grounded in justice, relationships, moral ambiguity, and the human dimensions of legal conflicts.

Early Life and Family

Lisa Scottoline was born in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bala Cynwyd, a suburb near Philadelphia.

Her daughter, Francesca Serritella, is a frequent collaborator: since 2007, Lisa and Francesca have co-written a weekly column called “Chick Wit” in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Youth, Education, and Legal Career

Lisa Scottoline was a precocious student. She entered the University of Pennsylvania for her undergraduate studies and completed her B.A. in English magna cum laude in just three years. Philip Roth.

She then enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Law School, graduating cum laude in 1981.

After graduation, she clerked for judges on state and federal appellate courts, then became a litigation attorney at a Philadelphia law firm, Dechert.

Career and Achievements

First Successes & Edgar Award

One of her early breakthroughs was Final Appeal, a legal thriller that earned her the Edgar Award (for Best Paperback Original). New York Times bestseller list.

Notably, Look Again and Don’t Go both reached #2 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Her books have been translated into around 30 languages, and she is a #1 bestselling author in the U.S.

Series Work & Standalone Novels

Scottoline has several major strands in her oeuvre:

• Rosato & Associates series — early novels centered on a female-led law firm and legal cases.

• Rosato & DiNunzio series — a later spin focusing on collaborating attorneys in high-stakes cases.

• Standalone thrillers and suspense — e.g. After Anna, Someone Knows, The Truth About the Devlins (2024), What Happened to the Bennetts, Eternal, and upcoming The Unraveling of Julia (2025)

• Humorous nonfiction / memoir style works co-written with her daughter Francesca, drawn from their “Chick Wit” columns — titles include Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, My Nest Isn’t Empty…, I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere But the Pool, I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses, and others.

She also held the position of President of the Mystery Writers of America.

Style, Themes & Voice

Scottoline’s narratives often sit at the intersection of legal drama, family and emotional stakes, morality, and female voices in a male-dominated world. Her protagonists are often strong women lawyers confronting personal and professional challenges.

Her writing balances suspense and plot with character growth, wit, and a lightness of tone even amid darker themes.

She tends to draw on her legal background to ground plot details in authenticity, giving her court scenes, legal maneuvers, and ethical dilemmas credibility.

Her humor in nonfiction works reflects a warm, relatable voice about motherhood, aging, life’s absurdities, and family relationships.

Legacy and Influence

• Scottoline has inspired many readers and aspiring writers to see that one can cross from a professional career (law) into fiction, building a literary life grounded in professional knowledge and emotional insight.

• Her success in both crime/thriller fiction and light nonfiction/memoir columns shows her versatility and ability to connect across genres.

• As President of the Mystery Writers of America and as a bestselling female author in the traditionally male-dominated crime genre, she has been a role model for women in the field.

• Her dual career gives her authority when exploring legal and ethical issues in fiction — thus enriching the genre with realism and moral complexity.

Personality and Talents

Scottoline comes across as intelligent, driven, witty, and sincere. Her humor is grounded and affectionate, not cynical. From what she and her daughter convey in their columns, she values family, honesty, relationships, and doing work she loves.

She maintains a deep connection with her readership, caring what they think of her books, and often interacting via letters, reviews, or in public appearances.

Though she left the legal profession, her background continues to influence her worldview — she is neither entirely “lawyer” nor purely “writer” in identity, but inhabits a blended identity.

Famous Quotes by Lisa Scottoline

Here are selected quotations that capture Lisa Scottoline’s wit, perspective, and voice:

“Don’t argue what you don’t believe in. Rule number one, in law and in life.” “Even people who counted their blessings never counted them in the morning. For one thing, there wasn’t time.” “Because the thing about love is that we can’t control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it.” “Nobody was ever replaced in life, no hole completely filled or loss totally healed. … the cracks would always show if you looked hard enough.” “I read, therefore, I matter.” “I love my job, and I love books. I read anything, including cereal boxes. I care deeply about what people think of my books, and I memorize my reviews. I love to hear from my readers.” “I was a lawyer and I loved it, but my Francesca was born, and a divorce followed way too soon after.” “Any middle-aged woman knows that our feet are not for the faint of heart, especially in midwinter.”

From her writing about writers:

“As flattered as I was by the comparison, it didn't feel like what I was doing from the inside out.”

These capture her blend of insight, humor, emotional frankness, and reflection on life and profession.

Lessons from Lisa Scottoline

1. Leverage your prior life. Her legal background gave her a foundation from which to write credible and meaningful thrillers.

2. Be bold in transitions. She left a stable profession to pursue writing, showing courage in pursuing one’s passion.

3. Combine genres. Her success in both serious novels and light humor column writing demonstrates that authors need not be confined to one lane.

4. Write characters you want to see. She often centers women, relationships, and moral challenges in her stories.

5. Stay connected with readers. Her openness to feedback and closeness to her audience strengthen her bond with them.

6. Accept imperfection. Her quotes about loss, cracks, and healing suggest an acceptance that life—and writing—is not tidy.

Conclusion

Lisa Scottoline is a compelling example of how a professional career (law) and literary ambition can intersect to yield a body of work that is both entertaining and substantive. Her legal thrillers, her humorous essays with her daughter, her thoughtful engagement with readers, and her consistent output make her an influential figure in contemporary American fiction.