About the Author – Elaine Fischel

Elaine B. Fischel was born in New York. Her widowed mother moved her girls out of the big city and raised Elaine and her sister in Southern California. In addition to “honors” grades in high school, Elaine’s athletic abilities led to a number-one ranking in Junior tennis and, while representing UCLA, she became a National Intercollegiate Tennis Champion. 

The end of World War II found Elaine working in Tokyo for two-and-a-half years at the trial of the twenty-eight accused Japanese war criminals. General Douglas MacArthur, the leader of the Occupation, recruited American lawyers to defend the fallen leaders to insure that history would say this was a “fair trial.” Elaine’s assignment to the Defense enabled her to interact with the fallen leaders, who had become “clients,” and with military leaders, diplomats, the Japanese royal family, and Japanese citizens from all walks of life. When the trial was over, Fischel returned home and attended the University of Southern California School of Law. She went on to practice law for fifty-seven years.