Philip Slayton studied law at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and then clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. In the first chapter of his legal career he was a law professor and dean of law at Western University. Philip then went into legal practice with a major Canadian law firm in Toronto, and worked on many of the biggest corporate and commercial transactions of the time. After seventeen years, he retired from the practice of law in 2000. Upon leaving Big Law, Philip Slayton wrote the best-selling book Lawyers Gone Bad: Money, Sex and Madness in Canada's Legal Profession. Philip and his book were the subjects of a Maclean's magazine cover story with the controversial headline "Lawyers are Rats." The Toronto Star labelled Slayton "Public Enemy #1." His second book was Mighty Judgment: How the Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life. Slayton is a regular contributor on law-related topics to Canadian magazines and newspapers, and is an occasional commentator on television and radio. He is president of PEN Canada.