Lester Munson began writing for Sports Illustrated in the summer of 1991 and became a permanent member of SI's staff a year later. He is now considered one of the magazine's top experts in the areas of legal affairs and investigations. Munson is also a legal analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated.

Munson has written on numerous issues that concern sport and law, including "Paternity Ward," the story on athletes with children out of wedlock, the rape trial of boxer Mike Tyson, and Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin's drug trial. He also has co-authored several of SI's most intriguing exposes on wrongdoing in sport. Among those reports was a ground-breaking piece on the possible connections between star athletes and domestic violence. His feature "Blood Money," an investigation into the execution of thoroughbred horses for insurance money which was co-written with William Nack, was a finalist in the Features Category of the 1992 National Magazine Awards competition.

Born and raised in suburban Chicago, Munson went on to receive a degree in history from Princeton University in 1962, where he was editor of The Daily Princetonian. Shortly after graduation, he enrolled at the University of Chicago School of Law and was awarded a law degree in 1967. Following several years in politics and law, Munson entered the field of investigative reporting when he joined the staff of The National in early 1990. He stayed with the paper until it folded in the summer of 1991.

A frequent guest on radio and TV shows across the nation, including the highly acclaimed "Sportswriters on TV," Munson currently resides in Chicago with his wife. They have two sons.

June 1999