Gladys Towles Root opened her office at 212 South Hill Street, Los Angeles California, the former location of the Rainbow Saloon.

She became so skilled that by the early 1960s young prosecutors and defense attorneys would gather to watch her cross-examination of prosecuting witnesses.

[1] In 1931, she successfully argued for a Filipino man and a Caucasian woman's right to marry, which was at that time illegal in the state of California.

At the height of her career, Root was handling 1,600 cases per year and averaging 75 court appearances per month.

Three men had kidnapped Frank Sinatra Jr. from across the California-Nevada state line at Lake Tahoe and transported him to Los Angeles.

Charges were brought against Gladys based on her allegedly fabricating the story that the young singer concocted the kidnapping for publicity reasons.