Irving Allan Kanarek (born May 12, 1920) is a former criminal defense attorney best known for representing Charles Manson and "Onion Field" killer Jimmy Lee Smith.
Kanarek's first career was as an aerospace engineer working for North American Aviation (NAA), where he invented a corrosion inhibitor for Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid for the Army's Project Nike.On July 12, 1954, while employed as a research engineer for North American Aviation, Kanarek lost his security clearance when the United States Air Force revoked it.
On September 21, 1955 it was restored.
He was dismissed from NAA.Kanarek attended the University of Washington as an undergraduate and Loyola Law School.