Legally changed his name to Lawrence Treat in 1940.
Invented the "police procedural" subgenre of detective fiction.
Began his professional life as a lawyer. Graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University School of Law. Began to write after the dissolution of his law firm in 1928.
Co-founder and previous president/treasurer of the Mystery Writers of America. Taught writing at Columbia and New York Universities, and at Adelphi College.