My Philosophy to Providing Legal Services
Obtaining superior results requires a full tool bag of legal resources. Having practiced law for more than 30 years, I recognize that every client is not served by the same techniques for every situation. Quality representation, especially involving litigation, requires being fully educated and fully prepared. At a minimum, a lawyer must take the following steps:
— Meet the client, listen to his or her needs, get to know the client’s situation, and help the client identify goals and reasonable expectations.
— Gather case-specific information from as many sources as possible. In criminal cases, that means reading police reports, reviewing videos, interviewing witnesses, obtaining medical and counseling information, and the like.
— Engage in adequate legal research and preparation. A competent lawyer must also remain up to speed as to current issues of criminal procedure so that he or she can raise legal challenges when law enforcement violates a defendant’s constitutional rights.
— Master scientific and technical information relevant to the case. Criminal prosecutions nowadays oftentimes involve complex scientific issues, especially in cases involving alleged driving under the influence, drug possession or distribution, computer-generated data, and sexual assault investigations. A competent criminal defense lawyer must maintain proficiency in relevant technical fields in order to raise appropriate challenges to the prosecution’s evidence.
— Draft pleadings, challenging an opponent’s case as necessary to prepare for hearing or trial and gain all appropriate advantage in litigation. Aggressive motion practice also may be necessary to protect the client from his or her opponent’s tactics and practices.
— Negotiate fair resolutions of cases that protect clients and their interests to the fullest extent justice will allow.
— When appropriate, litigating cases aggressively before judges and juries.
I disagree with lawyers who advocate no-holds barred litigation in every case. Aggressive litigation is appropriate, but only when it advances the client’s ultimate goals. I also disagree with lawyers who seek to avoid conflict in every case, settling whenever the first opportunity arises. Some cases need to be fought, and fought fully and forcefully as ethically possible. These are decisions that must be tailored to the individual client, made by the client with information and guidance provided by an informed and committed attorney.
My goal is to provide each and every client with competent advice and zealous advocacy as his or her needs dictate. This is true whether I am representing a criminal defendant, a victim of domestic violence, a potential witness, or any other individual, no matter the nature of the representation.