Monday Mentors with Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer Charlie Roadman
Charlie Roadman, partner with Roadman & Espiritu in Austin, joins us on today's show! Charlie talks about overcommunicating with your clients, the importance of empathy, and taking advantage of tools and technology.
His firm/practice
- Criminal defense attorney for nearly 20 years
- Focuses on DWIs/misdemeanors; 3rd degree felonies and down
- New DA and County Attorney in Travis County; ran on fairly progressive ideas and they have been implementing those things
- more pretrial diversion programs
- County Atty handles misdemeanors and the DA handles felonies
- In surrounding counties (usually smaller) the DA handles both
COVID update - as of May 13, 2021)
- Travis County has 13 criminal courtrooms, and right now they are still down at just one
- Went from 600-700 people in the courthouse every day to 30
- Without court dates to bring together the defendants and their counsel, it is much harder to stay in touch with their clients
- We're always three months out from reopening the courthouse
- juries are the biggest issue
- plans to do voir dire in a large venue
- People have still been getting arrested steadily; biggest difference has been its much easier now to get a court-appointed attorney (courts aren't concerned about the proof of inability to pay)
Advice for lawyers in practice
- Do the things that the client has to do yourself
- He takes the classes that the clients are going to have to take
- Helps him explain/educate the client better
- Reduces the anxiety of the client and they are more likely to do it
- Put yourself in the client's shoes; have empathy for them
- Clients face a variety of obstacles; get to know what those are and figure out how to solve that problem.
- Don't wait for something substantive to happen to communicate with your client. Overcommunicate. Let them know you are thinking about them, their case, etc. If nothing else, it let's them know you are working on their case.
- Even if there isn't anything they necessarily need to know.
- When a client hires Charlie's firm, he begins sending them a 20 email sequence that is essentially life coaching material with podcast recommendations, book recommendations, etc.
- Make sure you are comfortable with the new digital tools that are available; continue getting educated
- VR and 360 photos are going to be commonplace soon.
- He has gotten several cases dismissed after showing the prosecutors a headset with a 360 photo that helps their case
Advice for lawyers in the job search
- Interest section is important!
- Helps to identify team compatibility
- Most helpful if it is something specific/unique
- Tailor your materials to the job!
- Example of candidate who had found his favorite movie and included a quote from the movie in a cover letter
On his book The Defendant's Guide to Defense - How to Help Your Lawyer Get the Best Result (Misdemeanor Edition)
- Inspired by Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies/types of people
- Upholder - follows internal AND external rules
- Obligers - follow external rules BUT not necessarily internal rules
- Questioners - won't do something unless they know why
- Rebels - will do what they want
- Lots of Questioners in criminal defense
- As soon as he explains why the clients need to do something, it gets a lot easier
Rapid fire questions:
- Name one characteristic you most want to see in an associate: problem solving
- What habit has been key to your success: finding ways to be creative in explaining things
- Favorite app/productivity tool: Mindmaps / iThoughts
- Favorite pen: Macbook Air
- Favorite social distancing activity: driving around with his teen daughter listening to music
- Favorite legal movie: Trial of the Chicago Seven
Thanks again to Charlie Roadman for joining us on the show!