Howard I Bass

Howard Bass saved my son’s life. My 16-year-old son who was known for his honesty and kindness, never caused any trouble, and was straight-A student, had very serious and false charges placed against him by a homophobic peer who learned he was gay. My husband and I call that the day that the black ...cloud descended onto our lives. We hired a lawyer who began the journey of “defending” my son. She took all of the payments up front and after the first visit to the courthouse, we realized she was spending very little time worrying about his defense. She would not listen to anything we had to say and let us know that she had no interest in going to trial because it would not benefit her financially. She said it was a waste of her time because these cases never win. The fear washed over us as we realized she was taking our son down a path to a life of being on a sexual offenders list and possibly jail time, leaving a moniker on him that he could never erase for his entire life. We were watching our happy, stable, professional, and values-driven family being led down a road deeper into this nightmare and we had no control. She did not even plan to try to defend him. I searched the internet, read through many attorney profiles and then found Howard’s website. It said he will aggressively defend a client in and out of the courtroom. What I read about him compelled me to call him. I liked him right away because he was very upfront and direct, but because of our experience with the first lawyer, I sent him an incredibly long list of questions, trying to make sure we did not make the same mistake. Looking back, it is hard to believe that he actually took the time to answer all of my questions very thoroughly, but I know it was because he was sympathetic and sensitive to the fact that by hiring him, we were making the decision to pay double what it normally would cost us because the first lawyer would not return any money. This completely won me over. He did everything he said he would do and more. He listened to my son’s situation. He always respected and considered my insight. He allowed me to feel like I was actually doing something to help my son, which calmed me. Howard was willing to reflect on the details, take the time to look at the situation from many different angles, develop a strong and tight defense with a winning strategy, and go to trial. Although he let us know that these cases are difficult to win, I could see that he was doing his best to make it happen. The trial was like a scripted TV show. Howard easily evoked the homophobic feelings of my son’s accuser who emotionally told everyone in the courtroom that he believed gay people should be punished. He easily had all the prosecution’s witnesses contradict themselves many times, making it obvious that their story was fabricated. After Mr. Bass had done his job eloquently, the jury met for about 15 minutes and my son was acquitted. Howard not only did his job, but he also went out of his way to find us help to retrieve some of the money we lost from the first lawyer, who refused to refund any money. He later successfully had my son’s records expunged. We are so grateful for the passion that Howard has for his profession and the dedication and diligence he demonstrated with my son’s case. Because of Howard Bass, my son who had just graduated from high school at the end of this would have been facing a nightmare of a life. The world is a better place because my son is able to add to it fully and freely, and it is a better place because there is a lawyer who actually does care and will aggressively defend the clients he takes.