I grew up in a relatively poor town in Utah and put myself through an Economics degree and a J.D. (and I had to work jobs to do it, along with borrow money for student loans). I know what it is like to have limited means, I know how it feels to be encumbered by debt, and I know how damn expensive lawyers can be. I choose to be different.
I care deeply about people, and I want to help people as much as I can. If it were possible to operate this law practice for free I would do it. Unfortnately, it is not. However, tokeep costs down, I run it myself, I do all the work, I take every client and issue very seriously, put my whole heart into it, and I do it as inexpensively as I can possibly manage. It is not a business strategy (if it were, it would not be a good one) but the fact is, people are what matter to me. And I want to help anybody I reasonably can, in particular those who have limited means. It is a cause I am extremely passionate about. It is who I am.
As for personal details:
I love to ski, drive my old MX-5 on a canyon road in good weather, play a good game of chess (not to boast but I have yet to find anybody who can consistently beat me in person), I love sipping a nice cup of tea (Black, Earl Grey) while discussing basically anything with anybody. I love virtually everyone and tend to look for and assume the best in people, and also believe that each person's unique life experience gives them a perspective that only they are truly qualified to share, so I always love to hear it.
I like to be active and keep in shape, I'm a former competitive swimmer (breaststroke primarily). It has been many years, though, and I suspect my form is still pretty good (I even was WSI Certified and taught swimming for a while back in 2004 or 2005) I'm sure my "speed" is rubbish now.
At my election (or insistence? I cannot honestly recall) I was administered a clinical IQ test in 2008 or 2009 (I infer that it must have been the WAIS-IV) and I remember my score was 141. I interpret this to mean that I am just smart enough to be really annoying, but not smart enough to actually contribute any inventions or discoveries to science.
Politically I'm a bit of a lefty and battle-causes that are dear to my heart, aside from income inequality, are virtually any other inequality issue as it may arise. Whether it be about gender roles (I am avowedly against the notion of them) or issues of rights and civil liberties relating to race, sexual preference, or other criteria, I find myself eagerly wanting to assist somehow.
If you are a person of faith, I respect that, my own parents are deeply religious, however I am an agnostic. I do not claim to have any of the answers to the really "big questions" and (as a former statistics student) tend to favor the "null hypothesis" unless convinced otherwise. However, I disliked feeling like I was trapped in a vacuum without any sort of creed or standard to hold myself accountable to, so I made one for myself (after a great deal of thought). I have included it at the very bottom, if you are interested. Despite migrating my career in a direction that exposes me to some of the less pleasant aspects of society, I still prefer to see the good in people and am, always, unfailingly, deeply committed to my ethics (which of course includes attorney-client confidentiality).
I have in fact published eight novels (not including audiobook versions of most of them--professionally recorded, trust me you would not want to listen to me reading the books for hours on end!) and I have also published one short story.
I tend to adopt the attitude that "fortune favors the bold" and am not intimidated by the idea of defense, or going to trial, or litigation generally, should push come to shove. (Of course if better tactics avail themselves I would always recommend those first). I took my felony defense case with no experience at all and I poured in many, many extra hours (of my own time, naturally, I would never bill them to the client in such a situation) and I still believe the outcome of that case is probably the greatest thing I have ever done in my life (so far).
Despite my limited number of cases (which should rapidly grow in the near future) I have spent a lot of time in court, I have two mentors (an official one and an unofficial one) and both arfe excellent and I try to observe them, and learn from them, whenever I possibly can.
I am also a proud member of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and so I believe that the tools are at my disposal to tackle just about anything you can throw at me. (Quick note: If it is a gravely serious criminal defense matter, such as multiple felony ones facing the possibility of life in prison or capital punishment, or something overwhelmingly complex, I would not take the case for ethical reasons on the basis that I cannot guaratee that you would get the quality of defense you deserve, even if it means turning down a "good paying job" I shall only represent cases that I genuinely and for good reason believe I am more than a match for the challenge.)
That is about as long as I can drone on talking about myself. I'm a pretty chatty guy so I tend not to bill by the hour if I can avoid it (and if I do have to bill by the hour then I will substract any time that I feel was not directly used for the purpose of advancong the case.)
To anybody interested, here is my own personal creed:
"1. This life may be all you get, make it count; 2. Take care of yourself, live as long and well as you can; 3. Be bold and take risks, but don't be a damn fool about it; 4. Never let doubt nor fear prevent you from being the real you; 5. Have confidence, be proud, but don't think you are worth more than others; 6. If there is genuine need, and you can reasonably help, always do so.; 7. Try to improve, always, but also forgive yourself. 8. Restatement of 1."
