Jonathan Kouroush Reza

So my life was in the gutter, deep in the gutter. I'm on my 3rd DUI, on violation for the first two, and looking at some solid time in jail at this point. Keep in mind, I may not be what you think of when you think of someone doing a year in jail. But alas, this is what I was facing. My sister in-law found Jonathan's partner on Avvo (shoutout to Julia, she's pretty cool too!) and the three of us took a meeting. Look, I'm not gonna sugar coat it because they didn't. They told me some things I wasn't ready to hear. Mostly that they'll do the best they could but some jail time could be on its way; that I NEEDED to get my act together, and finish something for once or jail might be inevitable. That said, they also asked me about me, they took the time to see that, although incredibly irresponsible, I wasn't a bad guy. They walked me through the process and gave me some potential options... I'd met with a few lawyers by this point. All of them telling me that jail was the fastest and easiest choice (maybe it was, for them). To me, it wasn't an option. Although my personal life was spiraling out of control, my professional one was doing well and I wasn't about to lose it all. Julia and Jonathan both saw that. Again, there was no hand holding or coddling through the process. There were some harsh truths, some gut check moments and uncomfortable conversations. Needless to say, I'm looking at daylight and so long as I keep straight, I should come out of this with minimal damage thanks to Jonathan. He went to bat for me. Played the legal game to his strengths and he go it done. I remember in that meeting they told me that by the end of this I was either going to start with a clean slate, or be looking at a hard road ahead; all dependent on the decisions I made from that day on. So far, so good. Advice for anyone in a similar position: 1) Breathe; trust the process. My situation took almost 5 months to wrap up. I wanted to get this done with ASAP, but its not how it works. Take a beat, let the lawyers, lawyer. 2) Although it might feel like it, the process IS moving. Sometimes I felt left in the dark and there was more to be done. That's not the case. Unfortunately, we're dealing with the city judicial system; it drags. Be patient, no news is usually good news; do what they tell you to do and it'll work out. 3) Own your mistakes. Don't expect a "get out of jail free card" without any work. Own that you made a mistake and fix it. Finally, my favorite, 4) FTI - Follow Their Instructions. They say go to rehab, go to rehab, They say go to AAs, go to AAs. I'm not saying its easy work, but follow the lead Jonathan gives you, and I am confident he'll accomplish your goal. I can't thank Jonathan and his team enough. I wasn't the easiest I'm sure, but glad I reach out to them when I did. My case isn't shut just yet, but for the first time in months, I see light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks a million Jonathan!

Jonathan was fantastic & walked me they this scary experience as we never really want to be in this position. He understood me as a person that made a horrible mistake and not just trying make me a case that he didn't care about. The negotiations for my case was more than I had expected - he definitely went above and beyond to fight for me and gotten me the best deal. I appreciate having someone on my side. No jail time & possession charges dropped. Miracles happen. Grateful for his help.