After nearly thirty years as a lawyer representing people during the most stressful times of their lives, I don’t think people really care where I went to law school or what bar associations I belong to. I don’t blame them. When we are working together for months at a time, and sometimes longer, we really get to know each other. What is important is our trust, and how we work together.
There are a few things that I believe in that guide me in representing people. You can read about what I believe here.
I know what it is like to feel like you’ve lost control, that your future is in jeopardy, that your whole life is threatened. In 2001, I thought my life was over, that I had lost control, and that everything I had worked for and dreamed of was about to be destroyed. I lost hope. I’ve had those feelings and fears that my clients experience. I was so lucky that some great people helped me in my darkest times, and on September 1, 2001, I got sober. I’ve been there. It was a long time ago, and sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, but now I see my years of struggles and fear as a gift that lets me help others get safely through their own storms.
Some people are surprised that I would talk about my struggles and my recovery so publicly. Years ago I was told by a man much wiser than me that, “we recover loudly so that others may not die in silence.” I firmly believe that, and I try to live up to that ideal. So, I try to bring empathy and understanding to the clients I have the great privilege of defending in their darkest days.
I got my law degree at Washington and Lee University School of Law, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. I enjoyed living in Virginia, but was glad to come back home to Massachusetts after school. Virginia is beautiful, but I missed New England. This is home. I started my criminal defense practice in 1996. Since then, I have represented people in State and Federal Courts, at trial and on appeal.
I have never been a prosecutor. Some defense lawyers advertise the fact that they are former prosecutors. Since I began my practice, I have wanted to represent and defend people, not the government. The government has enough power, enough people ready to do its bidding. I have never been one of them.
I want to help people get safely through the storm.