As a Criminal Defense Attorney, I wear many hats – advocate, teacher, and educator. Part of my role as a criminal defense attorney is to educate my client about the circumstances that brought them to me in the first place.

William Saroyan, (31 August 1908 - 18 May 1981) an American-Armenian dramatist and author, once wrote that “people who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.” In the course of representing my client, I continually ask them at the beginning, middle and end of my representation, “what lessons have you learned from your experience”?

I am a strong believer in having my client gain insight into the “controllable” circumstances that brought them to me in the first place. Is there a dysfunction in their lives – alcohol abuse, drug abuse, anger management, mental health issues, etc. that contributed to the commission of the offense and is the condition treatable? If so, let’s treat the underlying problem that gave rise to the aberrant behavior and subsequent arrest in the first place. Otherwise, if the client fails to gain that insight and/or treatment, the client will be a cyclical repeat client.

All interested parties and clients are automatically enrolled into our law firm’s “education series.” As a member of my education series, you will periodically receive pamphlets published by the California State Bar on subjects of interests in the Criminal Law Field. A partial list of these publications includes the following:

• What Should I know if I am Arrested?
• What Should I do If I am a Crime Victim?
• Can the Law Help Protect Me from Domestic Violence?
• What Should I know about Elder Abuse?
• Kids & Law – An A-Z Guide for Parents.
• Seniors & the Law. A Guide for Maturing Californians
• When You Become 18.

If you are interested in receiving any of these pamphlets, please contact my office and my staff will be happy to mail you one or more pamphlets FREE of charge to you. My education series motto is “people fear what they don’t understand.” A little education goes a long way in reducing our fear, anxiety and stress levels. You can view the entire list of consumer publications available from the California State Bar.