Charlie Roadman, partner with Roadman & Espiritu in Austin, joins us on today's show! Charlie talks about overcommunicating with your clients, the importance of empathy, and taking advantage of tools and technology.

His firm/practice

Criminal defense attorney for nearly 20 years
Focuses on DWIs/misdemeanors; 3rd degree felonies and down
New DA and County Attorney in Travis County; ran on fairly progressive ideas and they have been implementing those things
more pretrial diversion programs
County Atty handles misdemeanors and the DA handles felonies
In surrounding counties (usually smaller) the DA handles both

COVID update - as of May 13, 2021)

Travis County has 13 criminal courtrooms, and right now they are still down at just one
Went from 600-700 people in the courthouse every day to 30
Without court dates to bring together the defendants and their counsel, it is much harder to stay in touch with their clients
We're always three months out from reopening the courthouse
juries are the biggest issue
plans to do voir dire in a large venue
People have still been getting arrested steadily; biggest difference has been its much easier now to get a court-appointed attorney (courts aren't concerned about the proof of inability to pay)

Advice for lawyers in practice

Do the things that the client has to do yourself
He takes the classes that the clients are going to have to take
Helps him explain/educate the client better
Reduces the anxiety of the client and they are more likely to do it
Put yourself in the client's shoes; have empathy for them
Clients face a variety of obstacles; get to know what those are and figure out how to solve that problem.
Don't wait for something substantive to happen to communicate with your client. Overcommunicate. Let them know you are thinking about them, their case, etc. If nothing else, it let's them know you are working on their case.
Even if there isn't anything they necessarily need to know.
When a client hires Charlie's firm, he begins sending them a 20 email sequence that is essentially life coaching material with podcast recommendations, book recommendations, etc.
Make sure you are comfortable with the new digital tools that are available; continue getting educated
VR and 360 photos are going to be commonplace soon.
He has gotten several cases dismissed after showing the prosecutors a headset with a 360 photo that helps their case

Advice for lawyers in the job search

Interest section is important!
Helps to identify team compatibility
Most helpful if it is something specific/unique
Tailor your materials to the job!
Example of candidate who had found his favorite movie and included a quote from the movie in a cover letter

On his book The Defendant's Guide to Defense - How to Help Your Lawyer Get the Best Result (Misdemeanor Edition)

Inspired by Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies/types of people
Upholder - follows internal AND external rules
Obligers - follow external rules BUT not necessarily internal rules
Questioners - won't do something unless they know why
Rebels - will do what they want
Lots of Questioners in criminal defense
As soon as he explains why the clients need to do something, it gets a lot easier

Rapid fire questions:

Name one characteristic you most want to see in an associate: problem solving
What habit has been key to your success: finding ways to be creative in explaining things
Favorite app/productivity tool: Mindmaps / iThoughts
Favorite pen: Macbook Air
Favorite social distancing activity: driving around with his teen daughter listening to music
Favorite legal movie: Trial of the Chicago Seven 

Thanks again to Charlie Roadman for joining us on the show!