This Attorney Has Gained Experience as a State and Federal Defense Attorney

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: What skills do you have as a federal defense attorney versus a state attorney that you've gotten from handling these kinds of cases? What do you feel like you've gained that really helps you defend people in this arena?

Acacia Law: Because of the nature of the fact in the federal system you don't have all that disclosure, you have got to be really good at building your own case. With the state system, you're getting all the disclosure so you have a sense exactly of what the state's case is going to be.

Defending Federal Cases Builds Creativity and Persistence

So your defense is kind of easier to craft. In the federal system, you don't have that. You've got to start from almost nothing to put the defense together. So it really forces you, as an attorney, to be creative, to be dogged, to be persistent, to look at every single angle of the case.

Interviewer: So even for state crimes, it sounds like you probably end up with a "better attorney" if you look for one that also handles federal cases. This is because they have to succeed in more difficult circumstances?

Acacia Law: I would agree with that statement.

Interviewer: That's very interesting. It's something that people can look for whether they're just coming to you, obviously, for a state crime or a federal crime. That's why I wanted to point it out.

Acacia Law: I think that's a very accurate statement. If you have an attorney who can handle state crimes but can't handle federal, that tells you something.