Case Dismissed! All Charges Dropped! The File will be Automatically Sealed!
Those were the words I most wanted to hear in court, but that seemed impossible; that is, until I selected Jennifer Watkins to be my attorney. The icing on the cake was that I heard those words without the expense and stress of going to trial!
I've had more experience than I ever wanted when it comes to needing an attorney, which means I've learned how to be a better judge when it comes to selecting one. Will Rogers once said, "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." I'm happy that the "school of hard knocks" gave me the good judgment to hire Jennifer. She had the exact skill set needed to pull off the impossible.
Jennifer is "wicked smart," thoroughly understands Colorado DUI laws and, equally importantly, she knows the intricacies of the Boulder County Justice System. She knows the judges and the DAs - and they her. She knows how to navigate the complexities of the system and how to work with individual DAs to her client's best advantage.
Jennifer listens with rare intensity. I felt heard, understood and accepted, without judgment. She took the time upfront to get to know me, my background and needs, answer my gazillion questions, patiently explain the process, clearly define my options - and then recommend a course of action. I felt that she always put my needs first, meaning I never felt pressured to go in any direction that I didn't want to go.
Jennifer was very responsive, quickly getting back to me whenever I contacted her and regularly updating me whenever there were new developments. She helped me feel more in control of a process that can feel overwhelming and hopelessly complicated. She helped de-stress a very stressful experience.
Like many, I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I'd put myself in a situation where I was even suspected of driving under the influence, but Jennifer's gentle and compassionate understanding helped me to quickly move past those feelings.
Those are all wonderful qualities, right? But what really sets Jennifer apart from other attorneys with whom I've worked are her interpersonal skills and her emotional intelligence. She's intrinsically people-oriented, to the point of once studying to become a psychotherapist (long ago, in a galaxy far away). Wherever her interpersonal skills originated, I believe they were instrumental to the positive outcome she achieved in my case.
What do I mean by that?
A new DA was assigned to my case about the same time I hired Jennifer. He was young, inexperienced, and a total unknown to her, which she viewed as an opportunity, not a problem. She set out to get to know him, observe how he operated, figure out "what makes him tick." She soon realized he was in over his head, overwhelmed and stressed, so she started to help him out here and there, show him the ropes, make suggestions, earning his respect and trust in the process.
It took eight months for my case to snake its way through the system, which gave Jennifer numerous opportunities to talk to him about my case. She kept letting him know, sometimes playfully, that he could never win if my case went to trial. Her goal was to get him to offer an acceptable plea that would have lesser consequences than would a DUI.
Eventually she succeeded in that he DID offer an acceptable plea. I accepted and signed the agreement, but then when it came time to stand in front of the judge the DA surprised everyone by telling the judge that he'd changed his mind!
The DA told the judge that my case was so weak that he didn't believe he could possibly win at trial (just as Jennifer repeatedly told him). He told the judge that just because he COULD get me to accept a plea didn't mean it was the "right thing" to do, given all the negative consequences I would have. So, the DA withdrew all charges, the case was dismissed and the file was automatically sealed - all without the expense and stress of going to trial!
How do I explain the outcome? Jennifer helped the DA grow a conscience! Now, if THAT'S not a miracle, I don't know what is! She may not be able to perform a miracle for everyone, but she's the only attorney who ever performed one for me! I can't recommend Jennifer Watkins highly enough. read more