MTACDL - Lawyers of the Year

Presented by Colin Stephens, President — MTACDL, to the FDOM/MTACDL conference on March 9, 2023. 

Although Paul has been practicing as a work comp attorney for almost 16 years, he finally remembered that he got into law to help people and to be a criminal defense attorney. (I consider this a rookie given the drastic career switch). So, he switched gears, hung a shingle, and started taking OPD cases. Paul's first two misdemeanor cases resolved with deferred prosecutions and his first felony was a complex rape case in which the defendant was a refugee from Afghanistan. Paul filed a motion to suppress the defendant's statement on the grounds that the cops failed to secure a translator and Mirandized the kid using "google." The case ultimately pled out to a misdemeanor sexual assault. Paul then when on to assist the client in immigration proceedings. After the client was released from immigration custody in NV and allowed to return to Missoula, Paul gave him money out of his own pocket to buy clothes. That's dedication.

Colin Stephens and Paul Simon