Justin Kirk Tabayoyon | Fairfield Criminal Defense Lawyer

• Member | Contra Costa County Bar Association

• Member of the California State Bar since .
  2013

Getting clients has been the easiest thing about my law practice. Becoming a excellent attorney took a lot of work and is a never ending process. In the beginning, I advertised heavily and I took cases at very low rates to gain experience. I also got on local referral lists and government panels that are available in the local legal community. I had a very full caseload within just a few months of being licensed as an attorney. And that hasn't changed since. I started out very aggressive. I spent many long nights studying the law and practice guides to teach me the practical things that are not taught in law school. I would go to court and sit an watch trials in my spare time. I had hundred of cases under my belt in a very short amount of time. And I was never afraid to take a case to trial and let a judge or a jury decide. Within a very short time, I gained a lot of trial experience in family law and criminal cases. Within a few years, I had more trial experience (primarily through family law cases) than some attorneys practicing 3 or 4 times as long as me. After a couple years of obtaining solid outcomes for my clients through settlement and trial, word spread. Client referrals, referrals from courtroom staff, domestic violence victims' advocates, and surprisingly referrals from other attorneys, started pouring in. Today, many if not most of my clients come from referrals from previous clients and other attorneys in the community.

Clients should make sure their potential attorney has experience in the particular area of law that is at issue in their case. However, at a certain point the marginal value of experience plateaus and the underlying natural ability of the attorney becomes the driving factor. Some good attorneys with many years of experience have simply lost their passion. They are just there and go through the motions. Some attorneys are better at settling cases, and some are better at trying cases at trial. I think potential clients should look for natural ability in their lawyer and actually go watch their potential attorney in action in court. See if they have or still have the fire burning inside them to be an aggressive advocate for their clients. It's important to see how other lawyers and judges interact with the attorney. Watch to see the level of confidence the attorney has in court and the level of respect their colleagues have for them. Some attorneys are unprepared, passive, reactive, and are bulldogged by the opposing side. You'll know who those attorneys are by watching them in court just one time. You don't want to hire an unprepared, reactive, or passive attorney. Go watch an attorney in action before deciding to hire them. The day you spend at the courthouse will be worth it.

Depending on the area of law, it is vital. For family cases, knowing the local judges is of the utmost important. Often the outcome of a contested family law trial has more to do with the judges judicial perspective than the facts of the case. It's a sad but true reality of family law litigation. As far as criminal law, judges matter too. Some judges are more likely to side with the prosecution than the defense on close issues.

During any consultation, I need straight to the point and very concise statements about the facts of their case and the present situation. Much of a consultation is spent getting potential clients to stop giving irrelevant information and re-focusing them on the relevant information that I need. Potential clients should try to deliver as much relevant information as possible during a consultation using the fewest words possible.

I have a wider understanding of the law than most attorneys that I know. Many attorneys only practice in one area of law. For instance, many criminal defense attorneys have no idea how to handle a civil or family law case and could not do so competently. The rules of procedure and discovery are totally different for criminal and civil cases. Likewise, most civil attorneys couldn't handle a simple misdemeanor criminal court case competently. As someone that practices both criminal and civil law, I have a broad understanding of the practice of law. As someone that practices both criminal and family law, I am in court virtually everyday. Most other personal injury attorneys rarely go to court and do most of their work outside of court. As an attorney that practices both family and criminal law, in addition to personal injury, I have a lot more courtroom experience than lawyers in my community that strictly practice personal injury litigation.

The most rewarding part of my job is getting my client justice. Justice can mean different things for different types of cases. But what most people don't realize is that getting justice is not free and it is not automatic. If it were, we wouldn't need lawyers. Knowing that I was the primary reason why my client obtained justice in a particular case is a very rewarding feeling.

In addition to law, I'm interested in politics and freedom. I strongly believe in civil liberty.

I consider myself to be involved with my community. I take part in community discussions online a lot through social media. I try to maintain good relationships with the local community and continuously try to make new relationships. Having relationships with people in the community is a very important part of maintaining a successful law practice.