Wexford Law Los Angeles

The Wexford Way

Before becoming an attorney I was a Hollywood writer/storyteller, and prior to that I played football for various teams up to the age of 27. I had one coach who would say, "sometimes you only get once chance."

In law, nothing can be truer - you get one, brief opportunity to tell your story. Whether that one chance is the first 10 seconds in oral argument or the first few opening paragraphs in a brief, the trier of fact (judge) needs to be immediately persuaded that the client is genuine, trustworthy, likeable, and preferable so that the trier of fact commiserates with the client. Persuading the judge that the client is entitled to legal recourse is the ultimate challenge, since case law is merely a secondary factor because case law is nothing more than the "reasoning" for the judge to "hang his/her hat on" when making the ruling.

Many potential clients have walked into my office because a judge had recently ruled against them in a motion filed by their previous attorney. Sometimes the judge would comment in his/her ruling, "why would I want to help this person?" If I was retained, I would walk in within days of the ruling with a similar motion in front of the same judge, seeking different results. The difference is that with a Wexford brief the client is now personable, likable, preferable and someone who the judge desires to assist. The same judge who days earlier didn't like the client, now is inclined to rule in favor of the client based upon how the client is now presented to the court.

An attorney can argue pages and pages of case law, but if the client isn't presented well to the judge, then the case law is typically useless. If the client isn't likable there is not enough case law in the entire world to cite to because opposing counsel has an equal amount of case law to use in their counter argument.

As an example, I had one client who prior to retaining Wexford Law would have his attorneys submit briefs of 100 pages or more, with the misconception that case law briefs were kept like baseball scores - if one party presented 100 pages of law and the other party presented 4 pages of case law, then the expectation was that first party would prevail 100-4 based entirely upon volume, entirely dismissing substance. Obviously the new client's previous counsel was a member of a large law firm, so the client was likely accustomed to oversized briefs since it would justify the large law firm's billing practice. The fact is that briefs of over 25 pages are rarely read to their totality and if they are read to completion, then it is likely that the oversized brief is inefficient, difficult and to convoluted to memorize.

Although I'm 6'4", the courtroom is one of the few times in real life in which size doesn't matter. Moreover, in many instances an oversized argument can be an impediment. Although I must admit that in my case, my height does make a nice presentation in the courtroom.

MICHAEL DEVEREUX

Michael Devereux is one of the more highly respected attorneys in Los Angeles. His vast experience, zealous advocacy for his clients and extensive knowledge of many areas of the law make Mr. Devereux the premiere Los Angeles attorney located in prestigious Century City. Mr. Devereux started his own firm in 2004 after working for the Cochran Firm, and assisting with the Robert Blake and Michael Jackson defense teams.

As the sole proprietor of Wexford Law, Mr. Devereux has been successfully representing clients for close to 20 years. Former clients, their family and friends repeatedly return to Wexford Law for help in matters involving appeals, civil rights, cyber crimes, defamation, forfeiture, Internet matters, litigation, restraining orders and white-collar crime.

Mr. Devereux, from the blood line of the Viking Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, to William the Conqueror to King Richard the Lionheart, is a battler and loves taking on the government and major corporations.

Michael DevereuxPrincipal at Wexford Law

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