Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Cavazos.
Hi Christopher, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
So, I grew up in a very strict household, my dad was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and was exactly the kind of no-nonsense guy you might expect. My mom was a teacher and always set very high expectations for me. I remember my parents sitting me down at a very early age and telling me that I could either be a doctor or a lawyer and that was it. I was bad at science so I went to law school.
I did my undergrad at the University of Texas in Austin and then Law School here in San Antonio at St. Mary’s. After law school, I bounced around a bit before becoming a Criminal Prosecutor. My time as a prosecutor was invaluable, working in the courtroom day in and day out and seeing the other side of the criminal justice system continues to pay dividends to this day- that being said I was always better suited for defense work. Anytime a younger attorney asks for advice on getting into the criminal law field I always tell them to go work in a prosecutor’s office for a while- it’s like a young doctor working in an emergency room- you can gain a ton of experience in a short period of time.
As far as starting BRCK Criminal Defense I give all the credit in the world to my partner Stephen Barrera. I told Stephen I was going to leave prosecution and start my own firm and he suggested that we team up. He had a thriving practice at the time but was looking to grow. Over time, we have continually added pieces to the team, including amazing attorneys, paralegals, and even interns from St. Mary’s Law. The result is a group of professionals that I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of.
We went through about ten name changes before settling on “BRCK.” We liked the idea of invoking the image of a brick wall of defense, it’s also the initials of the four partners at the law firm- Stephen Barrera, Daniel Rodriguez, Christopher Cavazos, and Monica Khirallah.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course last year was challenging, we had just opened a new office in Boerne and were excited about a bunch of upcoming events. I remember we ordered hundreds of koozies and t-shirts for several events we were going to sponsor. They arrived just in time for everything to get canceled and courts to close.
Courthouses completely shut down and jury service was suspended so like every other industry we had to adapt, more Zoom, more emails, more remote work- but through it all our team always stayed together, stayed working, and stayed focused on serving our clients.
We’ve been impressed with BRCK Criminal Defense Attorneys, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a Criminal Defense Attorney there’s this idea that you represent all these really bad people- but in reality, it’s nothing like that. I can’t tell you how many college students, nurses, teachers, and just regular people that we have represented over the years. People who just got into a situation that wasn’t reflective of how they have lived their lives – wrong place, wrong time, made a mistake, or were simply falsely accused of something and now their lives, careers, and families are all in jeopardy.
At our firm, it’s really all about the client. When someone is charged with a crime it’s the most important thing in the world to them, they are stressed, they are worried and they are anxious. They find out real quick that the criminal justice system can be bureaucratic, uncaring, and even unfair at times – so our goal is to get people through this tough situation, get whatever this was about behind them so they can get back to their lives and families.
And so how we do that is by having the best defense attorneys around. Our firm has lawyers who have spent their entire legal careers specializing in criminal law, both as former prosecutors and defense attorneys. The kind that have seen and handled every kind of case imaginable. And then we limit ourselves to criminal defense, it can be tempting at times to do things like personal injury or car wrecks but by instead staying laser-focused on one area of law we are best able to serve our clients.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The way I see it the biggest risk to any law firm would be losing client trust. The attorney-client relationship is so important and we have seen with other attorneys how quickly it can all fall apart. Law firms that just tell clients what they want to hear, get in over their head, charge exorbitant fees or make unattainable promises end up hurting their businesses in the long run.
It’s important for us to be honest with our clients, let them know what to expect based on our experience, be fair with our prices, and have lawyers and staff who unequivocally know what they are doing.
Contact Info:
- Email: chris@bcpdefense.com
- Website: www.brckdefense.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brckdefense/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRCKDefense
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BRCKDefense
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOf1wA9fdt4S2I_LuVNSz3g
