Criminal Defense CLE: Ethics, Client Communication, and High-Quality Advocacy

Mar 6
2 min read

The criminal defense attorney's job is one of the most demanding in the profession. Every decision touches a client's liberty, constitutional rights, and life outside the courtroom. This CLE is a serious, practical examination of what it actually takes to do that job well.

Brian Decker is Chief of the Northwest Regional Trial Division at the Oregon Public Defense Commission, where he leads trial-level representation across the Portland metro-area. His career spans public defense in two states, federal prosecution as an Assistant United States Attorney, and criminal justice reform work at the Oregon Justice Resource Center. He writes and teaches on criminal defense, ethics, and professional judgment.

The course is built around five pillars of high-quality criminal defense representation: (1) client communication and care, (2) developing a defense theory, (3) discovery and file review, (4) advising the client and understanding decision authority, and (5) courtroom practice and professional standards. What makes this framework useful is how Decker connects each pillar to the ethics rules that govern it. ABA Rules 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 3.3, 3.4, and 8.4 aren't treated as a separate compliance checklist, rather they're woven into the practical guidance throughout. The result is a course where ethics and craft are treated as the same thing, which is especially appropriate for criminal defense attorneys.

For attorneys considering criminal defense work, this CLE lays out exactly what the role encompasses. For experienced defense attorneys, it's a rigorous check on whether every part of their practice is as strong as it should be.

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