Front row: Christina Slate, Laura Frazier Back Row: Matt Clark, Andy Hynes, Michael McPheeters
Five law alumni in the Public Defenders Office give Southwestern Virginians a learned hand to hold. The Henry County Public Defenders Office in Martinsville, Va., is now home to five W&L law alumni: Michael McPheeters ’07L, Matthew Clark ’01L, Laura Frazier ’08L, Christina Slate ’07L and its newest addition, Andrew Hynes ’09L. Their reasons for joining the office are varied. Slate began in private practice and was miserable, Hynes sought a work-life balance and McPheeters wanted to work for the underdog. For Frazier, it was serendipity. “I started because the office was hiring, and I needed a job,” she said. “The wonderful thing is that now I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I am actually surprised I didn’t think about criminal law as a career in the first place.” 10
Southwest Virginia, where unemployment hovers at around 22 percent, needs their skills. As Hynes explained, “Here in Martinsville/ Henry County, the majority of my clients either worked in manufacturing or are the children of manufacturing laborers. Since most of that industry closed in the late ’90s, many have found themselves forced to the breaking point by a total lack of employment opportunity, coupled with a lack of education. My typical client did not finish high school, and the most surprising thing is how ignorant most are of their basic rights.” The obstacles are many and start with broken homes and high-crime neighborhoods and the need for drug rehabilitation and mental health serW & L
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vices. “While not all of my clients commit crimes because they are poor, it is a significant factor for many of them,” noted Frazier. “Once they are in the system, the cycle is easily continued. A client who comes in for a basic speeding ticket is left with a fine and court costs to pay. If they do not pay these fines, the license is suspended. At this point, if they are lucky enough to have a job in this economy, they no longer have a license to drive themselves there in order to make money to pay off their fines. And if they do drive and get caught, they are faced with mandatory jail time that will likely result in the loss of their job. It’s easy, I feel, for the general public to perceive our clients as general ne’er-do-wells who have no
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