Every day I walk into courtrooms in St. Paul, Minneapolis and the surrounding cities in Minnesota handling my clients’ criminal cases. I have been extraordinarily lucky and privileged to do this and I have been doing this for decades. And yet, I can do more. This is why I stretch myself. I want to do more. It brings me a satisfaction of its own but it absolutely makes me a better criminal defense lawyer for my clients. So, I do both.

I’m teaching Kenyan prosecutors to handle wildlife trafficking cases in Kenya. This specifically is about protecting elephants , rhinos and other wildlife in an area of the world that faces massive challenges in this area. My goal is to help them with opening and closing statements, how to cross examine and do direct examinations. This makes them all better and it makes me better too. As importantly, I get to work with two of the most amazing prosecutors in Kenya, Florence Magoma and Laura Yego. Ms. Magoma is Head the Prosecution Unit for the Kenya Wildlife Service. The work they are doing to protect elephants, rhinos and other endangered species is incredible. Laura Yego is also incredible. She is the Chief Legal Officer for the Kenya Forest Service. They are generally responsible for habitat across Kenya. As you might imagine, Ms. Yego and Ms. Magoma work closely and cooperatively to protect the natural resources and animals across Kenya. I am beyond privileged to work beside them.

Of course, because of COVID, Kenya is currently shut down to outsiders. I was there earlier in 2020 and the only way to help now is online. I shot a few videos some time ago to help provide some of the basics to these extraordinary lawyers. Now, I will be using ZOOM so that we can do even more. I’m excited and hopeful about this endeavor.