Client References and Testimonials
DUII – DUI
As a practicing alcoholic, the entire backdrop of my life was covered in secrecy and shame. When I was charged with a DUI, the facade that I had been working so hard to maintain was completely ripped away. So abruptly, the jig was up and everyone at once knew the truth about me. On one hand the exposure was life-saving and I even felt a sense of relief. On the other hand I felt devastated. The hand cuffs; backseat of a police car; drunk tank, were just the beginning. The next morning and for weeks after, as the dominos kept falling; as the extent of my deceit gave way to the light, my family and friends became more and more hurt, disgusted and dismayed. I felt completely alone… there was not a thing that I could say or do to explain or fix the situation. All that I could think to do was to throw myself into AA.
As I began to share my story with others, as well as my concern about how I would approach my new legal problem, the name James O’Rourke came up. James was highly recommended to me as a DUI attorney who approached his practice with not only the intention of solving the legal issues but also in helping alcoholics to achieve permanent abstinence. Frankly, I had always thought of DUI or criminal attorneys as the bottom feeders of the legal profession but that idea of mine could not have been further from the truth.
When I first spoke with James, he described the legal process as though it were it were part of some kind of solution. He encouraged me to capitalize on the experience as an opportunity to be a man; to stand up straight and tell the truth while aligning myself with the solution contained within AA. When he suggested using my debacle as an opportunity to build character and move forward, I remember feeling hope. The way in which James approached my problem helped me to let go of my self-condemnation, fear, unworthiness etc and to just begin taking actions that were consistent with a real solution; actions that would take me up and out of my circumstances.
James and his staff were remarkably kind, knowledgeable and flexible. Money was definitely an issue and I was reluctant to approach a private defender because of it. I was surprised at how reasonable the terms were and especially that the cost was in the form of a flat fee meaning no hourly billing. In any event, the legal results were not nearly as significant to me as my personal results have been. Through it all, I have now been sober for over 14 months. And though, I am still cleaning up my wreckage, I continue to have the love of my family; I have retained shared custody of two beautiful daughters and I have been able to maintain the same household and profession. I am very grateful to James, his staff and to their lemons to lemonade approach to adversity.
A. C.
At the end of 2010 my lifestyle had once again caught up with me. I had developed a number of addictions and was seeking treatment. I had lost my job of 10 years as a railroad conductor due to my addiction and was now facing criminal charges. My life was spiraling out of control. I wanted to just run away from all of my problems. Instead I picked up the phone and called James. He had been very helpful to me in a previous case. Immediately he began helping me turn my life around. He gave me peace of mind that i didnt know was possible. I was able to concentrate on my recovery and know that my case was in good hands. James and his staff always take the time to answer all of my questions and help me any way they can, even though my case is resolved. He got an incredible deal for me which gives me an opportunity to avoid a felony conviction and jail. My life is now heading in a very positive direction due to the help and support of James and his staff. Thanks for all of the help and hard work.
J. B.
During the summer of 2008 I hit a low in my life, one that I would not wish upon my worst enemy. My alcohol addiction/abuse had become so reckless that I did not care about anyone or anything, including myself. This was overwhelmingly apparent when, after drinking heavily one evening, I jumped in my car while intoxicated (just like I always did) and drove less than one mile; I got into a head-on collision. To make things even worse, I abandoned the car and ran away into the darkness, only thinking of myself and how I
was going to “prevent” more trouble for myself. I had finally done the unthinkable while demonstrating how cowardly and truly selfish I had become.
The next day I was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, one of which was a Class B felony. I quickly retained an attorney and chose him based on his close proximity to the courthouse and the DA’s office. For the next three months I would sit and wait. I was constantly looking on the internet for cases similar to mine to see what the outcomes were. Things were beginning to look pretty grim for me.
Through the months of scouring the internet, James O’Rourke and Associates’ webpage kept showing up over and over again. In the beginning I passed it off as coincidence, however I was getting a lot of good information off the site. One day I decided to pick up the phone and call James O’Rourke’s office. The professionalism and genuine caring approach Mr. O’Rourke demonstrated in our first phone call was something I desperately needed at that time in my life. Mr. O’Rourke was very honest with me and told me very clearly what my future might hold, and what he believed I needed to do immediately. I gained more out of that 15 minute call than I had gotten in the whole three months from the attorney I hired to represent me initially.
I immediately retained Mr. O’Rourke as my attorney and relieved my other attorney of his duties to represent me. This decision would later prove to be a crucial turning point in my life and one of the best decisions I have ever made. Mr. O’Rourke devised a plan that would keep me safe, from the day I hired him until the day I would enter the courtroom. What I would experience over the next six months was nothing short of a miracle. Most of the time I had no idea why he was recommending that I do certain things, sometimes I would even question if I was doing the right thing. All of these questions and unknowns would be answered in early 2009 during my sentencing hearing. Everything that I had done from the day I hired Mr. O’Rourke to the day I walked into the courtroom was about to make sense.
Entering the courtroom that day and looking at some real prison time was scary, but what unfolded over the next 60 minutes was truly a landmark event. I won’t go into great detail now but will say that the plan Mr. O’Rourke designed for me, and that I executed, was about to rewrite the history books forever, and open up doors that had never been opened before. Because Of Mr. O’Rourke’s amazing knowledge of the law and his ability to go beyond the surface of the attorney/prosecutor banter, I received an outcome that even I did not expect. The opportunities I was given, and the doors that were opened due to Mr. O’Rourke’s experience and vast amount of resources, have changed my life forever.
The representation, professionalism, knowledge, and true caring nature that James O’Rourke displays is rare and should be considered a gift to anyone that is presented with the opportunity to have him represent them.
Thank you James for everything that you have done for me and the things you continue to do on my behalf.
B. H.
I retained James O’Rourke to handle my alcohol related legal issues. His reputation for handling cases like mine was impeccable. My expectation was for him to find a loophole in my case and get me out of trouble. Based on my previous experience with attorneys I was skeptical.
What I received from Jim O’Rourke was (and still is) astounding. I found myself face to face with a man who was far more concerned about my well being than winning my case or how much he could charge me.
He is absolutely brilliant and in my opinion the best there is at what he does. This however, pales in comparison to what unfolded. Rather than seeing me as a likely “repeat client”, he saw a broken woman with a much bigger problem than legal issues.
Because his passion to help people change their lives is genuine, he was able to gently guide me to realize and admit I was an alcoholic.
Because there was no judgment and his compassion heartfelt, I allowed myself to trust him. He made it possible for me to enter residential treatment. I know without Jim O’Rourke my outcome would have ended in jail, death or worse… still living in my alcoholic despair and absolutely powerless to stop.
I believe I was divinely guided to Jim O’Rourke. I am humbled by his goodness and grateful for the gift of his representation. In addition to a miraculous outcome legally, Jim O’Rourke saved my life. C. M.
I called Mr. O’Rourke’s office after having a bad experience with my first lawyer. I was in a very bad situation with a DUII. A conviction would have ruined my military career. My first lawyer just wasn’t helping me and I was afraid that I was going to be convicted because the DA was objecting to me going into Diversion.
When I hired Mr. O’Rourke everything changed. He fought to get me into the Diversion program and helped me avoid a conviction on the DUII charge. This allowed me to remain in the service. I was impressed with how hard Mr. O’Rourke fought for me.
M. B.
Mr. O’Rourke,
I wish to personally thank you for the prompt, knowledgeable and efficient legal services you recently provided to our family. My wife and I are both retired Federal law enforcement officials. As such, both of us have spent quite a large portion of our careers in and around various local, state and federal criminal courts. The legal advise you provided as well as the expertise and professionalism you exhibited in court proceedings assisted us in obtaining a fair and equitable result. Please continue the fine work.
Best regards,
David D.
“Our experience with Jim O’Rourke and his staff was excellent. He handled our son’s legal problem (DUI charge) very skillfully and brought about a successful resolution in the form of a diversion agreement. Throughout this process he and his staff kept us informed and were available when we had questions. However, the most important thing that Jim O’Rourke did was recommend, at the very outset, that we get treatment for our son’s substance abuse. His compassionate but firm emphasis on this issue, coupled with his informed referrals, led us to put our son in an outpatient facility where he has begun to get the help he has needed. Although we have had high quality legal help before, Jim’s comprehensive view of our son’s problems has been invaluable.
A Mother
OREGON HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
My experience with Jim O’Rourke was much more positive than I could have ever expected. I am a Pharmacist who got into serious trouble, with five criminal charges against me. My first attorney did absolutely nothing for me, and I’m pretty sure if I found Jim first I would not have lost my job. Jim was the ideal attorney for my case because he had many years of experience and he knew exactly what to do. I thought my life was over, but after I met him, my outlook on everything changed completely. I felt at ease because he told me that he would take really good care of me, which he did!! He was able to get three of possession charges against me dropped. He made sure that I didn’t go to jail and that I was able to maintain my license. He helped me get into drug treatment. He was there for me on a personal level, the entire way, and always responded to my emails and calls very promptly. Not only that, he’s still helping me even after my case is done. I am so grateful that I found Jim because the results couldn’t have been any better.”
Pharmacist D
Mr. O’Rourke represented me in a DUII case. I am a health care professional and I was worried about my professional license. Mr. O’Rourke gave me advice on how to approach my licensing board that was a great help to resolve my board problems. He helped give me courage to face my problems with the board and encouraged me to get into treatment. I am still sober to this day and my professional license was not suspended. My DUII was resolved favorably by Diversion. Mr. O’Rourke and his staff were very helpful and answered all of my questions. I was pleased with the excellent communication I received during my case. I would highly recommend Mr. O’Rourke as a lawyer for any criminal case, particularly for people who may face problems with a professional licensing board.
R.N., B.S.N., C.P.N.
I am a pharmacist who became addicted to opiates post-ACL and meniscus surgery. I tried to hide my addiction for months but it was not long before I lost myjob. I was charged with serious crimes but ended up with no convictions due to Mr. O’Rourke’s efforts. Until l met the staff at James F. O’Rourke’s office, who represented me in my defense, I was unaware that legai issues were the least of my problems. Fear does not describe the feeling l had during this time of uncertainty, it was more a feeling of terror and desperation. Mr. O’Rourke and his staff were very clear as to what the problems I was facing looked like. For the first time in my life I was able to grasp the meaning of addiction through their compassionate care. To this day I remain ever grateful that I found an attorney who understood my fears of losing a job, the potential of losing my marriage and my life. The iegal representation I received was comparable to no other in that more was disclosed to me other than litigation. I had all the “questions that others may have in my situation and every one of them was answered honestly, which empowered me to move forward with my own recovery, this team of professionals followed through with every plan they had developed for me with regard to Board issues, judicial procedures and recovery. It was seamless care, reasonable care and healthy care that I received from this firm. Today, I have walked through my wreckage and continue to do so, but it would not have been possible without the aid of James F. O’Rourke and Associates. In summation, today I recognize that I am a man of character who had problems with drugs and alcohol, yet had no idea that there was a solution. Today, I’m grateful Mr. O’Rourke’s team pulled me from the isolation caused by fear, pride, and addiction, and helped me regain who l have always been; a man of character.
JLC, BS R.Ph., Pharm D.
DRUG CRIMES & DRUG RELATED CRIMES
We originally met and hired Jim of James O’Rourke & Associates to defend our son about ten years ago. At that time, our son received an MIP when he had been out with friends who were apparently drinking. We had never been faced with legal issues like this before and found the legal system to be quite daunting. We were very pleased with the ideas and concepts Jim put forth in resolving our son’s case. We were extremely thankful regarding the interest that Jim showed in our son as a person not merely a client. Little did we know at that time that ten years later Jim would once again become an instrumental, perhaps life-saving part of our lives.
About a year ago, our son was pulled over and charged with DUII. We contacted Jim again to represent our son. Jim was able to persuade the judge to allow our son to enroll in a diversion program. We also went an extra step and admitted our son into short-stay, inpatient program. Once he was released from inpatient, he went directly to an intensive out-patient program. Once again, Jim treated our son with dignity and respect. We never felt that Jim thought of our son as a “criminal”. However, Jim expressed his concern that our son needed more intensive, inpatient therapy than he had received. Unfortunately, we didn’t heed his advice and thought we could go on with our lives as usual and fix the “problem” ourselves.
Over the past year, our son’s life has spiraled out of control with his addiction to various drugs together with his mental instability. Recently, he was caught trying to pass a forged prescription. This arrest gave him two felony counts. Again, we contacted Jim. As Jim was working on this case, our son was arrested again for trying to pass another forged prescription – this time in another county. As parents, we were devastated. But Jim was there for us, each step of the way.
As we sat in the various courtrooms watching other cases being brought before the judge, we were amazed at how many of the crimes were drug and alcohol related. Each time our son had to appear before a judge, Jim was prepared, convincing, calm and reassuring. He kept telling us, “one step at a time”. His many words of wisdom brought us much relief.
Jim went above and beyond what we would expect from an attorney. He not only worked with us in regards to our son’s legal situation, but in regards to his personal/mental situation as well. Our son is a drug addict. He is very sick and he needs help. Jim put us in touch with a consulting team that researches treatment facilities all over the country. They then make a specific recommendation to their clients. It was recommended that our son enter a minimum 90 day program that is located out of state. This time we jumped at the opportunity to keep our son safe and get him out of the depths of drug abuse. As we write this letter, that is where our son is now. He still has charges pending against him, but we have every bit of confidence that Jim will do the very best he can as our son spends the next three months getting healthy.
Through the devastating legal issues we have experienced with our son, we were fortunate to have found an attorney like Jim O’Rourke. He is not only incredibly knowledgeable regarding the law; he has made connections with others who can truly help as well. In Jim, we found not only an excellent attorney – but a leader, a coach, a resource, a navigator and an advocate – not only for our son, but for us as well. Jim just “gets it”. He truly does. We believe that if it weren’t for Jim, our son would be behind prison bars at this very moment, instead of safely residing in a specialized treatment facility where he is getting treated for his disease, not penalized for it.
We are forever thankful for all that Jim is doing for us. He makes us feel as though we are his number one priority. He is frank, honest and sincere and we feel blessed to have him represent our son (and hold our hands along the way too). It is so uplifting to work with an attorney who really cares about his client’s well-being the way Jim does. Once we felt so helpless, now we have hope because we have Jim O’Rourke on our side.”
S & T
I was charged with a number of drug related crimes in Multnomah County. My first lawyer negotiated with the District Attorney’s office and they came back with an offer that would have had me agree to go to away for a long prison term. I was shocked.
I hired Mr. O’Rourke’s office and they went to work immediately. Because the case was old we had to do a great deal of work in a short period of time. Mr. O’Rourke set out a plan that would try to convince the District Attorney that I was not guilty of many of the charges against me and that I should not be sent to prison.
Without going into detail, all of the preparation and work paid off. Mr. O’Rourke was able to convince the DA that I had not done most of the things that they had charged me with. Instead of 30 months in prison I was given five weekends in jail.
Mr. O’Rourke and his staff worked very hard for me. They made it clear that they didn’t just care about my case, they cared about me and my future.
S. S.
Mr. O’Rourke,
Without your representation and well executed plan my son would likely have been sentenced to time in jail and not had the opportunity to experience the long-term in-house treatment program you arranged for and subsequently recommended to the judge. With charges in three different counties you strategically set upon a course of action that left one case resolution feeding into the next, with an end result that was compassionate and healing, and resulted in a solution that was in the best interest of both my son and the public at large. The complicated details of my son’s charges, handled so expertly by you and your staff, prompted one judge to say to my son –“You are lucky you have such a good attorney – who has set out such a great program for you.”
By the way, your court room demeanor was that of a gentle kitten who packed the gentle “wallop” of a Lion. It was obvious in all three counties that you were held in high regard and respected by the judges.
Thank you Mr. O’Rourke for all you did. Please accept my entire family’s heartfelt thanks and admiration. I doubt that my son’s outcome would have been the same if left in anyone else’s hands.
Lorraine B.
MEASURE 11
One day, I received a tearful voice message from my 19 year old son that would forever rock our world.
It all began the prior year, my son had developed a drug problem. After undergoing drug and alcohol counseling, he had voluntarily entered rehab. During the 12 Step process, the truth came out. Prior to rehab, he had committed a drug induced robbery. Questions filled my thoughts, would the judge see all the changes he had made during the 11 months following: life in a clean and sober house, NA meetings and fulltime employment? Would he acknowledge his renewed focus on recovery as he put his life back together?
I still remember the detective who interviewed him saying, “this is a sad case. This young man has turned his life around and now we’re putting him in jail. We usually do this when people can’t help themselves.” Also, the detective revealed that this was a Measure 11 crime and very serious.
During the two weeks my son was given to turn himself in, we met with Jim O’Rourke. From the start he was the rightCriminal Defense Attorney, creative and experienced. His passion for fighting Measure 11 crimes for first time offenders and young adults was clear.
My son was in jail during the legal process. Jim encouraged him to have patience and was able to get a criminal psychologist to evaluate and documenting for the court the unlikelihood of him re- offending. Jim arranged ongoing counseling which helped ease his stress and provide the court with a time line showing the growth and changes he made.
ln the end result, the sentence was taken out of Measure 11 and reduced to a Felony C charge. He would now get time off for good behavior, early release and the possibility of an alternative program with minimum security. The charges were reduced from 70 months to between 29 to 39.
The judge’s closing statement to my son said it all, “You’ve been given a gift.” Our family thanks Jim for his efforts and ability to see beyond the charge and into the young man who was worth fighting for.
A Grateful Mother and Family
Portland Measure 11 Attorney James O’Rourke is the most skillful and compassionate attorney we have ever encountered in the legal system. Our son developed multiple serious medical conditions beginning in 2005. The frequent hospitalizations, seizures etc. rendered him unable to work. He lives with pain constantly — and to dull it, he eventually turned to heroin when the prescription medications ended. He has been through treatment more than once. The nadir occurred when he attempted to rob a pharmacy in order to obtain medications. Under Measure 11 robbery charges, he faced multiple years in prison. This is not the son we know.
From the beginning, Jim researched all the facts, developed plans for how to proceed with his case, and reassured us with his calm demeanor. When the jail omitted or substituted life-sustaining medications, Jim intervened and advocated to correct the problem. Over the next several months, Jim worked tirelessly to negotiate a settlement with the DA. Specialists and MDs were consulted and re-consulted in anticipation of a trial. Our son’s medical problems are so severe, that we strongly believe that incarceration for any length of time is effectively a death sentence. The Oregon justice system is not equipped, nor do they make exceptions for a client with life threatening health conditions. Jim left the decision of how to proceed up to us. He brilliantly argued our son’s case and, against huge odds, won for him an alternative sentence.
Not once since our son’s case has begun have I ever felt that we were just another case for a busy Portland Criminal Defense Lawyer. Jim really cares about our son’s welfare and well being. He has given hope and encouragement to my husband and myself when we were overwhelmed by everything. We entrusted him with our son’s life, and Jim has given him the gift of having a future. James O’Rourke literally saved our son’s life—and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude that we can never adequately repay.
Mother and Father.
My son is a Heroin addict and one day he tried to rob a store in our home town. It was charged as a Measure 11 crime and I was panicking as to what to do. I started looking for a lawyer that specialized in this sort of crime and I made a few phone calls.
Mr. O’Rourke called me back that night and I knew he was the one that could help me. He had such a calm fatherly attitude and charged very fair fees and so I hired him on the spot. From the minute I hired him, I had confidence he knew what to do. He went to visit my son in jail and they talked.
He got the people at Serenity Lane to go to the jail and evaluate my son. Then he made quick work of getting the Measure 11 charge dropped to a lesser charge, and my son out of jail and into the appropriate treatment facility. He still stays in contact with us and my son, who is clean and sober and in recovery. He has an excellent staff. He and his staff were always available for me to talk to if needed. I am so pleased. He made a difficult situation with my family much easier. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of this process.
Sincerely,
M.P. & G.P.
We feel compelled to write a testimonial to the superlative help James F. O’Rourke, Jr. And Associates gave us with our son’s case. Hopefully this will be read by someone who, like us, finds themselves in a desperate legal situation. We can say without hesitation or reservation that our son got the best legal help possible.
Our son was injured when he punctured his arm on the job. It formed a blood clot at the injury; which admittedly was painful. The doctor he was referred to, immediately and recklessly put him on a regimen of huge doses of Oxycontin (a powerful, time-released opiate drug) to manage his pain. Within two months, our son had become hopelessly addicted to the medication. When the injury got better and the Workers Compensation insurance ran out, the doctor abruptly cut off the narcotics without counseling for or concerns about substance dependence. Workers Compensation would not pay for drug treatment.
In the desperation and insanity that is the progressive disease of drug addiction, our son succumbed to the behaviors that were unthinkable and absolutely uncharacteristic of the great kid that he had been is whole life prior. Since the “legal” source of the drugs had dried up; he resorted to buying it from illegal sources. Because the street value of Oxycontin is so high and he was unable to work; he started injecting the drug. During the dementia that these circumstanced led to; he committed several robberies to pay for his new addiction. His crimes were so inept and ill conceived, driven by the physical need for this heroin-like drug; he was arrested about ten days into his “crime spree”.
His situation was abhorrent; he was facing a sentence of up to 58 years, 4 months of Measure Eleven time. When we went to his first settlement conference; some sentencing numbers were discussed. The prosecutor mentioned that he would be lucky to get 140 months. The judge concurred. At this point our first attorney basically gave up. The sum of his advice to my son was: “you better get your head around doing prison time, A LOT of prison time.”
We decided that we needed to hire another attorney. We found Mr. O’Rourke through the Oregonians against measure eleven website. We were impressed with Jim from our very first phone conversation. He promptly came to our house to consult with us. We only talked a short while, and we knew that he was the right attorney for our case. We were impressed with his knowledge of measure eleven, the problems that substance abuse can cause, and the treatment and other resources that he has at his disposal. We were
especially impressed with the plan he devised for our son’s defense and to get and keep him clean and sober.
Hiring a defense attorney is a substantial investment. We went back and forth on the subject: can we afford an attorney? In retrospect we realize that we couldn’t afford not to hire one. We feel that we got more than our money’s worth hiring O’Rourke and Associates. They are still helping our son; even though the case is closed and he is incarcerated for a lot less than 140 months! There were more expensive attorneys out there, but we believe that we couldn’t have had a better defense at any price.
Every interaction we had with Mr. O’Rourke left us with the impression that we were his only client; worthy of his full attention. He gave our son more than just legal advice; he gave him life skills advice. He remains truly concerned about his well being.
Greg and Gail P.
PROPERTY CRIMES
To Whom It May Concern,
I was referred to Mr. O’Rourke by my sponsor in October of 2009. My case was not resolved until January of 2011. Mr. O’Rourke fought my case tirelessly for more than a year. My case was complicated and drawn out but Jim did not settle until we both were satisfied. He was concerned with the best possible outcome for my family and I throughout my entire case. He turned down several plea offers that he did not consider fair, and he brainstormed several plea deals of his own. One of his personal plans was eventually accepted by the court. My deal allowed me to stay free, continue at my job of more than 7 years, be present in the lives of my children, and it lead me down a path of recovery. Today, as I write this letter, I have over 14 months clean and sober. I could have easily received more than 3 years in prison for my crimes. Mr. O’Rourke had a great working relationship with the judge in my case. Mr. O’Rourke’s staff was extremely helpful, professional, and courteous. I have unfortunately been through several criminal cases in my life, but it was obvious to me from the beginning that Mr. O’Rourke was well liked, respected, and ultimately demanded much more respect from the court than any lawyer I have ever dealt with in my life. My favorite thing about Mr. O’Rourke was that he wasn’t going to back down to anyone, and he never wavered in his mission to do what was best for me. My case could have easily cost three or four times what Mr. O’Rourke charged me, but he worked with me because he knew I was in a really tough spot. His fees were more than fair. Mr. O’Rourke was by far the best attorney I have ever had. I would recommend him to anyone out there who is dealing with a legal issue.
REDUCTION OF FELONIES TO MISDEMEANORS; EARLY TERMINATION OF PROBATION; EXPUNGEMENT
In an effort not to go into a long diatribe of my life I will try and make this brief and to the point. A few years ago my father, a surgeon, became my first drug dealer and my first “using buddy” all at once. Addiction runs in my family and when I discovered the combination of alcohol and opiates my addiction took off and before long I was both a graduate student and a heroin addict and alcoholic.
My early experiences with my father left me with a very jaded view of doctors and the liberties I felt I could take with them. At a place of desperation and after several minor and major surgeries (Brought on by drug induced suicide attempts.), I hit the lowest point of my bottom when I was arrested for several felony counts of prescription forgery and identity theft. Luckily I was given the opportunity to receive fantastic, life changing treatment and I am a sober man in recovery today. However, just because I am sober that did not mean my legal difficulties disappeared. quite the contrary.
This is how I found my way to Mr. O’Rourke: 2 years after committing the crimes I found myself with the opportunity to finish graduate school and to work as a therapist in a prestigious treatment center on the east coast but I was hindered by the restriction placed on me by my crimes and the branding of being a felon. I was very close to never being able to fulfill my potential and to not being allowed to take advantage of the opportunities living a sober life of integrity has afforded me. I was terrified that my past discretions, which I
take full responsibility for, would haunt me for the rest of my life and be a permanent hindrance to everything I tried to accomplish. Mr. O’Rourke came highly recommended by both friends and family because he stepped up where other lawyers could not, clearing away the legal wreckage created in peoples addiction so they could move forward unobstructed by obstacles (Jail, felony charges, long and strict probation sentences and overwhelming fines and supervision fees.) that would do far more harm than good!
Like most addicts and alcoholics I had a very abusive and traumatic past and my addiction led me to create an abusive and traumatic present. Being in recovery has taught me that I can either get busy living in the solution or get busy dying in the midst of my disease and today I choose to live and to help others achieve the happy life of sobriety I have found. Mr. O’Rourke got my felony reduced to a misdemeanor two years after the crime and had my probation terminated early: It is because of his help that I am now able to move forward in both my life and recovery without being hindered by my past and my criminal record! I personally cannot think of anything more terrible than an addict or alcoholic not being able to achieve their goals and dreams simply because of the legal ramifications of the behaviors. When I am under the influence I am not the man one will see before them today: I am driven by my addiction. Mr. O’Rourke and his team have given me the opportunity to move forward personally and professionally and to be viewed for who I am now and not for who I was in my addiction!
B.M.