In 2006, I was a 20 year old regular guy who had never been in trouble. One night I went to a local Shakey’s Pizza Parlor to attend a class party being held for my brother’s high school class. There were probably thirty people at the pizza party and a fight broke out. I got involved in the fight when I went to the defense of my brother.

One of the kids got stabbed. I couldn’t believe it when I learned that this kid identified me as the person who did the stabbing and I was arrested.

I was lucky that a friend of mine referred me to Ted Thompson, who my family hired to represent me. Ted was so thorough in his preparation for the trial in my case.

Ted went to my brother’s high school and was unrelenting in his efforts to find a certain teacher who had been a chaperon at the party. It took his going to the high school three or four times before he was able to actually track down this teacher who was able to exonerate me as the person who did the stabbing. Ted subpoenaed the teacher, who testified at my trial and told the jury that I was not the assailant.

Ted was also non-stop in his cross-examination of the kid who said that I had stabbed him. It was clear that the kid was unreliable in his testimony when he said that I had done the stabbing. Ted successfully brought out to the jury that this kid had an on-going feud with my brother, which he argued explained why he had picked me out as the person who attacked him. The jury came back not guilty.

Now, I’m married, settled down, and raising a family. I was looking at life in prison.  (I was charged with attempted murder.) I just shudder to think where I might be right now if Ted had not been successful in defending me. He’s a fighter and he really fought for me.

I owe him a lot. I owe him my freedom.

Carlos J., Los Angeles

Ted recently got me a not guilty verdict in a jury trial in my domestic violence case. I was not guilty (my girlfriend was a crazy lady who actually attacked me) and Ted proved my innocence to that jury.  The thing that most impressed me about Ted was how he went about his lawyering and his attention to detail. He was so completely prepared for everything and no detail went unattended by him. He gets my vote!

When I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid. I got into a lot of trouble. It seemed like I was calling Ted to get me out of another jam every year or so. He always came through for me. I owe him a lot. (And just about the time that I matured and got past my young and stupid stage, my little brother came of age and he too proved to be young and stupid. Ted took care of Joey too.)

Luis Z., Van Nuys

Recently, I was a very minor player in a drug/money laundering scheme. My part was of little consequence, but I too became a part of a major federal drug investigation. Ted went to the United States Attorney and to the folks at the Homeland Security Department and he was able to convince them of my negligible part in the scheme. They dropped the charges against me.

David Z., Los Angeles

I’m getting to be an old man now, but back 30 years ago Ted represented me in a DUI case that went all the way to a jury trial in Torrance. I was as drunk as a skunk, but I had not been driving. (The cop found me in my car, in the parking lot of a bar, where I had passed out after leaving the bar. I had left the bar, got into my car, realized I was too drunk to drive, and fell asleep. My car never moved a foot. The cop said he saw me leave the bar, drive around the block, and then  pull back into the bar’s parking lot  and fall asleep. That was total BS….cops do lie!)

Ted fought my case like a tiger.  A couple of weeks before the trial, Ted had brought a motion to suppress evidence. At the hearing on that motion, the arresting officer had testified. The motion was denied, but the officer’s testimony was down in black and white.

When the officer testified at my trial, he forgot what he had said in his testimony at the earlier hearing. Ted was able to impeach him from here to kingdom come with his prior inconsistencies. The arresting officer lost all credibility and the jury promptly returned a verdict finding me NOT GUILTY.

That was more than 30 years ago, but I remember it like it was last week. (The kicker was this: Ted didn’t tell me that this was his first jury trial until after the case was over. In retrospect, I’m glad that I didn’t know until after the case was concluded because I really would have been on pins and needles. But, everybody has to start somewhere and this was Ted’s start. And what a grand send off it was for an eminent career.)

I never did have the chance to take Ted out to dinner, the way I promised him at the end of the trial. But, I’m happy to make it up to him now by writing this testimonial….some thirty years later.

Delbert B., Torrance

I’m 28 years old and I am from Mexico, but I have lived in the United States  since I was 11. I’ve had four misdemeanor cases over the years, the last two of which Ted defended me. We didn’t go to trial on either of those cases, but he got  a dismissal for me in one of the cases and a  successful conclusion to the other case.

Then I applied for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) for protection against being deported. Because of my past misdemeanors, my DACA application was referred to the Immigration Court, where I did in fact face deportation. Ted went to bat for me. He was able to convince the Department of Homeland Security that there were extenuating circumstances in each of my four cases. The Department of Homeland Security withdrew its request that I be deported and the Immigration Judge granted my application for DACA status. Couldn’t have done it without Ted.

 Jose L., West Hollywood