Since Casey Davis was a teenager, he’s dreamed of making a difference.
Despite obtaining a law degree, he didn’t think he would be making this difference in the courtroom.
But now, as an attorney who defends clients against an unfair justice system, he couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Growing up in a politically-minded family with a father in public service, Casey always envisioned that he would follow in his father’s footsteps.
As a sixth generation Oklahoman, he cared for his community and wanted to devote his career to making a more just and fair society for all people. His law degree he considered more of a formality — a step in the right direction towards helping make change through policy.
Still, Casey began his legal career with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office. He worked under former A.G. Drew Edmonson and provided general counsel to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
At the time, Casey believed he and his fellow public servants were doing the right thing. Looking back, however, he feels that much of the work done in positions of power lead to the dehumanization of defendants and a general sense of cold indifference among law enforcement across the board.
In fact, it’s precisely this dehumanization that Casey battles every day working with Jacqui Ford Law.
Casey joined forces with Jacqui in 2016, after being introduced as having a shared passion for necessitating change in the criminal justice system.
Together, Casey and Jacqui each have a knack for telling stories — blending the bland elements of the law into digestible bits that humanize their clients to the judge and jury.
And that starts with understanding where their clients are coming from and realizing that the arrests and charges they are defending could happen to anyone.
With every client, Casey places himself in their shoes, attempting to relive the situations, pressures, and decisions his client has faced and to find feelings he can identify with. Then, he’s ready to tell their story.
Wins in Casey’s line of work are found in interesting ways. Sometimes just getting the proper documents from the other side can feel like a win. Even more satisfying is being able to form personal relationships with clients and empower them to believe in themselves despite their accusations.
Of course, the greatest part of the job is when justice is served. Casey has recently found inspiration in representing wrongfully arrested Black Lives Matter protesters, giving him hope for the next generation of change-makers.
In his free time, Casey enjoys sailing and bass fishing, although he’s rarely able to bring along his Red Bone Coon/Basset Hound mix, Bernie.
He’s also a die-hard DeadHead.
Although Casey is not necessarily bringing about change the way he had originally imagined, his work allows him to uphold the values he’s always tried to fight for.
Not only does he get to help with changes and justice for individual people on an individual level, but he also gets to see how the sum of those changes can have an impact on judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement on a larger scale.
And when that happens, and the criminal justice system starts to change in that way, he knows he’s making a difference.