A Conversation With ... Matt Russell

Rebecca Green | SBJ

You became president of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association this month. Tell me about why you were interested in the position and what your priorities will be.
I’ve been active in the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, the SMBA, since becoming a lawyer in 2003, and it is truly the glue that holds the legal community together. I’ve done enough of the other things you can do, like, for instance, I was on the board of directors, and I’ve volunteered for various different things, and it just all led to this. It was exciting to get to be asked and looking forward to the year. Right now, we’re really focused on getting good-quality attorneys to move into the Springfield area. We talk about pipeline a lot. That’s a very strong focus of reaching out to the high schools and to the colleges, make sure that they know that after they go off to law school they can come back here and practice law in a very friendly, fun community.

The local court system has seen an unprecedented number of judges turnover in recent years, lots of experience lost and a learning curve for new people on the court. How would you describe the climate of our local court system?
The past generation of judges were professional and knowledgeable and articulate and somebody to look up to. But the current group has really exhibited a willingness to work together and be friendly and put in long hours. They’re kind to the Bar, they’re kind to each other and they’re working as a team and it’s actually attacking the backlog. I’ve noticed that things are moving faster and faster. Their willingness to use technology so that we can use email rather than showing up in court – it’s been really an awesome thing with this new group because they’re all forming new rules together, and it’s for the benefit of the Bar and for the clients.

Are there any reforms that the Bar Association might be advocating for to continue to reduce the backlog?
Right now, the biggest hiccup in the backlog is actually not on the judge side or the lawyer side; it’s getting the support system in place. The clerk’s office right now is really struggling getting things accepted in the queue system. We file things electronically, it has to be accepted by a clerk and then it’s shifted to court. There aren’t enough clerks to accept all the documents to then get things moving in court. And then the stenographers, the court reporters, it’s a dying breed. And we desperately need more bailiffs. So, we now have more prosecutors, more public defenders, more attorneys, judges that are ready to work hard, and everything else around it is kind of stalling. So, part of the priority is to make sure the public knows about that so we can encourage people to go to court reporting school, for bailiffs to come in and work in the courthouse, for the clerk’s office to fill those roles.

Are there ways that technology could enhance human work that so you don’t need as many bodies?
I think that’s possible. With so many constitutional rights for individuals, people get nervous about, are we really going to do this via video? What if somebody misunderstands? Are we really going to allow (artificial intelligence) to transcribe things? Already it’s a big deal talking about AI for legal research because AI has been known to spit out things that are incorrect. Absolutely, technology’s a big part of every single profession, but I think that the legal profession is going to be one of the slower ones just because of the constitutional rights that each person has that we need to make sure are well protected, and if there’s even a chance for mistake, we really have to be cautious.

What about reform to the criminal justice system? There’s been lots of changes in recent years of decriminalization in certain areas.
There have been huge advancements, specifically in Missouri where expungements are becoming more and more prevalent, where people that have worked hard to reform themselves are now more likely than ever to qualify for an expungement. And that’s been a huge push by the Missouri Bar and by our local Bar through the Clean Slate projects. I know personally it’s helped set people free. These expungements, I think, are some of the most exciting changes I’ve seen in quite a while.

You founded MRD Lawyers 13 years ago. Where have you found to be your niche within criminal defense?
We are lucky enough to be choosy about what we get to help people with. Really, we concentrate on DWIs, traffic tickets and people that have substance abuse issues. We have found that we really enjoy helping good people that have made some bad choices and need help getting back up on their feet.

You recently ended your term as mayor of Republic. How has that experience informed your work?
I was lucky enough to be on City Council for two years and then mayor of Republic for four. I did not run for reelection. It was awesome to give back to the community; I truly enjoyed it. But I got to a point where I was having to choose between going to my kids’ football and basketball games or being mayor. So I decided not to run again and almost immediately turn around and become president of the SMBA. I think that my experience as mayor of listening to people’s concerns and then trying to create small but important action on their concerns is going to translate really well. And listening to the constituents of attorneys, I speak their language, and then hopefully we can make some change.

As you look down the road, what are the biggest challenges facing your profession?
The biggest issue that’s coming toward the legal profession is AI and how it’s going to impact how we do not only our daily, but how’s it going to impact trials and how’s it going to help be involved in representing people that maybe couldn’t afford attorneys. It is the question of what’s legal advice and what’s not legal advice. And I think AI is going to be something that we’re going to be looking at a lot over the next 10 to 20 years. I know the legal profession is going to be slow in adopting it because we were slow in getting rid of fax machines. We want to make sure that we’re doing it right.