The two attorneys, Wes Clark and Mark Downton, were feeling pretty good.

They just got a 15-year-old kid at a solitary confinement, and that felt like a big victory

against Judge Davenport.

They'd also decided to team up for real, form a firm of their own called Downton Clark.

It had no real office, no business cards, but it did have one very specific goal.

The goal was to get out.

Here's Mark.

Do not be juvenile court lawyers anymore, because it was too much time for too little money.

And they needed the money.

While the work at juvenile court was steady, the pay was low as far as attorneys go.

Court appointed cases were capped at $50 an hour.

Wes had lost school loans, and was still living in his mother-in-law's house.

Mark was a little more flush, thanks to a side gig doing document review for higher-paid

lawyers, but he also had a kid in mortgages for his house and office.

So they started a private practice that would take civil cases, personal injury, business

disputes.

They knew it would take some time to really get established, but they had faith.

They both remember an early case Wes brought in from adult court that seemed promising.

It was a client of mine who, his foot was injured during his jail intake process.

He ended up having the foot amputated.

So we filed this lawsuit for like millions of dollars, and it turned out fairly quickly

we learned that like his leg was supposed to be cut off before he ever went into jail.

...