For Random Profiles, we randomly pick one of our 80,000-plus attorneys, call them, and do a Q&A. We’ve found that every Texas lawyer has an interesting story. Will yours be next?

Family: Son, Travis and daughter, Chelsea.

Areas of practice: criminal, juvenile, misdemeanor, criminal.

Best thing about being a lawyer: The opportunity to help people.

Bet you didn’t know: I help my daughter raise goats for show!

Most important career lesson: document everything.

Part of my job I do best: defending motions to revoke.

Biggest challenge facing attorneys today: for criminal defense lawyers, the zero tolerance society  holds for criminals, especially juveniles, that doesn’t allow for forgiveness even though they’ve paid their dues.

Pet Peeve: A client who believes, that because my services are free, I am not a good lawyer.

When not practicing law what do you like to do: I coach a club volleyball team, help my daughter raise goats for show, and I enjoy photography.

Favorite saying: "Life is too short to be lived in fear," and also "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal  or greater benefit."

Favorite movie: To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you weren’t an attorney, what profession do you think you’d be in? Teaching.

What was the turning point that made you decide to become an attorney? I was teaching at the time and would talk about how I wanted to go to law school. Some of the people I told would tell me that teaching was a good job with a good summer schedule. But one day someone said to me, "well then why don’t you?" It sounds cliche but I thought to myself, "why don’t I?" It was what I wanted to do and at that moment I decided I would.

Viki Martino works for the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid office in Bee County.

You can also view Viki’s TexasBar.com profile.

Prizes

It’s not every day that you’re randomly picked from among 80,000 peers. To commemorate, randomly-profiled attorneys receive a TexasBar.com t-shirt and a law firm link.

Update Your Online Profile

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Opinions and statements expressed in these profiles are those of their subjects – not the State Bar of Texas.