Law Office of Leslie J. Boykin

04/02/2026

Austin Young Lawyers always has the best mixers! This time, it was the Diversity Bar event, and many of our local affinity bar groups were represented. It's refreshing and educational to be around attorneys with different backgrounds and areas of practice. I built my practice while serving on the Austin Young Lawyers, and more recently, Austin Bar Association boards. These are friends I can count on, and many of them are extremely good attorneys!
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BNatgBsMR/

02/18/2026

My good friend, and former Austin Bar Association Mentee, Sarah Harp , shared this cautionary tale of a recent federal case:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/smharp_imagine-hiring-one-of-the-nations-top-lawyers-activity-7429978351119011841-O3X6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAK78zMBNNLFQGaOqqcckfLun620mkrWS6A

I rarely have clients try to tell me how I should do my job but I've been worried something like this might happen with a couple of them in the past.

Hire an attorney you trust, and remind yourself - should you think you know better what to do (legally) - that it takes years to learn the law, but decades to learn the players and their practices. Don't expose yourself to further liability or criminal culpability by putting your strategy into AI where it might be subject to discovery by the other side.

Be careful what you upload to AI.

11/06/2025

Being caught up in the criminal justice system sometimes coincides with unemployment; and also, with PTSD. This can lead a person - even a hero - to feel trapped. Both obstacles have been known to be present in our honorable Veterans' population.

Here's one event whose organizers are striving to help:

TOMORROW, from 10a - 1p!
Hiring Red, White & You! 2025 - Austin's Largest Veterans Hiring Event Tickets, Thu, Nov 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite https://share.google/zbZlTVqSs60XLcfpa

Hiring Red, White & You! - Texas Workforce Commission https://share.google/CJC0VlV6JXuWmn3Es

10/29/2025

Last Monday night, I received one of the biggest honors of my life - recognition by my alma mater, Sam Houston State University , as one of the fastest growing Bearkat businesses!
Transferring from UT Austin to Sam Houston State University changed my life in 1997, and I will forever be grateful to my professors and the staff at the CJ Center. I'm thankful to them for providing the education I needed to succeed after law school, as a criminal defense attorney. I enjoyed every criminal justice class I took, and my minor in Spanish broadened my horizons in ways I never imagined.
I highly recommend Sam Houston State as one of our nation's top schools, especially if you want to work in the criminal justice field.

04/02/2025

01/31/2025

has been a cornerstone of my law practice for the last 20 years. The friends I've made while serving this association will be with me for life. ⚖️
This year's gala was beyond fabulous! We raised over $30,000 to help the Austin Bar Foundation continue to fund worthwhile charitable efforts. Most recently, they've added a new lawyers' mental health and su***de prevention program to their list. Congrats to all the award winners this year, especially my great friend and former fellow board member, .kaplan !

01/04/2025

I was asked this week to provide some background information about how the justice system works when a criminally accused person is found incompetent. Our Texas State Hospital system is sorely lacking in facility space and support staff, which makes access to treatment and restoration to competency delayed in most cases.
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2024/12/31/former-student-charged-in-manor-school-stabbing-case-found-incompetent/77362911007/

11/09/2024

Happy to help sponsor today's tailgate for Austin Bar Association 's Young Lawyers and for the worthwhile cause of Partnerships for Children!

10/02/2024

In less than 20 minutes, the Vice Presidential Debate will begin on CBS.
Educate yourself about the candidates in each election cycle, not just the presidential ones. But to vote, you have to be registered, and that's not a quick and easy thing you can do online in minutes (Texas makes it more difficult than that). Check out how to register here, and do it by
OCTOBER 7TH to be able to
VOTE on NOVEMBER 5TH for the candidates of your choice (local, statewide and national):

Find out how to register to vote, check your registration, get deadlines, and more for Texas

08/24/2024

Copying my dear friend and fellow Association Board member, . At our Board orientation this morning, handed out these Affirmator cards and mine also fits me to a tee!

07/18/2024

I'm so honored to again be selected by my peers as one of Austin Monthly 's Top Attorneys! Being a Criminal Defense Attorney for almost 20 years now has been my life's greatest work. I gain great satisfaction out of helping people to change their lives for the better, and by being at their side to advocate for justice. Throughout my years of practice, I've learned that each client is unique, how to recognize their strengths, and to tailor my representation accordingly. It is a purposeful occupation, but not a simple existence. Recognition from colleagues, friends, family and the press definitely refill my tank of motivation, and I truly appreciate it!
https://www.austinmonthly.com/top-attorneys/page/2/