Born: 1965
Education: University of Toledo College of Law (1997); Lake Superior State University (1989)
Admitted to Bar: 1997
Experience: Stablein, Flood & Lanctott (2002 – present); Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office (1997 – 2002)
Legal affiliations: American Bar Association; Michigan Trial Lawyers Association; Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association
To quote Robert Frost, "A jury consists of 12 persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer."
Apparently, juries have been impressed with Royal Oak criminal defense attorney Todd F. Flood this year. In the past 12 months, Flood has successfully handled more than half a dozen homicide cases and consulted on more than 15 others. He has also been involved in multiple high-profile cases, including one, "The Sarah Fisher case," that will have a major impact on the law and on thousands of teachers and caseworkers.
For those curious to know his secret, it's really quite simple — passion. Flood, who still considers himself an idealist, said passion — or the lack thereof — makes all the difference.
"You see a lot of lawyers out there with incredible God-given talent, but when they lack passion, it really shows," Flood explained. "You can see it, judges can see it, and clients can see it."
Flood has that rare combination of talent and passion. Yet no matter how many wins this advocate racks up, the pressure of representing someone he believes to be innocent still gets to him.
"My knees knock over those," he said. "When you're dealing with someone's life and liberty, it's a whole different ballgame," said Flood.
Q. You've handled a number of big cases this year. Tell me about some of them.
A. This year, I handled several homicide cases arising from automobile accidents and was able to achieve favorable results for my clients. I also had the good fortune of handling several other important cases. Perhaps the most important of those involved two foster care workers. My client, Laurie Wright, and her colleague, Beth Kaplansky, who work for the St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center, were charged with child abuse for failing to report the suspected abuse of a 4-year-old boy, who was later beaten to death in a foster home. This was the first time social workers have been charged under the child abuse statute for physical abuse by someone else. The case was dismissed at the preliminary exam and is currently being appealed.
Q. If you had to pick one, which of these cases was your biggest accomplishment personally?
A. All of the cases I have been involved with have been very meaningful to me. Whenever someone's liberty is jeopardized, or when an innocent person is charged with a crime and is ultimately found innocent, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
That said, however, there are always certain cases that just stick out in your mind. For example, I recently defended a young man who was at home one evening with his 2-year-old son, when two "crackheads" repeatedly rammed their car into the side of his house. My client shot at the car in defense of himself and his son and was charged criminally, potentially facing prison time. The jury found him not guilty of the offense within 20 minutes.
Q. How about professionally? Which one will have the biggest legal impact and why?
A. I think the Sarah Fisher case will have a significant impact. The court's ruling will prevent a chilling effect on caseworkers, teachers and others who work with children.
People who do a great job with children will not work with fear of prosecution and those seeking to enter fields involving contact with children will not be discouraged from doing so because of liability concerns.
Q. You are a former assistant prosecutor for Wayne County. Why did you decide to go into private practice? What are the biggest differences between government and private practice?
A. I left the prosecutor's office for personal reasons. I thought having my own practice would afford me the opportunity to spend more time with my family, although that turned out not to be the case. I work many more hours in private practice.
I have also realized that the pressure and stress on the private side is much greater than on the prosecution side.
On the other hand, the resources on the public side are much greater than on the private side, unless of course, you have wealthy clients.
Q. You achieved success in private practice relatively quickly. What would you tell lawyers who are trying to make the jump into private practice?
A. I believe that achieving success is a matter of hard work, hustle and integrity. The key is to provide quality legal representation and build a reputation both in and out of the courtroom as an honest, hardworking and competent advocate. It is also important to maintain good lines of communication with your clients and keep them apprised of any developments in their cases.
But I can tell you that private practice is not for everyone. If you want to make a leap from being an assistant prosecutor or associate in a large law firm to private practice or a smaller firm, the key to it is grabbing onto someone who is successful to see what works and what doesn't.
Just as important? Learn business. There's a lot more to it than just being a good lawyer.
Q. To what do you attribute your successes this year?
A. Great training at the prosecutor's office and grabbing onto excellent defense lawyers.
There are plenty of great lawyers out there so I don't necessarily feel that I stand out. I was fortunate to have received invaluable mentoring from very talented attorneys, including Auggie Hutting, Lisa Lindsey and Gerald Evelyn. I grabbed onto those who were better than me and learned a great deal from my mentors. I hope to be able to eventually serve as a mentor to others.
Q. How do you top this year? Do you have any big cases on the horizon?
A. There is a pretty huge case I have where a girl was assaulted by some police officers. If it happened in this particular case, then it could happen to anybody.
In fact, one of my goals this upcoming year is to make a difference in the area of law enforcement. There are great police officers out there but, just like in anything else, there are some officers who are really bad and abuse their authority. That is how I hope to top this year. I'm going to make a difference in this particular area.
I define success as throwing something back to my generation. I have a passion for what I do and want to be able to contribute by working hard on my clients' behalf. I want to become known as an attorney with integrity who is a good advocate for his clients.
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