Over 1,250 criminal cases · Former First Assistant Chief Defender
Criminal Defense · Lafayette & Acadiana
Most of the people who call this office have never been in trouble before. You will get a straight answer about what happens next, what the State has to prove, and what your options are. The first conversation is free.
Office hours Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm. Leave a message or use the form after hours and we call you back first thing.
Takes one minute. Confidential. Do not include details about what happened, just the charge.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not describe the facts of your case here. We will discuss those by phone.
Start here
Three kinds of people land on this page. Pick yours and you will know what to do in the next five minutes.
You are out, you have paperwork, and you are not sure what any of it means. Here is what matters today:
Your son, husband, daughter, or partner was arrested and you are the one trying to figure this out. In the first 24 hours:
Maybe you have been handling this alone. Maybe you are wondering if a lawyer can still make a difference. The answer is usually yes, and the earlier the better.
First time in trouble?
That is the most common sentence we hear. Not from hardened people. From nurses, welders, students, oilfield workers, and parents who had one bad night or who believe they did nothing wrong.
You do not know what an arraignment is. You are worried about your job, your record, and what to tell your family. That is normal, and it is not something you have to figure out alone.
What you should know: a first-offense charge handled well now is very different from one handled badly. Some first offenses have options that disappear once a plea is entered. Others can be counted against you later and turn a future misdemeanor into a felony. The earlier we start, the more options you have.
We ask what you are charged with, not what you did. We ask which parish and whether you have a court date. Then Chad tells you, in plain English, what the process looks like for that charge in that court and what he would do first.
No pressure, no lecture. You get information, and you decide.
Call (337) 279-2748The questions everyone asks
It depends on the charge, the evidence, your record, and how early a lawyer gets involved. No one can promise you an answer on a website. What Chad can do on the first call is tell you the realistic range for your charge in your parish, and what moves the needle.
Being charged is an accusation. The State still has to prove it.
A lot depends on whether the charge ends up on your record, in what form, and whether your employer runs background checks. How a case is resolved, not just whether, is what decides that. It is one of the main things a defense is built around.
Tell us if you hold a CDL, a professional license, a security clearance, or work in healthcare, education, or the oilfield. It changes the strategy.
The first conversation is free, and you will get a straight answer about fees before you commit to anything. Fees depend on the charge and the work the case is likely to require. A first-offense misdemeanor and a felony headed to trial are very different amounts of work.
Clients are responsible for expenses and costs in addition to fees. We are clear about those up front. Card, bank transfer, and other payment methods accepted.
72 hours
The evidence that helps your case disappears fast. Store camera footage gets overwritten. Witnesses forget. Phone records and body-cam footage can only be requested for a limited time. And the version of events that police wrote down on night one becomes the version everyone works from unless someone challenges it early.
Bond and its conditions get set at the first appearance. Once they are set, changing them takes a motion and a hearing. The sooner a lawyer is on the case, the sooner that motion can be filed.
The report gets written. Whatever the officer put down on night one becomes the story everyone works from until somebody challenges it.
Bond and its conditions get set at the first appearance. After that, changing them takes a motion and a hearing.
Store footage starts getting overwritten. Witnesses forget. Body-cam and phone-record requests have windows that close.
None of this requires you to have money figured out or to know the law. It requires a phone call.
Free consultation. Fee quoted before you commit to anything.
Charges we handle
If your charge is not listed, call anyway. This is the short list.
Everyone charged with a crime in Louisiana has the right to a defense. Chad handles every case type above with the same discretion. Arrested for DUI/DWI? Chad handles those too, and there is a separate page for it: DUI defense in Lafayette.
Not sure what you are charged with? Call anyway. We will read the paperwork with you.
What happens next
Every case is different, but the road looks roughly like this. Knowing the road takes some of the fear out of it.
You go before a judge who tells you the charge and sets bond conditions. If the amount or the conditions are a problem, this is the point a lawyer starts working on getting them changed.
The charge is formally read and you enter a plea. This is the point most people think is “the trial.” It is not. It is the start.
We get the police report, the video, the stop, the search, the test results. This is where most cases are actually decided, through motions and negotiation, long before any trial.
Dismissal, reduced charge, diversion program, plea, or trial. You make the decision. Chad’s job is to make sure you understand every option before you do.
The one thing to remember: the earlier a lawyer is involved, the more of these stages are still open. Waiting until the court date closes doors.
Who you are calling
Chad served as First Assistant Chief Defender for the 15th Judicial District, which covers Lafayette, Acadia, and Vermilion Parishes. Nine of his fifteen years in practice were full time in that office, and he has worked with it in some capacity ever since, alongside his own private cases. That is where the 1,250-plus cases came from: day after day in the same courtrooms, in front of the same judges, across the table from the same prosecutors you will be facing.
That matters more than any slogan. He knows how a first-offense drug charge is typically handled in Lafayette versus Crowley. He knows which motions get traction in front of which judge. He knows the St. Landry Parish prosecutors by name, and they know him.
From Google reviews
★★★★★“I contacted Chad on two separate occasions, and he was very helpful. The first time, he stepped in to salvage a case that my previous lawyer had completely neglected.”
— Pablo, Google review
★★★★★“Mr. Chad has been a God send in a time of worry and the unknown. Cannot thank them enough for the help and peace they’ve provided.”
— Rhae, Google review
★★★★★“He was quick with his responses and explained things clearly.”
— Ashley, Google review
★★★★★“Definitely a go to man for any legal needs, wouldn’t go to anyone else. Professional and outstanding legal team, would recommend them first.”
— Kylan, Google review
Reviews are from verified Google accounts and reflect individual experiences. Past results are not a guarantee of future success. Results may vary.
A comparison
Chad was one for nine years. Public defenders are good lawyers. The difference is not skill. It is time. Here is what hiring your own lawyer buys you.
A public defender may carry hundreds of open cases at once. Chad takes the cases he can actually work. Your case gets read, not skimmed.
A public defender is appointed at or after your first appearance. Chad can be gathering evidence and working on a bond reduction while that is still weeks away for everyone else.
You will have Chad’s number. When something happens at 6pm on a Thursday, you are not leaving a message with an office and hoping.
The person who takes your first call is the person standing next to you at the last hearing. No handoffs, no re-explaining your situation to someone new.
Fifteen years in Acadiana courtrooms, nine of them full time in the 15th Judicial District, plus regular work in Opelousas, St. Martinville, and New Iberia. He knows the judges, the prosecutors, and what actually moves in each building.
You pick your lawyer, you know the fee before you commit, and you can ask every question you want on a free call first. That is a very different starting point.
Note: if you qualify for a public defender and your situation is simple, that may be the right call, and we will say so on the phone. If your job, your record, or your freedom is on the line, the difference is time and attention.
Questions people search at 2am
Sometimes. Charges can be refused by the prosecutor, dismissed, or reduced at several points, often before anyone sees a courtroom. It depends on the evidence, how the stop or search was done, and what the prosecutor is willing to do. That is exactly the work a defense lawyer does in the weeks before court. Nobody can promise it, and be careful of anyone who does.
Call a lawyer before you do anything else. Many warrants, especially bench warrants for a missed court date, can be addressed by arranging to appear voluntarily rather than waiting to be picked up at a traffic stop or at work. Handling it on your terms almost always goes better than handling it on theirs.
A judge sets a bond amount or conditions at the first appearance. You can pay it in full, use a bondsman (who charges a percentage you do not get back), or ask the court to lower it. A lawyer can argue for a lower bond or release on conditions, and can often move that process along faster than a family member calling the jail.
A misdemeanor can still mean jail, a record that shows up on background checks, and a prior that makes any future charge worse. Whether you need a lawyer depends on what is at stake for you specifically. That is a five-minute phone conversation, and it is free.
The charge is read formally and you enter a plea. It is short. It is not the trial, and it is not the place to explain your side. Most people should plead not guilty at arraignment to keep every option open, and let the real work happen afterward.
Often, yes, depending on the charge and how the case ended. Dismissals, acquittals, and certain convictions after a waiting period can be eligible. How your case is resolved now directly affects whether it can be cleared later, which is one more reason the early decisions matter.
Yes. Chad regularly appears in Opelousas, Crowley, Abbeville, St. Martinville, and New Iberia, and handles federal matters as well. If your court date is in one of those parishes, he is already there most weeks.
No. Stop talking to them now, and call. What was said can often be challenged depending on how it was obtained. What you do from this point forward still matters a great deal.
Where we appear
A case in St. Landry Parish moves differently than one in Lafayette Parish. Chad works in all of these courts regularly.
Plus Youngsville, Broussard, Carencro, Scott, Rayne, Breaux Bridge, and the rest of Acadiana. Federal cases in the Western District of Louisiana.
Free consultation
You do not need to have it figured out. You need to know what you are charged with, which parish, and a phone number where we can reach you. We take it from there.
Ikerd Law Firm · 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 903 (Chase Tower), Lafayette, LA 70501
Takes one minute. Confidential. Do not include details about what happened, just the charge.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not describe the facts of your case here. We will discuss those by phone.