Return to Virginia Business - December 2001

Criminal Law - Michael HuYoung
Barnes & Batzli
Richmond

by Leila Marija Ugincius

When Michael HuYoung was a young child, his family fled the land of his birth. After arriving in the states, he was mistakenly placed in a class for the mentally retarded, because he couldn’t speak English. Despite such obstacles, HuYoung managed to succeed and today is regarded by his peers as one of the Virginia’s best criminal defense attorneys. His "aw-shucks" attitude about the recognition is in keeping with HuYoung’s modest demeanor. He laughs and shakes his head in wonderment that people would pick him. "I’m not one to seek out publicity. I just do my job and try to do it the best I can," he says.

Photo by Joe Mahoney

While HuYoung insists that he’s not terribly praiseworthy, colleagues beg to differ. "I think he is the best in his field," says John C. Ivins Jr. of Richmond-based Hirschler Fleischer. "He takes every case like it’s going to the U.S. Supreme Court."

HuYoung pleads guilty to being a workaholic. "It’s one of the detriments of the kind of work I do," he says. "We’re always on the fast track. I spend a lot of time at the office, trying to give my clients the best advantage." Craig Cooley, another Richmond lawyer who’s worked on several cases with HuYoung, says HuYoung possesses fine-tuned legal and people skills. "Michael works longer hours than anyone I know. He works until it’s done — often that’s very late," Cooley says.

HuYoung, who’s also a substitute judge, is quick to note that he’s been lucky enough to work with some very astute criminal defense attorneys, including Cooley, fellow Richmonder John Boatwright and Edward Barnes, a partner in his firm who used to practice criminal law. "I’m always learning. Once you get to the point where you think you’re the best, you start deceiving yourself and you start taking yourself seriously. And I don’t take myself too seriously."

Born in Cuba to Chinese parents, HuYoung came to the states in 1962 with his mother and brother. "My mother was a very wise lady who said it was time to get out" of Cuba, he says. "My dad said no," thinking the Castro regime wouldn’t last." That turned out to be a bad choice for his father, who had gone to Cuba as a diplomat for the anti-communist government of Chiang Kai-shek. He didn’t make it out until 1976.

The HuYoungs went to all the big cities: Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., before settling in the late ’60s in Newport News where HuYoung’s mother worked as a cleaning lady at a church. "My mom worked a lot of jobs. At one point she worked three jobs. People sort of picked on her. I saw that injustice." Later in life, those experiences gave him the incentive to become a lawyer.

After HuYoung received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1979, he played tennis professionally for a year before going to law school at the University of Richmond. He then practiced with Richmond lawyer Richard Ryder before starting a solo practice. In 1996, he joined Barnes & Batzli.

HuYoung says personal and spiritual beliefs help him walk the fine line often associated with criminal defense. "I’m not here to pass judgment," he says. "Every person I represent is an individual. Sometimes you can get into trouble and not really mean to get in trouble. When it happens to you, or to a member of your family, suddenly they’re not a criminal."

In his career, HuYoung has faced ethical dilemmas. "There was a [capital] case, somewhat high-profile. The defendant wanted me to not pursue his appeal," he says. "Do I do what my client wants or do I do whatever I can to save his life? I continued to do what I felt I had to do." Unfortunately, the client didn’t agree and sent HuYoung a threatening letter saying he should have shot his lawyer instead of his victim. "My wife says, ‘You’re not going to go down there and see him, are you?’ I said, ‘Of course I am. He’s my client.’" HuYoung has mixed feelings on the death penalty. "I can’t say, ‘yes, I’m for it.’ But I can’t say I’m against it."

Meanwhile, he’s steadfast that everyone deserves a fair trial. Still, he maintains a realistic outlook on his profession: "When you have a videotape and it shows your client stealing and he makes a full confession, you’re not going to win that. … The issue isn’t guilt or innocence." In that case, he adds, the overriding issue becomes, "What kind of resolution can we bring to this that would be satisfactory … to everyone concerned?"