Cofer & Connelly: The Only Austin Attorney to Both Prosecute and Defend Juvenile Murder Charges

TO OUR READERS: This profile is independent editorial content produced by Awesome Attorneys. Cofer & Connelly, PLLC did not pay for, commission, sponsor, or review this article, and inclusion in this series cannot be purchased. Nothing here is legal advice, an endorsement, or a recommendation to hire any lawyer; readers should evaluate counsel independently and may verify any Texas attorney’s license and discipline history through the State Bar of Texas at texasbar.com. Facts are drawn from the sources identified in the Methodology section and were verified as of August 2026.

AT A GLANCE

I. The Only Austin Attorney to Both Prosecute and Defend the Same Category of Case

Rick Cofer holds a genuinely unusual distinction: he is, per his own professional materials, the only Austin attorney to have both prosecuted and defended Travis County juvenile murder charges. That means he has stood on both sides of the state’s most serious juvenile cases specifically, not just criminal law generally, giving him direct, checkable insight into how both a prosecutor and a defense attorney approach the same category of case.

II. A Specific Niche in Mental Health-Related Criminal Cases

Cofer’s background includes service as an associate judge for mental health hearings and as a Travis County mental health civil prosecutor, credentials that translate into a specific, documented practice niche: he is frequently retained by families to represent loved ones with mental health diagnoses who are facing criminal charges. This is a distinct sub-specialty within criminal defense, requiring familiarity with both the criminal court system and Texas’s separate civil mental health commitment framework, that most general criminal defense attorneys do not develop.

III. Practice Areas

• DWI/DUI defense
• Felony criminal defense (including murder and sex offense cases)
• Juvenile criminal defense
• Mental health-related criminal matters
• Drug possession, including cannabis and marijuana law
• Family law
• Personal injury

IV. Case Outcomes

The firm’s materials cite more than 200 years of combined attorney experience and more than 300 jury trials firm-wide, with Cofer personally having tried more than 100 cases before a judge or jury, but this profile did not locate an itemized, case-by-case published results list with specific outcomes as of this research date; that gap is disclosed here rather than filled in.

V. The Client Voice

This profile located the firm’s peer-review and reader-poll recognition (Austin Chronicle Best Lawyer, Super Lawyers) rather than a large volume of independently attributed consumer client reviews specifically for Cofer as of this research date; that gap is disclosed rather than papered over with marketing copy. Prospective clients should ask the firm directly for references during a consultation.

VI. Community and Local Presence

Cofer’s more than two decades living and working in Austin, Central Texas, and the Hill Country, combined with his specific institutional history serving as a Travis County mental health associate judge, reflect sustained, documented investment in the region’s legal and civic infrastructure beyond his private caseload.

VII. Credentials and Recognition

Rick Cofer has been named Best Lawyer by the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll every year from 2021 to 2025, selected a Texas Super Lawyer or Rising Star for six years, listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2023, and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating, the service’s highest peer-review standard. These are third-party recognitions distinguished here from self-conferred marketing claims. No State Bar of Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification was located for Cofer as of this research date; that absence is disclosed rather than assumed to exist, and the term “board certified” is not used in this profile for that reason.

VIII. The Texas Legal Backdrop

In Texas, a first-offense DWI is generally a Class B misdemeanor, escalating with aggravating factors under Texas Penal Code Chapter 49. Juvenile criminal proceedings, part of Cofer’s documented specialty, follow a distinct procedural framework under Title 3 of the Texas Family Code rather than standard adult criminal procedure. Mental health commitment proceedings, another documented area of his practice, are governed by a separate civil framework under the Texas Health and Safety Code, distinct from the criminal court system. None of this is legal advice; consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.

IX. The Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Cofer & Connelly’s structural strength is a genuinely rare combination of institutional vantage points: a managing partner who has personally served as prosecutor, defense attorney, and associate judge, with a documented, checkable specialty in juvenile and mental-health-related criminal cases that few Austin firms in this series can match. For a family navigating a criminal case that intersects with a loved one’s mental health diagnosis, or a juvenile facing serious charges, that specific combination of experience is a genuine, checkable asset.

The honest limitation is one worth naming for any firm spanning three broad practice areas (criminal, family, and personal injury) across four statewide offices: a prospective client should confirm which specific attorney, given the firm’s more than 30-person team, will handle their matter, and should not assume Cofer himself handles every case given his documented leadership and specialty-focus commitments.

X. Methodology & Sources

This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys in August 2026 without the participation, sponsorship, or payment of Cofer & Connelly, PLLC. Primary source: the firm’s website coferconnelly.com (about us, attorney bio for Rick Cofer, practice area pages). Verification sources: Distinguished Counsel directory listing (career history, office address); Yelp business listing (firm founding date, current address). Statutes cited in Section VIII were verified against the Texas Constitution and Statutes database (statutes.capitol.texas.gov).

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal-directory publisher. This profile was not paid for by Cofer & Connelly, and inclusion in our editorial coverage cannot be purchased. Awesome Attorneys may separately offer premium sponsored placements to attorneys and firms; sponsorship status, where it exists, is always disclosed and does not alter the editorial content of a profile such as this one. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or an attorney referral.