Do you need to win your case but want to deflect the attention off you? Hire Lin Wood.

Do you want to stay the center of attention—whether you win or not? Hire Albert Watkins.

Never heard of him? You will.

Watkins is a St. Louis attorney and a legal gadfly. Sources close to the St. Louis legal industry describe him as an eccentric, high-profile ambulance chaser.

“Al is a weird bird, one source said. “Very eccentric. Never met a high-profile case that he didn’t fall all over himself to get involved with.”

Another source watched Watkins grow up alongside members of their family and says, “He’s always been odd.”

When it comes to Odd, Watkins and his client Jacob Angeli are obviously birds of a feather.

You remember Jacob Angeli [legal name: Chansley]—actor/voiceover artist/Q-Shaman who “stormed” the Capitol in the Comanche Buffalo headdress and body paint.

Angeli was outed as a loyal Trump supporter, and arrested for his part in the Capitol calamity. Last I heard, Angeli was on a bit of a hunger strike, because the Arizona facility where he is being held did not have vegan cuisine. Had he been arrested in California, that would not have been a problem. Even with prisons, it’s all about location, location, location.

Watkins is now representing Angeli, and apparently, our Q-Shaman has had a change of heart about his support of Donald J. Trump.

From the AP:

“The lawyer for an Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns is offering to have his client testify at former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial.

“Lawyer Albert Watkins said he hasn’t spoken to any member in the Senate since announcing his offer to have Jacob Chansley testify at Trump’s trial, which is scheduled to begin the week of Feb. 8. Watkins said it’s important for senators to hear the voice of someone who was incited by Trump.

“Watkins said his client was previously “horrendously smitten” by Trump but now feels let down after Trump’s refusal to grant Chansley and others who participated in the insurrection a pardon. “He felt like he was betrayed by the president,” Watkins said.

It is apparent that Angeli is what we call in the entertainment industry, “A fame whore”, and sources say this is Watkins’ favorite type of client.

“Literal birds of a feather,” the source said.

Watkins made his bones in St. Louis by inserting himself into any high-profile case that garnered national attention. One of his more hilarious turns was as the attorney for Jimmy Winkelmann who created a parody apparel company, “The South Butt” to skewer the outdoor-adventure apparel company The North Face.

“When a kid from St. Louis, Jimmy Winkelmann, took on iconic maker of outdoor-adventure apparel The North Face with his parody company, The South Butt (for people who never get off their couch), North Face filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The kid’s attorney, Albert S. Watkins, wrote an answer (PDF) worthy of The Onion’s news satire, then donated South Butt gear to every patient at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and challenged North Face to do the same. When the giant refused to respond, Watkins shot out a press release: ‘North Face Turns the Other Cheek.’ ”

Then there was the Stockley Murder trial, where black shooting victim Anthony Lamar Smith was killed by white police officer Jason Stockley, but found not guilty. Watkins represented Smith’s fiancé during the ordeal.

Watkins managed to insert himself in the scandalous affair of then-Missouri Governor Eric Greitens. Greitens was caught with his pants down, and as is Watkins’ modus operandi, he nibbled around the periphery of the case by representing the mistress’s estranged husband.  Things got even weirder when Watkins was given a cash payment of $100,000 dollars from an anonymous donor. My colleague Susie Moore wrote in 2018:

“The story initially broke back in January. The ex-husband of the woman who was involved with Greitens had apparently recorded a conversation with her in which she confessed to the affair and described the details of their encounter. A local news station ran the story on the evening of Governor Greitens’ State of the State Address.

“Since then, it’s been a veritable circus here in the Show-Me State. There have been allegations of irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct, multiple motions to dismiss and hearings thereon, and all sorts of political intrigue, including a press conference announcing an additional criminal referral (for improper use of a donor list during the campaign) from Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley just last week, just as his race against Senatorial incumbent Claire McCaskill is starting to heat up.

“Now comes the news that the attorney for the ex-husband of Greitens’ mistress received $100,000 from a mystery donor in early January.”

Watkins was also connected to the McCloskeys in their gun possession case, but ultimately dropped out. Now he’s representing Angeli/Chansley.

Watkins has not yet officially approached the Democrat-controlled Senate about Angeli’s testimony, but should it actually happen, you know it’s bound to be entertaining.

“Lawyer Albert Watkins said he hasn’t spoken to any member in the Senate since announcing his offer to have Jacob Chansley testify at Trump’s trial, which is scheduled to begin the week of Feb. 8. Watkins said it’s important for senators to hear the voice of someone who was incited by Trump.

“Watkins said his client was previously ‘horrendously smitten’ by Trump but now feels let down after Trump’s refusal to grant Chansley and others who participated in the insurrection a pardon. ‘He felt like he was betrayed by the president,’ Watkins said.”

Whatever the outcome, both Angeli’s and Watkins’ careers will benefit. The worlds of entertainment and law? Maybe not so much.