Why Did Everyone But Oswald Know to Call the Best Defense Attorney in Dallas?

[Tom Scully]

His name was Attorney Charles W. Tessmer, in criminal defense practice with his younger associate Attorney Frank Wright.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/good-time-charlie-6396762
Good time Charlie
MARK DONALD | DECEMBER 23, 1999 |
...He was the whole package, a master magician both at trial and on appeal. He tried more than 1,000 cases; he represented more than 175 people facing the death penalty and never lost a client to the executioner; more than 160 appellate court opinions list him as attorney of record; at one point in the early '70s, he appealed 28 state convictions and won 14 reversals; he argued three cases to the U.S. Supreme Court, winning two of them. As president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and later the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, he attempted to bring integrity to a profession that was often accused of being as criminal as its clients...

Tessmer or his associate Wright just happened to receive a call from Eva Grant within hours of the successful attempt against the life of
Oswald. David Cherry of Nancy Perrin Rich WC testimony, Kenneth Porter in the aftermath of an incident with a revolver in a marital dispute
with new spouse Marina,( Link ) and John Liggett were all Tessmer / Wright clients.

LBJ: From Mastermind to “The Colossus” - Google Books Result
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1629140260
Phillip F. Nelson - 2014 - ‎History
One of the most distinguished, and expensive, criminal lawyers in Dallas, Charles Tessmer, was recruited to come to John Liggett's defense. It appears that he had been selected by others...

Finished by April, 1964, the Larry Buchanan film titled "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald" features the film's technical consultant
Attorney Tessmer, delivering the epilogue comprising the final 100 seconds of the 93 minute film. View the entire film or the Tessmer
epilogue here.:

http://dvp-video-audio-archive.blogspot.com/2012/03/trial-of-lee-harvey-oswald-1964.html

Weissberg Archive file .pdf page 4

[Michael Clark]

My musing is that Oswald never asked for Mr. Abt, but asked for Mr. Abbott, an alias for David Atlee Phillips. This may have got him killed.

[Charles Collins]

My musing is that Oswald never asked for Mr. Abt, but asked for Mr. Abbott, an alias for David Atlee Phillips. This may have got him killed.

Most big name attorneys work for big money. Oswald didn’t have that kind of money. Whoever might have been willing to represent him would most likely be doing it pro bono.

[Tom Scully]

My musing is that Oswald never asked for Mr. Abt, but asked for Mr. Abbott, an alias for David Atlee Phillips. This may have got him killed.

John Abt testified that to his knowledge, Oswald never contacted his office. Abt said he learned from press reports by
Saturday that Oswald was seeking his legal representation. Abt testimony:
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/abt.htm

Most big name attorneys work for big money. Oswald didn’t have that kind of money. Whoever might have been willing to represent him would most likely be doing it pro bono.

Granted, this is anecdotal but does seem to directly quote Tessmer. From the 1999 Dallas Observer article linked in the OP.:

.....
"The only thing that Charlie missed in his career was that national case that could have made him a national figure. He never got that chance again."

Tessmer seemed more comfortable "chasing the bubble of fame" -- as he says -- in Texas. While other high-flying lawyers would take their acts on the road and try cases wherever the money brought them, Tessmer was more of a homeboy.

Yet at home, in front of the nation's toughest juries, he was worth every penny you paid him, particularly since he set his fees at Depression-era prices. "I never did charge properly," he says. "Where I came from, $25 was a lot of money for getting whores out of jail."...

Tessmer represented John  Eli Stone, on or about 2 July, 1963:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=78794&search=tessmer_and+stone#relPageId=7&tab=page
Tessmer represented R.D. Matthews in 1976.:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=114499&relPageId=4&search="frank_s%20wright"

[Denis Pointing]

Most big name attorneys work for big money. Oswald didn’t have that kind of money. Whoever might have been willing to represent him would most likely be doing it pro bono.

And Abt was known to take cases pro bono.

[Richard Smith]

What difference does it make and how could anyone know who Oswald might have ultimately decided to be his attorney had he gone to trial?  He likely wanted to start with Abt because Oswald viewed himself as some type of revolutionary figure and wanted to portray himself at trial as the victim of political persecution.  Oswald knew that Abt had represented such clients.  In all likelihood, attorneys would have come out of the woodwork to represent Oswald for the publicity.

[Tom Scully]

What difference does it make and how could anyone know who Oswald might have ultimately decided to be his attorney had he gone to trial?  He likely wanted to start with Abt because Oswald viewed himself as some type of revolutionary figure and wanted to portray himself at trial as the victim of political persecution.  Oswald knew that Abt had represented such clients.  In all likelihood, attorneys would have come out of the woodwork to represent Oswald for the publicity.

In this issue,
Texas Monthly May 1986 pg. 210

....I learned from the May, 1986 article linked above that Harold Hoffman partnered with Larry Buchanan to make the 1964 Trial of Oswald film relying on the legal expertise of Attorney Charles Tessmer. Oh! I almost forgot....the 1986 article also describes Hoffman as the Adman  at
Collins Radio in 1961 when he hired Buchanan to work in the audio visual department. Both men were directed by their employer Collins in 1963 to decide whether to continue working for Collins or leave to pursue movie production.

Buchanan is the subject of a wikipedia page.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Buchanan

Curiouser and curiouser......could Hoffman have worked for more fabled (suspect) local businesses than Magnolia Petroleum and Collins Radio?
If I find a way to verify the authenticity of this, presented as a brief autobiography, I will update this with other supporting sources.:

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~chousmith/school-alumni/page15.htm
HAROLD WAYNE HOFFMAN, Frisco, TX. I am semi-retired as an oil painter and ad man. My wife, Helen Louise, and I have two children, Kimberly Jean and Harold.

I attended Compton Junior College in 1950 and B.J.U. in Oklahoma in 1955. I was Public Relations Supervisor for Magnolia Petroleum Company, Dallas, 1955-60; advertising manager of Collins Radio Company, Dallas, TX, 1960-63; president of Falcon International Corporation, Dallas, 1962-66; account executive, Bloom Agency, Dallas, 1966-68; vice president of Albert Frank-Guenther Law, Dallas, 1968-72; owner, operator Hoffman Agency, Dallas, 1972-. Theatrical film producer, writer, director as president, treasurer of Falcon International Corporation: Free, White and 21, Under Age, Trail of Oswald, The Black Cat, Story of Life; Author of Professional Portrait Tips. Writer of motion picture script 2880 for TV and others. Composer tide song for movies, Under, The Other Side of Bonnie and Clyde and I am a professional photographer. I was the recipient of the National 1St Award, Civic Portfolio Jaycees and Producer's Award Box.

John H. Boyle, Collins Radio:

Signals: Volume 24, Issues 1-12; Volume 24, Issues 1-12

books.google.comArmed Forces Communications Association, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (U.S.), Armed Forces Communications Association - 1969 - Snippet view

...Now, 28 years later, he holds the title, Vice President, International Region for Collins Radio Company in Dallas. The years between that bridge the gap began when Mr. Boyle became a fighter pilot during World War II and served in ....In June 1952, Mr. Boyle joined Collins as Dallas Division Representative residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Since that time, he has served in numerous capacities with Collins, and in 1962 was elected a Vice President of the company. In 1965 he advanced to Vice President, Corporate Marketing, and in 1969 assumed his current position.....

Collins V.P. John H Boyle sold his Dallas residence to Col. Sam Kail.
https://blockshopper.com/tx/dallas-county/dallas/property/00000352252000000/4722-cherokee-trail
4722 Cherokee Trail
Dallas County, Dallas, TX 75209
....Seller Anne M Kail, Mary Kail, Robert G Kail, Samue G Kail, Samuel G Kail

Who's who in Commerce and Industry - Volume 15 - Page 153
https://books.google.com/books?id=F9G7AAAAIAAJ
Boyle, John Hartford
1968 - ‎Snippet view - ‎More editions
European operations Pan Am. World Airways, 1949-52; v.p. corporate marketing Collins Radio Co., Dallas, 1952—. Served to maj. USAAF, 1941-46. Home: 4722 Cherokee Trail, Dallas 75209. Office: Collins Radio Co., Dallas 75207. B

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68562583/samuel-goodhue-kail
Col Samuel Goodhue Kail
BIRTH   7 Jun 1915
DEATH   16 Jun 1992 (aged 77)
BURIAL   
Grove Hill Memorial Park
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, USA.....

[Steve M. Galbraith]

My musing is that Oswald never asked for Mr. Abt, but asked for Mr. Abbott, an alias for David Atlee Phillips. This may have got him killed.

When Oswald was being moved for a lineup in the DPD headquarters he shouted out to the press that he wanted John Abt to represent him. That's how the press learned about it and tried to contact Abt.

Oswald: "I didn't shoot anyone. I want to get in touch with a lawyer, Mr. Abt, in New York City."

And according to Lou Nichols, head of the Dallas Bar Association, Oswald repeatedly asked for Abt to represent him.