IMHO, $30K isn't going to last long with the kind of attorney he would need; may as well go with a public defender.
High-profile defense lawyers would burn through thirty grand in about two or three weeks...unless the client just wanted to negotiate a deal and there was no chance it would go to trial. Figure $300 an hour for anything out of court, and anywhere from $500-$600 an hour for courtroom time.
Not to mention that any attorney worth his salt is going to perform some serious due diligence before accepting the case---and once they find out what our little friend has likely been up to, the price is going to go up. If they would even take the case. Finding an attorney willing to take this mess on would be harder than you think; lawyers like to win.
Just my two cents' worth, of course.
ETA: maybe they should rob (another) bank...