When your life and freedom are on the line, you pick the best available lawyer to take your case. In this matter, Chauvin did not chose the best representation.
Chauvin did not have incompetent counsel or inadequate counsel, he simply did not have the greatest counsel.
It’s not all that hard to get into or through law school. There are clearly brilliant attorneys, and also ‘not so good’ attorneys (many of these in Congress). Just like physicians and other professionals. Further, you have people like Hillary who didn’t pass the DC bar after going to Yale law school. My point is that you don’t always know who is a good attorney and who isn’t. Add to that being absolutely distraught about your life, and your judgment is probably very compromised. Also, the amount of money you have to pay an attorney defines what kind of representation you get.