Choose a criminal defense lawyer with a passion for the law – A guide for laymen
Would you ever think of visiting a podiatrist when you have to treat an infection in your nose? Bet you wouldn’t! Similarly, you shouldn’t visit a divorce attorney if you want to sue a driver who crashed your car in an accident! There are multiple areas of law and a plethora of lawyers who handle them. When your reputation and self-esteem are at stake, you have to choose the right representation.
Did you face DUI or theft or any other criminal charge? Whichever may be the case, you should appoint a professional criminal defense attorney who can negotiate your case. Considering the hundreds of lawyers that are there in the industry, how do you know which to choose? While there are trusted ones like Barnes Law Firm, there are numerous other shady ones too.
Keep reading to know the factors to take into account while choosing a criminal defense attorney.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
In any legal profession, practical experience is one of the most vital factors to watch out for. When you hire a seasoned and experienced legal practitioner, he can do a lot more than what beginners can do. However, before leveraging his services, it is vital to test his practical experience. How successful has he been as a criminal defense attorney? If you face a DUI charge, he should be experienced in dealing with DUI charges already.
REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS
Now that we live in an age where we don’t even buy a mixer grinder without reading the reviews of the product. In such an era, hiring a lawyer without checking his client reviews will be a costly blunder. There are several websites like Yelp and Google Plus where you can look for reviews of a specific attorney. If he has a website of his own, make sure you go through his client testimonials.
RATE OF SUCCESS
Before hiring an attorney, know his success rate. Get to know the total number of cases he has dealt with and the number of cases he has won. This way you can get an idea of his success rate. In case you deal with a theft case, you have to figure out how many theft cases the lawyer has dealt with. If he handled 25 theft cases and won 20 among them, his success rate is 1.4. However, you can’t forget that you have to base your decisions only on the cases that are identical to your case.
BAIL IS NOT THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION
There are few attorneys who will only assure you bail as if that is the ultimate solution. However, you can’t forget that solving the case is more important than bail. Try not to hire such lawyers that speak more about bail. He might prepare a bail but that doesn’t give him an opportunity to settle at a lower cost. Moreover, he could probably make the entire situation critical. Hence, it is safe to appoint a lawyer who can make bail for you and also make you free of paying fees.
FEE
The fee charged by an attorney is yet another critical deciding factor. Before hiring a legal professional, check with him and try to know his fees. Get details about the costs involved. While there are lawyers who charge the same fee for each hearing, there are others whose service fees alter with every hearing. Hire an attorney whose fee seems convenient to you.
So, if you’re facing criminal charges, get the help of an experienced and trustworthy criminal defense attorney to build a strong strategy and reduce the charge to a less grave offense.
