Criminal Attorney – 3 Tips to Help You With Your Search
No one wants to face prison time. Yet, that’s just what will happen if you don’t have a good criminal attorney to represent you. Hiring a competent lawyer can do a world of good, especially if the charges don’t look good. Sure, you could be assigned someone from the courts, but this is not the best idea if you can hire someone on your own. If this is your first offense, you may be wondering how you can find a good lawyer. Explore a few tips to assist you during the hiring process.
Do your research
Trying to find a criminal attorney to defend you when you’ve been accused of breaking the law can be an extremely stressful situation. Fortunately, you probably have a lot of resources that you haven’t even taken the time to think about it. Start with friends and family. More likely than not, you either have a lawyer in your family or know someone that does. This is a huge advantage even if this lawyer isn’t the kind of lawyer you necessarily need. Lawyers know other lawyers and can most likely recommend someone to help you with your situation.
If for some reason you don’t know any lawyers, get on the Internet and begin your search. There are tons of options available, so be sure to put in your location to help narrow down your search results. Make a detailed list of what you like about certain office. Write down their contact information so you can call and see about chatting with each one to learn if he or she can help your case.
Interview potential lawyers
While your first thought may be that you don’t feel you know enough about attorney work to interview them, actually you may know more than you think. First, you want to ask them if they have specific experience with cases like yours and find out how long they’ve been specializing in that area. At the minimum, try to get someone with at least five years’ experience.
Also, make sure your criminal attorney graduated from an accredited college and is certified to practice law in your state. In addition, find out how many cases have been won and if he or she has a website, see if you can read testimonials from others that have been assisted by this lawyer. Finally, make sure you feel comfortable because you will need to feel at ease when discussing the details of your case. If you can’t do this, then you may need to keep looking.
Use caution
Sometimes, you may run into a criminal attorney that says he or she can guarantee you’ll win the case. While we all appreciate a positive attitude and motivation, be wary about those that say they can guarantee anything. Because, bottom line, the evidence and your lawyer’s ability to use that evidence to your advantage is the only thing that will help you and sometimes it may not be strong enough. If so, you will not win your case and may face criminal charges. If someone is saying they can guarantee you results, they may just be doing that to get your money; so proceed with caution.
