Criminal Lawyer - 10 Things to Look For and Avoid When Hiring a NYC Criminal Attorney
There are
many things to consider when hiring a affordable criminal lawyers NYC. The following is a list of some (but by no means all)
of the things that you should consider when hiring a criminal lawyer:
abe george lawyer |
1. Be
certain that the attorney you intend to hire actually handles criminal cases.
Don't hire your divorce lawyer or the lawyer who drew up your will to handle
your criminal case. You wouldn't hire a brain surgeon to operate on your heart
would you? Because criminal defense is a specialized field of law, you need to
hire a lawyer who specializes in this particular field.
2. Be
certain that the criminal lawyer you
intend to hire handles the particular type of criminal case that you have. If
you are charged with murder, don't hire a lawyer who does only drunk-driving
cases. Find a lawyer instead who has experience handling murder cases. Or if
you are charged with a federal crime, don't hire a lawyer who handles crimes only in state
court. Find a lawyer instead who has experience handling federal cases.
3. Be
certain that the criminal lawyer you
intend to hire has a lot of experience handling your particular type of case.
For example, even if the lawyer you intend to hire handles nothing but
drunk-driving cases, did he or she graduate from law school three months ago
and therefore has very little actual experience handling such cases?
4. Avoid
hiring a criminal attorney who promises
you a specific outcome. It is impossible for a lawyer whom you have just met
and who knows nothing about your case except what you have told him to tell you
how your case will turn out with any degree of certainty.
5. If your
goal is to resolve your case without a trial, you may not need to hire the best
criminal trial lawyer in town. You may want to look instead for someone who has
experience successfully negotiating your particular type of criminal case. On
the other hand, if you definitely want to have a trial, be sure that the criminal attorney you hire has significant
experience trying cases and is not simply an "office" lawyer.
6. If you
are hiring a specific criminal lawyer to
work on your case, make sure that that specific lawyer and not one of her
associates is the lawyer who will actually be working on your case and going to
court with you.
8. Be sure
that the criminal lawyer you intend to
hire has time to work on your case. If the lawyer you intend to hire is
starting a month-long federal trial next week, he may not be the criminal
lawyer best suited to represent you if your case requires a lot of work and
your trial date is fast approaching.
9. Be
certain that the criminal attorney you
intend to hire has a support staff that can adequately handle your case. Does
the lawyer have, for example, a secretary, an investigator, a paralegal, and
access to expert witnesses that may be needed in order to properly represent
you at trial? If not, you may want to look for another lawyer.
10. If
the criminal lawyer you intend to hire
is quoting you a fee that is a lot more or a lot less than the going rate, ask
yourself why. If the fee being quoted is a lot more than the going rate, is it
because the lawyer is that much better than her competitors? If she is not that
much better, than why should you pay that fee? On the other hand, if the fee
being quoted is a lot less than the going rate, is it because the lawyer is
just starting out and has little experience handling your particular type of
criminal case? If so, you may want to look for another lawyer.
Comments
Post a Comment