Choosing a Criminal Defense Attorney? What To Look For

If you've been charged with a crime, you'll need the legal knowledge and assistance of a good criminal defense attorney. But what separates a good one from a bad one? Are there bad ones? These are the questions you are doubtlessly concerned with. You can just open up the phone book and call the first guy you come across, but that will do nothing to ensure you get the representation you deserve. If you want to make sure you have the best legal counsel money can buy, here are some things to look for.

Experience

It doesn't matter if a criminal defense attorney finished at the top of his class and has recommendations from the president of Harvard Law. If he doesn't have any real world experience, you could be throwing your money away. Since the subject here is your freedom, you could be throwing away much more. Experience in almost all fields is much more important than education. Make sure the guy you want to hire has been in the trenches, fighting battles, and winning important victories for his clients.

References

The internet makes it easy to find out what people are saying about the lawyers in your area. Do a thorough search while determining who you want to hire. A criminal defense attorney isn't really like buying a microwave at Wal-Mart, but that doesn't mean you can't take a look at "customer" reviews. The more you can find out about a lawyer's reputation, the better the chances of making a good decision about whether or not they are worth hiring.

Time

A busy criminal defense attorney is probably a good one. Nevertheless, if they are too busy to devote themselves fully to your case, their skill isn't going to do you much good. If you get the distinct feeling that your case isn't as important to your lawyer as it should be, you might want to consider looking elsewhere. You deserve the undivided attention of your counsel, and you should never feel as though you are coming in second to some other pressing business. Your life and freedom may be at stake here. These are serious topics, so you need to hire a lawyer who sees this as well.

Personality

You can find the best criminal defense attorney in the world, but if you don't get along with him, the relationship is doomed to failure. One of the most important aspects of an attorney-client relationship is that the two are compatible. Make sure you actually like your lawyer before you put him on the payroll.