How to Select a Criminal Defense Attorney

Steps

1. Get a criminal defense attorney who concentrates his practice in the area of defense that you need. Many criminal defense attorneys not only handle routine criminal defense cases but some concentrate in a particular areas of defense. Some focus on rape defence, violent crime defence etc. No defences areas absolutely require a lawyer who concentrates in the area, and in many areas there are so few lawyers that getting one that concentrates on a specific crime is impossible. Get a lawyer who is willing to put in sufficent time to learn about your case and your defense and you will do fine.
2. Public defenders get a bad rap, but they are the most experienced criminal defense lawyers. In spite of popular opinion, public defenders are extremely skilled (in general), and are often consulted by private attorneys, because they have seen more of the criminal justice system than others. Public defenders are generally reserved for people who cannot afford private attorneys. Hence when you have to hire a private attorney, you would be well served to hire a former public defender.
3. Determine what kind of qualities are important to you. Do you want someone young and who is willing to make up for a lack of experience through hard work, or someone with well-established credentials? Does your case require someone who has special knowledge of a certain area of criminal law (like tax law or SEC investigations), or will any criminal lawyer be sufficient?
4. Ask friends if they know (or have experience with) a criminal defense attorney. This is not the time to hire your 3rd cousin who once won a speeding ticket case for your uncle. If you are charged with a crime that can cause you to have a criminal record, you need someone who knows exactly what he or she is doing.
5. Find out what legal organizations the lawyer belongs to. At the very least, he should belong to the County and State Bar Associations. If he belongs to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), his State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, or to the ABA's Criminal Justice Section, that is a good indication he has more than a passing interest in criminal defense.
6. Determine if he has ever held an office in any of the organizations of which he is a member. Bar association activities are good indications of how the lawyer's colleagues feel about him.
7. Find out if he has earned a Martindale-Hubbell rating. "AV" is the highest ability/highest ethics rating based on the opinions of lawyers and judges who know him. "BV" and "CV" rated lawyers are good too. Note: very few criminal defense lawyers are rated by Martindale-Hubbell and many of the best criminal defense attorneys do not participate in Martindale-Hubbell's directory and rating system.
8. Avvo.com is an internet tool that has fairly accurate information and independant ratings of Attorneys, and it does not allow lawyers to opt out. Its rating system is also very reliable for attorneys who have "claimed" their profiles.
9. Don't be fooled by advertising slogans, such as "former deputy district attorney" or "aggressive trial lawyer." Meet the lawyer and decide if you have confidence in his or her skills and feel comfortable with their analysis of your case.
10. Inquire if the attorney you are interviewing has ever taught at a law school (or CLE program) or published a legal article. Teaching and publishing takes research, field work, dedication, as well as commitment to good practice policies. It also is a good way to determine your lawyer's standing in the legal community.
11. Ask who will work on your case if you hire this attorney, and what their experience level is. Ask what rates they bill at. What percentage of work will these other people be doing, and what percentage of time will your attorney be dedicating to your case? Now is also a good time to find out what would happen to your case if your attorney became ill or unexpectedly became unavailable.
12. Discuss the facts of your case. At this point, attorneys should be able to discuss how he will proceed and what he will do. You should discuss law office communications and what ancillary services he thinks you will need (e.g. psychotherapy, private investigation, etc).
13. Remember there is no official list of the best lawyers. There is no official "win/loss" rate. Be very suspicious of attorneys who claim to "specialize" in a certain type of case, unless that lawyer is a State Bar Certified Specialist. A lawyer may concentrate in an area but may not claim to be a specialist unless an outside agency certified to make the designation so awards him with that designation.

Tips

• You should determine if the lawyer you want to hire has made many court appearances in the jurisdiction where your case is being heard. Some lawyers have good reputations in various courts and it can be advantageous to be represented by a lawyer who commands a great deal of respect from the court in which your case is being heard. By the same token, some lawyers who make frequent appearances in some courts do not garner much respect from the court.
• The best private criminal defense attorneys are very often former public defenders. This was all they did, they did it every day, and they are frequently dedicated beyond the call of duty. Many are among the smartest, hardest-working attorneys you will ever meet. They do more trials and win more victories than many other private attorneys ever will.
• Attorneys have a number of ways of charging for their work. These include flat fees, hourly rates, and fees for specific parts of the case.
  • Hourly rates are most consumer-friendly, but are the least predictable.
  • Flat fees are the most predictable, but can hurt the client in cases that are complicated. Many attorneys will offer some hybrid fee agreement that offers a refundable minimum retainer but then goes up as the case goes past that amount.
  • Contingency fee arrangements (fees based on the attorney achieving certain results) are unethical for criminal defense attorneys.
  • Be sure you understand that the attorney bills you for everything, including phone calls.
  • If you like to communicate by phone, mail or e-mail, be sure the attorney is on the same page with you. Discuss what you expect when you communicate with the office and how often you expect to be billed.
  • Good lawyers can come from big firms or from small ones, and so can bad lawyers. An advantage of a big firm is that more than one attorney may be able to work on parts of your case, but you will pay more money for this. The advantage of a small firm is that you will often get the attorney you hired and he will have a lower overhead so you will pay less. It is rare except in the case of White Collar Crime cases to find good private criminal attorneys in large law firms.

  Warnings

  • Doing a thorough interview and background search on your attorney is the only way to be sure you are getting what you are paying for. Remember that you can often save money by entrusting your case to a newer attorney. Young attorneys are very capable to handle misdemeanor cases and traffic cases. Felony cases and federal cases should be handled by attorneys with at least five years of criminal practice under their belts.
  • Be wary of attorneys who want a large amount of money up front to handle a case only through initial proceedings and not through jury trial. A private criminal defense attorney can make a lot of money by charging clients to make a few court appearances and then plead them guilty or handle one brief hearing before being relieved from the case. The lawyer should be honest about the likely outcomes of your case and should never make promises about guaranteed outcomes.
  • Be extremely suspicious of any attorney who guarantees you a specific result in a criminal case before making a court appearance and before reviewing all the documents and evidence.

  Things You'll Need

  • The more information you can offer a criminal defense lawyer at your initial consultation, the more accurately the lawyer can offer to represent you at a realistic fee. People who pay the most money for lawyers are people who don't know what crimes they are charged with, their court date, or other vital details. Have your court date, charges, court location, bail amount, and contact information for your bondsman (if applicable) when you call the lawyer.
  • Many courts have on-line lookup systems for this information if you do not have paperwork.

  Sources and Citations

  • American Bar Association Lawyer Locater
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Member Directory
  • AVVO.Com Lawyer Rating Site and Database
  • Martindale-Hubbell Ratings and Database
  • More Advice on Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer
  • Checklist For Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer In Florida
  • Selecting a Lawyer

  Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Select a Criminal Defense Attorney. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.