Get a criminal defense attorney who concentrates his/her 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 defense, violent crime defense etc. No defenses 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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
