So you have found yourself in the position of needing a criminal defense attorney. This situation is obviously stressful and one that you don't want to be in, but for whatever circumstance brought you to it, you need to handle it quickly and efficiently to avoid potentially devastating consequences. Your first step in doing so is hiring a criminal defense attorney. While interviewing potential attorneys and deciding who to go with, they will all try to convince you why they are the best choice. There are red flags, however, that you need to take into consideration when choosing your criminal defense attorney.
No Free Consultation
Attorneys are known for providing potential clients with no cost consultations before taking on the case. This is the time to ask your basic questions, get an idea of the potential attorney's background, find out what their goal would be for your case and how they would reach it, etc. While you should be respectful of the fact that it is only a consultation and not an attempt to have the attorney do any work for you before retaining him or her, you should be incredibly wary of any attorney who attempts to charge you for this consultation. You want to hire a criminal defense attorney who is confident enough in his or her skills that they will be hired without taking your money up front.
A Lack of Assertiveness, Professionalism, and Obvious Experience
You want to hire an attorney who will represent you well in court. You could find the most well educated attorney, but if he or she is not professional and well put together, their image will not make you look good in court. Seek out an attorney who is well put together, uses proper grammar, responds to written correspondence such as email in a professional manner, etc. Obviously, if you are spending a lot of time around this attorney, he or she may crack a joke to you or make small talk, and that is okay, but you need make sure this person will maintain high standards of professionalism in the court room. When meeting with a potential attorney, put yourself in the position of the judge, jury, etc. How does this attorney come off? Is it obvious that he or she knows what they are doing, or do they seem like they are just skating by? Considering that your attorney is representing you on your behalf, he or she is a direct reflection of you. Make sure that reflection is one that will work in your favor.
Bad Reviews, Complaints, and the American Bar Association
Reviews should be taken into consideration when hiring a criminal defense attorney, but you must take them with a grain of salt. Anyone can say anything, and pretend to be anyone, on the internet. There have been many cases of attorney's receiving bad online reviews from members of the other party who the lawyer was fighting against. When looking into reviews, look for ones that are obviously from different authors, over a large span of time, and see if you notice any trends. If there are multiple bad reviews that appear to be legitimate, it may be time to look into a different attorney. Additionally, you will want to check with the American Bar Association for any formal complaints that have been filed against the potential attorney.
For more information, contact a firm such as Bare Law Firm.
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