Questions To Ask Criminal Lawyers Before Hiring One
By Space Coast Daily // July 17, 2019
Appearing before a criminal court is a serious and worrisome situation that can hit a person very hard, either psychologically or emotionally, most especially when one is falsely accused of a crime.
In this crucial moment, one would hope in an instant to have a competent criminal lawyer to help defend one’s case.
The best criminal defense attorney could get them out of the case and free them from any criminal charges. That said, these are some of the questions you need to ask before hiring a criminal lawyer:
1. Ask Questions about the Lawyer’s Expertise
What area of expertise does the lawyer specialize on? In their area of practice, is it predominantly or purely involving criminal cases? What are the areas of criminal cases they have handled before?
Is your particular case within their area of expertise? How many cases have they handled that proved to be successful?
Before you hire a criminal lawyer Parramatta or whichever location you are in, you must make sure that they are an expert in criminal law. Each lawyer has their own specialties.
You can’t just hire any lawyer to do criminal law. There are specific lawyers that only specialize in corporate law, real estate laws, or taxation laws. Make sure that the one you are hiring specializes in criminal law.
2. Ask about the Lawyer’s Background
Where did they get their degree in law? How long have they been practicing law? When did they start handling criminal cases? Which lawyers’ association or fraternity are they a member of? The reason for this is that it might be possible that the prosecutor or the judge who handles your case belongs to the same school, fraternity or organization your lawyer does.
Does the criminal lawyer have time to handle your case? Check if the lawyer is handling many cases at the same time. Handling a criminal defense case is definitely time-consuming.
Because the lawyer needs time to dig into the bits and pieces of the case, they might need time to go to the crime scene on several occasions to check on the evidence or try to find something that will prove your innocence.
Part of your preparations is to try and check their background on the internet. It is possible that one of their cases is uploaded on the internet.
From there, you will have information on how this particular lawyer handled the case. You can also infer about their character from the information you’ll get on the case
3. Ask Questions on Compensations and Expenses
Lawyers charge their clientele in many ways. There are good lawyers who charge a one-time fee for the whole case until the case is closed. There are lawyers or law firms who have acceptance fees plus fees for each appearance in the court.
Moreover, some lawyers charge based on an hourly rate. The hourly rate is based on the time they spent writing your case, doing research on your case, appearing in court or even discussing the case with you. So, the clock starts ticking the moment you hire them.
If your case is handled by a reputable law firm, there might be more than one lawyer involved. This has an advantage because more heads are better than one. The lead lawyer will have more time analyzing your case while their associate will do the research, writing, and help come up with different defense strategies.
You will need to know the expenses that the court will charge at the start of the case. There might be some monetary responsibilities that the court will charge even if you win the case. All the probable monetary obligations should be mentioned by your criminal lawyers.
Lawyers who have been handling criminal cases, through their experience and knowledge of the law, will be able to come up with a rough estimate of your monetary obligations. The lawyer will present to you the different scenarios regarding the outcome of the case, which you can either win or lose.
Conclusion
It can be tough to find the right criminal lawyer to handle your case since your life will be put on the line. Make informed decisions on which criminal lawyer to include in your defense counsel by going through these questions.
The questions above will guide you in making a very important decision that will have a great impact on your life. Of course, after going through the questions, you also need to do your own research. Nothing can substitute the exercise of good and proper due diligence.
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
