Choosing the best lawyer (or dentist, or accountant, etc.) is daunting for most people. Since their job is so advanced, it’s difficult for ordinary people to know what questions to ask. Before hiring a trial lawyer, ask the following five questions. There are plenty of other questions to ponder, but these are some of the most pertinent.
What will you do if the prosecutor refuses to plea bargain and insists on a plea of guilty?
The best response is that your criminal defense counsel will contest the lawsuit. A criminal has much to lose by fighting in this case. If you contest, the worst that will happen is that you will be proven guilty after a hearing, which is the same outcome as pleading guilty. In this case, the sentence could potentially be bad, but in my experience, there is either no change or a better outcome. Plus, there’s a chance you’ll win. A follow-up question to consider is how much the war would cost.
How many jury trials have you done?
Hopefully, the result is at least five. Five is the count most criminal lawyers Sydney suggest. For more extreme scenarios, you’ll like someone who has completed at least ten trials. If the answer is no, you do not want to recruit the lawyer. On that note, a good follow-up inquiry is to inquire about the attorney’s familiarity with criminal jury trials.
Who will handle my case?
The majority of criminal lawyers serve as sole practitioners or as independent firms, and they prosecute their own cases. The criminal counsel is usually in charge of reviewing their paperwork and conducting the majority of hearings and, so far, all of the courts. It is probably safer for the customer to have associates do more of the job. There are better chances of picking up important information when you have different sets of eyes staring at items.
The concern is that certain attorneys have a “business model” that will not be useful to you. It’s a rare occurrence, but some attorneys who spend a lot of money on the advertising end up doing absolutely no work on the lawsuit. They consider cases that are far away from their office and send someone from the region to represent them. There is no quality management, as for an associate.
How many cases like mine have you handled?
Besides, you want a prosecutor who has dealt with a situation like this before. When it’s a federal opioid case, you’ll want someone who has done these cases before. An attorney with no prior experience in the field is likely to overlook certain information.
Do I have to come to Court?
Pre-trial hearings aim to hear what the police have to say. At this point, clients seldom testify.
Complex cases or white-collar fraud cases are an exception, where the involvement of the client may be crucial. Even if they don’t appear, they will aid the attorney with cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses by supplying details. Those five inquiries are a decent place to proceed. Based on the circumstances of your case and condition, you should have more. When you make the right decision, you’ll be much happier for your criminal defense lawyer.
