Are you facing criminal charges, and you need someone to get you out. Well if you are looking for a Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, then you have come to the right place. Following, we are going to mention a few important questions that you should ask your defense lawyer before you hire him. These questions cover important aspects of your case and how you both will partner to secure your liberty. So, don’t take them lightly!
Do you Offer Free Consultation?
To evaluate your case perfectly and get an understanding of facts from your side, it’s important you meet with the lawyer in person and give details of your case. As a matter of fact, a layer is unable to give you sound advice or fee quote after just a phone conversion. So, you better have a site down with the lawyer and go over the details of your case.
This meeting will let you evaluate whether you feel comfortable working with the lawyer or not. But before you sit up with him, make sure you ask whether the consultation is for free of cost or not. If it is free cost then you should sit down with the lawyer in person and ask to discuss the following things:
- Charges laid against you and the specific facts of your case
- The arrest, what will happen next? Who said what and to whom did they speak do? What role does the police play in this, and were your rights violated? What is your defense strategy?
- Your criminal history, with the use of the diversionary program
- Your education, employment, and life history
- Issues with the Immigration (if any)
At the conclusion of this consultation, your lawyer will be in a position to give you specific answers to these questions and how to press forward with your defense. Also, you will start feeling comfortable and confident with the layer. You must have good feelings about the lawyer and confidence in his ability to get you free.
The attorney will be in a much better position to defense once you lay everything in front of them. Afterwards, he will offer an accurate fee question for the legal fee to represent you in court knowing every important fact of your case. You should also discuss his fee and how you will carry out payments in future. This will help you carry on with the case.
Is Your Practice only focused on Criminal Law?
Unlike doctors who train and focus on specific areas of medicine, Lawyers with a license are only allowed to represent specific cases. This s why you will meet a lot of lawyers who work in the general practice. This means jack of all trades but master of none. We don’t mean to say the general practice lawyers are not capable enough fighting your case.
No, they are good enough. It’s just that they lack an advantage a criminal defense lawyer has because they solely practice within the specific area. Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer have fought these cases throughout the case, and it makes them the ideal choice.
How Much is Your Legal Fee, and what is Your Payment Plan?
The subject of money and a legal fee is a sensitive issue for most people. You may need to find a lawyer who is capable enough of resolving your issues but don’t want you to comment to hiring someone whose fee is high that it will create some financial issues for you.
You need to be careful if your lawyer is unable to give you a straight answer about how much this case is going to cost you. There are different ways every lawyer counts his fee. Some charge you for an hourly basis, but they draw this from their initial retainer. These kind of arranges are unpredictable, and it can affect your fee. Hourly based fee arrangements result in legal petitions, especially if your case takes more time to resolve.
This means you have to know how much money you will need, and be prepared for surprises and bumps on the road. The strategy of an ideal lawyer is based on offering good value and excellent service to their respective client. You should know the fee that your lawyer chars you also depends on the severity of charges laid against you.
Don’t forget to count the aggravating factors, your criminal history (if you have any), probation, immigration status, and diversionary program with the length of time it will take to cover your case. A minor criminal office for a first-time offender will not cost much. But if you have a criminal history and the charges laid against you are pretty serious, then you should be prepared to pour in some money.
One thing to look out for, don’t hire a lawyer who says they will let you know about their fee after the case processor as they learn more about your case. This is a trap, and you will find it hard to spring out of it.
It’s an unfortunate fact that most arrests happen to good people at the worst time possible. These people tend to be a financial bind even after posting a bail bond. So please work a mutually agreeable payment plan with your lawyer that serves both of you.
Do You Have Previous Experience Dealing with Cases Such As Mine Or Not?
This is a rather important question, so you better not treat it like a joke. A lawyer who has dealt with cases like yours is in a better position of getting you out in the mess that you find yourself in. You have to be careful and avoid someone who says they can generate any outcome that you want. There are many lawyers who make these bold promises. You should know that most of these promises end up not delivering.
Someone who literally dealt with cases like yours is capable of offering professional advice and opinion on what to expect and how to handle yourself. The best any lawyer can offer you is to review your case, give their professional advice about the strength and weakness of your case and the possible outcome if you try a certain approach. They will discuss the strategy and how they want to handle the case. This will help you get a statement on your case which you can work to build your winning strategy.
Who Will Handle My Case?
It happens very often, people break their bank to hire a hotshot lawyer, and when the court date arrives, the lawyer is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the hotshot sent one of his young associates who is working under him. So instead of getting the immensely experienced lawyer and a seasoned professional who will be representing your case in court, you get a kid straight out of school, and most likely will land you in jail.
How do you fight with this? Well, a good start will be contacting a Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer firm who works hard to maintain and develop a personal relationship with their client. You don’t want anyone on your side who want to make money off you. If you decided to hire a lawyer, before you pay money, you better ask the team who will be representing your case. Is it the bigshot whom everyone is crazy for, the person who you sat down and discussed a strategy with or a poor soul fresh out of college?
How Accessible is the Lawyer?
If you are being charged with a criminal offense, it’s a stressful time. You have a million questions running in your mind, and you are getting insomnia and stress out. While all of things are taking place. Youare also paying your lawyer a good chunk of your hard-earned money. You are doing this in hopes he will represent your case in the best way possible.
You need your lawyer at your side at all the time. You must have a good relationshipwith your lawyer if you want to stay out of bar. So before you hire him, make sure you ask the following questions:
- Do you offer 24-hour service all the year round with quick response to the query, especially if I am arrested or asked by the police force to offer an immediate response?
- Will you give me your personal number so I can contact you directly shall I need help with anything?
- Will you be working around my schedule or not? What are evening and weekend hours, will you show up if I need?
You need a lawyer who offers satisfaction along with their service. The very least someone can do while working on your case is offering direct communication. You need your lawyeralways on the horn to answer. You must have clear communication with your lawyer, or else your chances of winning are slim to none. So, better straighten up and ask him about communication. If you are not satisfied, then you better find someone else.
