You get home from a long night in jail and are bombarded with hundreds of flyers from criminal defense lawyers. Your bonding company suggested someone for you to call (which is against the law for them to do). Your friend tells you he has a great, cheap lawyer. What do you do?
Read on for tips on how to choose a criminal defense attorney in Houston (or anywhere else you might need one!).
Tip #1: Don’t Go for the Lowest Price
Why are different lawyers so many different prices? Don’t they all do the same thing?
No! The less expensive lawyers charge less because they work in high volume. That means you will likely speak to your lawyer’s assistant, not directly to your lawyer. On court dates, you will wait all morning for them to get there, only to have the case reset. Why do they reset it? They are charging you by the reset, so it’s more money for them.
Tip #2: Look at Their Experience
Being charged with any criminal case is serious. You could lose your drivers license, job, financial aid and your freedom.
Before you choose on a criminal defense attorney in Houston, you need to find out how much experience they have. Who trained them? If they began as a prosecutor, they likely know the system better.
Tip #3: Have They Tried a Lot of Cases in Front of Juries?
Another question to ask any potential lawyer is how many cases have they tried in front of juries and what is their success rate?
Why is it important that they try cases to juries? All the prosecutors know which defense attorneys are trial lawyers who don’t hesitate to try a case if the prosecutor doesn’t give you what you deserve. Prosecutors also know which defense attorneys don’t ever try cases, so they have no incentive to dismiss your case.
You can ask the lawyer all these questions and make sure they tell you the honest truth. And if they sound too good to be true, they probably are.
If you’ve been arrested in Harris County, contact the law office of Houston criminal defense attorney Lisa Shapiro Strauss for experience legal advice.
