How do you find the right criminal defense lawyer in your community? You do what everyone else does when you want something: You sit in front of your computer and you do a search — most of the time it is through Google. Great. I do my search for “Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer” and I get page after page of people I still don’t know. Some are advertisements and some are “natural results”. This does not help me. Shall I just pick one? Where do I go from here.
My answer is still the same as it was one year ago. Hire a lawyer that it familiar with the court, and someone that does criminal defense every day. Talk to and meet the lawyer that will be going to court for you. Not the sales representative, paralegal, secretary or another lawyer in the office that only does the sales.
If the lawyer you are going to hire does not have time for you before you pay him, he will certainly not have time for you after you hire him.
Do not be afraid to ask the lawyer questions about your case, your specific facts and any concerns you have. If the lawyer does not answer you or otherwise tries to avoid your questions, talk to another lawyer. There are many out there.
Still the best answer to how to find a good lawyer is to get a referral from someone you know who knows the lawyer. Many criminal defense clients are not comfortable talking about their problems with people they know. Get over this. Talk to people around you and ask if they have used a lawyer before. Did the lawyer do a good job? Were they happy with the lawyer’s services and fees?
For now I will leave you with a few good questions to ask the lawyer:
- How many cases like this have you handled before?
- When was the last time you were in this courthouse?
And remember, if the lawyer starts talking about settlement before you even look at a police report, this might be the lawyer with your best interests in mind.
www.4criminaldefense.com email: vallenslaw@yahoo.com or call: (818) 783-5700