The Modern Criminal Defense Lawyer in California
Virtual offices. Video conferencing. Paperless files. Remote court appearances. This is the new normal. But many of the same old rules still hold true. Don’t hire your lawyer based on a Google search. Don’t hire the guy on the first page of Yelp with 4oo five-star reviews. Does your lawyer have a webpage for every Penal Code Section in California? That guy is paying a marketing company tens of thousands of dollars per month (or more) to get him there.
Ask your friends and family for a referral to a lawyer they were happy with. The chances are you will know someone who knows a lawyer who did a good job for them. Call that guy. Ask that guy for a referral to a criminal defense lawyer. Shop around. Always speak to at least two different lawyers to get a second opinion. Don’t ever speak to the lawyer’s sales rep. If the lawyer doesn’t have time to talk to you before you pay him, he won’t have time to talk to you after you pay him.
Don’t let your lawyer scare you to death. Don’t let your lawyer make false promises to you. If it sounds too good (or too bad) to be true, it probably is. One way to help avoid lawyer lies is to have someone you trust with you during the consultation. This could be a mother, brother, friend or even a co-worker. Get over the potential embarrassment of the situation and do what is best for yourself.
Hiring the right lawyer is a very important and personal decision. Make sure you feel comfortable with the lawyer. Lawyers should not talk down to you. Remember, they work for you. They should be calmly and patiently answering your questions and explaining how the process works.
If you are inclined to hire a particular lawyer, that lawyer should quote you a fee up front and explain exactly what the fee covers. It could be an hourly fee or a flat fee. He should explain the difference. The fee could cover the whole case or only part of the case, but he should explain that too. The lawyer should provide a written retainer (fee) agreement that shows what is being paid and what it covers.
Did your lawyer offer to meet in person, or did they simply ask you to give them a credit card over the telephone? Does your lawyer have an office in the county where you were arrested or do they just advertise for work throughout the entire State of California? Is the lawyer you spoke with the lawyer you were referred to or is it someone who gets paid a small salary to handle cases in other jurisdictions?
Last, but not least, how do you know if the fee is too high? One of my law school professors used to say: “Don’t leave your common sense at the door”. Get a second opinion from another local lawyer. Are the two fee close to each other and do they cover the say work? Read the retainer agreement. What is the lawyer’s hourly rate? If his hourly rate is $500 or more per hour, then they better be a very experienced lawyer with decades of years in private practice and dozens of trials under their belt. Otherwise, make some more calls. Talk to another lawyer. Remember, just because a lawyer has a fancy website does not mean he has ANY trial experience.
I recently got a call from the mother of a former client. Her son got into trouble again and she was too ashamed to call me. She was on her way to hire a lawyer she found on the internet. He told her he wanted $50,000.00 to start on his case. She didn’t know that the fee he quoted was only through the preliminary hearing. He told her that if she brought cash, he would discount the fee to $45,000.00. She went and got the cash and was going to hire him, but it just didn’t sit right with her. He told her he was a former deputy district attorney. He told her he ate lunch with all the judges in that town. He told her he used to be the DA’s “go to guy for sex offenses”.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you be the judge. Do you believe that guy? I don’t. We can’t even accept that kind of cash without having to report it to the IRS. Besides, who has the kind of cash anyone unless you are high up in a drug cartel. If the lawyer was so successful as a DA, why did he leave the office? Why isn’t he a judge now? Why isn’t he working for a big firm and not in a dinky office in a small county? If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Sorry.
Remember, when we get arrested, we get scared. We are very vulnerable to suggestion and we want to hear certain things. We want to hear that everything is going to be ok. We want to hear that the case is going to go away. We want to hear that we won’t go to jail. We want someone to solve all of our problems. The truth is that no matter how much money you give me, I can’t tell you that I can make all of your problems go away.
I’ve been practicing law for nearly thirty years. I’m good at my job. I get good results for my clients from working hard and doing my job well. But there are no guarantees in life or in the law. I can’t promise results or specific outcomes in cases. I can only promise you that I will do my best to attempt to get your case dismissed, your charges reduced, and your punishment minimized.
If you or someone close to you is facing criminal charges in California, call a lawyer who has been successfully defending people for almost thirty years. I spend my time in court, speaking to my clients and finding new and creative ways to successfully resolve my cases. I don’t advertise on the internet because I don’t have to. Think about it and make an informed decision before you pick your lawyer.
Serving Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and other jurisdictions by request.
Attorney Jeffrey Vallens (818) 783-5700 (805) 230-3651