When facing criminal charges, you want to ensure that someone is looking out for your best interests. Hiring a criminal attorney to represent you will help alleviate this concern. However, you may not know where to start in the process. Take a look at four tips you can use when trying to narrow down a legal representative that fits your needs.
- Conduct Thorough Research
With the digital world being what it is, there is no shortage of sources of information. When you find a few lawyers who seem to fit the bill, you want to find as much information on them as possible. Look at their web reviews on social media accounts. Run through their blogs or testimonials on their websites. Finally, Martindale Hubbell is a great tool to use when trying to vet an attorney’s qualifications. This website is a veritable database of lawyers, what they practice and their average rating. You may be able to narrow down your choices with a little bit of time and effort on the internet.
- Visit the Office
Some criminal law practices offer a free one-hour consultation. Take advantage of this time to visit the offices from the list you have created. You want to be observant of the office and listen for the way coworkers speak to each other. It is likely you will be dealing with many of these people throughout your case, so you want to get a good feeling for the entire firm right from the start.
- Come Prepared To Listen
Your situation is critical to you, and you want to find a lawyer who feels the same way. While you have many questions to get to, rank them in order of priority, and start with the most important ones first. This is your time to interview the lawyer and their time to convince you they should get the job. You want to listen carefully to how they’re answering your questions. Observe the tone and whether they give an answer or try to divert your attention to something else. You want someone who will be direct.
- Go With Your Gut
There is something to be said about intuition. Sometimes an attorney may be saying all the right things, but something is troubling you. Do not force yourself to hire an attorney against what your gut is telling you. Instead, visit other attorneys, like a criminal defense attorney from the Morales Law Firm, until you find one that gives you a good feeling.
Hiring a criminal justice choice can be difficult. By taking this advice and doing your due diligence, you should be able to find someone who can represent you on your terms.