In many cases it can be quite difficult to choose the proper lawyers. In this case, their work can be very specialized. It can be quite difficult to know things that we should ask. Here are indications of good lawyers:
- They always fight the case: This is an important thing to do. They should still persistent, even if prosecutors refuse to plea bargains and insist on getting plea of guilty. In this case, there’s nothing to lose from continuing fighting. The worst thing is that, we will be found guilty during the trial. This is the same thing with pleading guilty. It is very rare that the sentence will get worse when we plea for not guilty. But, in many cases; we should be able to get better result by continue fighting. Even if the lawyer is persistent in continuing fighting, the lawyer shouldn’t require significant amount of payment.
- They have done many jury trials: Experience lawyers should already do at least five jury trials. If we want to hire lawyers for more serious cases, they should do more than 10 trials. If the lawyer has done less than 5 trials, then we may consider choosing others. If it’s related to felony trials, we should ask the lawyer how many felony trials they have. In this case, it is important for us to make sure that we choose proper lawyers who can deal properly with our cases.
- They should directly handle the case: Many lawyers are part of the legal team in the lawyer offices. If possible, we should be handled with the primary or senior lawyers, instead junior associates. We should review their team and the contract document should clearly indicate who will handle our case. It means that we will be handled by the most experienced and skilled lawyer in the team. The lawyer shouldn’t only be skilled and experienced, but they should also be aware about our cases. In some cases, some lawyers can be heavily advertised, but we end getting other lawyers in the team. There should be good quality control, even if we agree for being handled by junior lawyers. In this case, simpler cases like traffic tickets can be handled by junior lawyers; because it may not be financially suitable to pay top dollars for such simpler cases.
- They should already handle plenty of similar cases: Proper lawyers should handle something similar or identical in the past. If we face DWI case, it is important to make sure that they have handled similar case. We also want someone with similar experience if we face federal drug case. It would be a bad idea to choose lawyers who don’t have similar experiences in the area. Even if they handled similar cases in the past, we should make sure that they performed well with it.
We shouldn’t go court when it’s not absolutely necessary: It should be quite rare for clients come to court with the lawyer. This could be a waste of time and perhaps even somewhat stressful for us. Good lawyers should be able to handle many legal proceedings without our presence.