8 TIPS TO CHOOSE A DUI ATTORNEY
- How experienced is your attorney? Experience matters. Everything else being equal, A DUI attorney with more years of experience can be more helpful to your DUI case. With years of experience, a DUI attorney will be able to mount a more successful defense, when compare to someone who started his practice recently.
- Look for a Local counsel. If you have already decided to go to trial, the attorney’s home office is less important then his trial skills. When trial is the strategy, look for an attorney with a successful trial practice. But, when you are attempting to settle the case, selecting an attorney who is not familiar with the prosecutors, judges and procedure at the court house can backfire. Strong legal arguments will score points with judges and prosecutors, but so will your attorney’s reputation at the courthouse. An attorney who is not familiar with court personnel will not be able to steer the case to the most favorable courtroom. An attorney with strong reputation will be able to get better deals, just like an attorney who will know what prosecutor or what judge to approach for a specific case.
- Pick an attorney with good reputation and no discipline by the state bar. In California, attorneys who are disciplined might have record with the state bar. To check any discipline record go to The State Bar of California and enter the attorney name of state bar number. If attorney was disciplined, make sure you read the reasons for the discipline. Sometimes, the reasons for discipline can be overlooked and sometimes not. Be fully informed when selecting the counsel.
- The cost of the attorney: In selecting the attorney you can overpay an attorney and underpay. You can pay too much for services and you can also pay an attorney too little to get any qualify efforts from her or him. By keeping our overhead low, we are able to provide quality representation at affordable price.
- The number of DUI cases and trials attorney handled. Experience does matter and an attorney who handled numerous DUI trials and DUI cases will be better positioned to fight your case and get better deals or results at motions and trials.
- How involved is your attorney in your case: There are attorney who will be hired by a client and never look at the file, preferring instead to delegate the case to another attorney. We take personal interest in each case and fight each case with zelous advocacy.
- Look for a DUI lawyer who is also experienced in DMV defense. Most DUI arrest will result in a driver’s license being confiscated by the arresting officer and issuance of a DMV form, titled, DS 367. Based on this form, the DMV can hold a hearing that can result in a driver’s license suspension.
- Look for an aggressive attorney who will fight your case. While it is not a guarantee that you can win your case, hiring a professional DUI attorney allows you to maximize your chances of getting the best possible result. Your attorney should be ready to file pretrial motions to prepare for a jury trial, to seek a dismissal or to put you in a better negotiating position.
I love what you said about how you can overpay and underpay for an attorney. Finding an attorney who charges an honest rate could reflect how he treats his clients overall. A brother of mine recently got into a bit of a situation and might be requiring an attorney. I’ll be sure to look over the prices of different attorneys, and see which one looks the best for him.