If you think that you’ll do just fine without a private attorney, think again.
While you shouldn’t lose hope for your case since obtaining good legal representation is harder, that doesn’t mean that you should stop trying.
Truth is, hiring a private attorney makes a whole lot of difference to the success of your case.
But hiring any private attorney readily available won’t do you much justice. Getting the perfect legal help can get you the absolute best results possible.
So keep reading to find out about six qualities of a successful criminal defense lawyer. There are many more, but knowing these will give you a great headstart for you to find your ideal attorney.
1. Good Reputation
Every attorney starts somewhere, but for your sake, it’s best to go for one that’s been in the business for a while. That’s because textbook knowledge isn’t a substitute for experience.
But experience alone isn’t enough. A successful criminal defense lawyer will have satisfied many former and current clients. That’s why there will be many online client testimonies vouching for the lawyer’s legal services.
These testimonies are easily accessible with a quick search. At the very least, you can view their practice’s Google reviews. Not only should you check out the number of 5-star reviews they have, but also read the reviews’ actual content.
This way, you’ll understand why clients are satisfied. Knowing this will enrich and perfect your search for the perfect legal support to have by your side.
2. Specialization
It may not be enough to seek an attorney with a generally good reputation. You may also want to find someone that has had a lot of experience with cases like yours in particular. For example, if you have been charged with driving under the influence, you will want to hire a dui defense attorney as they will have specialist experience in dealing with cases of a similar nature, and therefore be more confident in their approach to your situation.
Instead of sticking with a general personal injury lawyer in an auto accident case, you may want to search for a personal injury lawyer with a great track record regarding auto accident cases.
Attorneys that have special experience with your case will be more familiar with the laws regarding them than other lawyers. That doesn’t mean that other lawyers are less competent in general. But searching for a lawyer that specializes in your type of case can make a world of difference to their ability to fight for you.
3. Personability
Although an attorney-client relationship will always be professional, it’s important that you are comfortable communicating with your attorney. A winning strategy requires a two-way street between the attorney and client.
The client’s responsibility is to cooperate with their attorneys and provide all information their attorneys ask for. The attorney’s responsibility is to use this information to build a winning legal strategy.
But this cooperation is hindered when the client isn’t very comfortable with their attorney. When this happens, they may not be as openly communicable, leading them to not offer important details about a case. This applies especially to cases where the client is the defendant.
So while personability is subjective to every client, it’s important that they feel comfortable enough to speak openly about their case with their attorney. If you don’t need a high level of affability to feel comfortable with your attorney, then great.
But it’s also crucial to know if some degree of friendliness is important to you. In that case, shop around for different attorneys until you find one that caters to your individual needs.
4. Negotiation Skills
Needless to say, it’s important that a criminal defense lawyer understands how to use the power of persuasion. Not only does this matter for presenting a case to the jury, but it matters in many of their everyday legal dealings.
In fact, the ideal scenario for any case is for it to not become a court case at all. For this reason, attorneys may try and resolve your case outside of court. This usually means negotiating with judges and other legal authorities.
Judges, in particular, have seen it all. So lawyers have to be at the legal A-game to convince them about your case.
5. Persistence
Legal cases are high maintenance, to say the least. So you want your attorney to be able to meet the high demands of any case. While a case can go through many developments that alter how demanding the entire case is, your attorney should be able to meet those demands.
This means they should never give up on giving you the best results possible. They should be sharp enough to detect points from the opposing counsel that they can use for your case. Every opportunity presented to put your case in the best light should be taken.
Persistence also comes with aggression. This shouldn’t be confused with undue hostility. But when it comes to your case, your lawyer should use all their passion and their legal ability to push your case to where it needs to go.
In the end, you want to know that your lawyer is committed to your case. If the going gets tough, you want to have enough faith that your lawyer will still tirelessly search for the best possible strategy until the case is finally closed.
6. Integrity and Legality
Forget what you’ve seen on cable TV about fictional lawyers. Underhanded and illegal tactics are not qualities you want in a lawyer. Not only does this affect the integrity of your case, but it also doesn’t ensure that your attorney is always by your side.
So for more reasons than one, you want to stick by an attorney that follows the letter of the law. This is non-negotiable even if you’ve got a difficult case, especially as a defendant. A lawyer that can’t take on the challenge of working within legal limits, even if they seem subjectively arbitrary to you, isn’t the most competent lawyer anyway.
If lack of legality is uncovered, your entire case will be both upturned and not legitimized. Even if you find a new lawyer, public or internal opinion about your case can set a negatively biased precedent against you.
Find the Best Criminal Defense Lawyer for You
Finding out that you need legal support is always stressful. But despite what your initial panic might tell you, you have plenty of options.
Namely, plenty of options for seeking a successful defense lawyer that will fight your case to the end. So don’t succumb to doom before you’ve started your search for the perfect defense lawyer.
This article should have informed you of the key qualities of a criminal defense lawyer. If it did, check out the rest of our blog! We’ve got plenty of information to help you optimize your legal strategy.
