Life can be unpredictable, you could live a laid-back life this minute, and then within the blink of an eye, you are being charged as an accomplice in a murder case, arrested for tax evasion, implicated in a robbery incident, or committing a serious crime. If you have to defend your honor or integrity in a criminal or any of such cases, you will need all the help you can get, especially from an attorney, as you will need a legal representative to defend you in a court of law.
If you are looking to hire a lawyer, check if they have some of these attributes detailed below before you sign a retainer or before he or she starts representing you in front of a judge.
Experience
When hiring criminal defense attorneys or any legal representatives, their experience matters because it can make or mar your case. Your lawyer must have experience as a defense attorney and must have spent some of these years in courtrooms before you decide to put your faith in their hands. How do you know your preferred lawyer has requisite experience? Request to know when they got called to the bar or for how long they have been practicing.
You may even ask about some of the cases they have handled, including wins and losses. Their answers to these questions will help you determine if you want to put your case in their care.
Communications And Listening Skill
This is an easily decipherable quality when you are lawyer-shopping. You should pay attention to the lawyer’s attention to detail when you narrate your legal ordeal to them. During the meeting, is he asking you relevant questions about your case? Are they speaking with you in the way you understand or just talking to you in legal terms that you can’t easily decipher? When you have your answers, then you can easily decide if you can work with the lawyer or not.
Knowledge
This is an important quality to look out for in a lawyer before hiring. Suppose your case involves a felony offense in Kansas. In that case, you will do yourself a huge favor by hiring a defense attorney within that jurisdiction, not keeping an out-of-state lawyer that has never practiced in the state. Hiring a Wichita defense attorney gives you an unlimited pool of lawyers with knowledge about Kansas state law that can help you navigate the legal process. A deep understanding of state law comes in handy when your lawyer wants to navigate the criminal law jurisdiction process in that state where you will be tried.
Negotiation Skills
To know if your lawyer is well-skilled in the act of negotiation, then you need to ask around or review their past cases, especially ones similar to the current one. When you are confident that your lawyer is skilled in the ability to help you negotiate a good deal or plead down your sentence, then you can go ahead and work with him. If you are being tried for a felony offense, you need a lawyer who has your back during plea bargains and is skilled in negotiating capital sentence cases.
Confidentiality
Yes, lawyers are blinded by the attorney-client relationship clause, but you should look for an attorney whose principal aim is to protect you. How do lawyers do that? They do so by asking you specificities about the particular case, want answers that tie directly to your legal ordeal, and do not divulge details of your case to anyone without your consent. Ask around to know if the lawyers you want to hire have been cited or sued for bridging attorney-client privileges in the past before you put him on retainer.
Integrity
It would be best if you pitch your tent with a lawyer who can be brutally honest with you and give you the best options. It is easy to determine if a lawyer is straight with you from the first meeting if they layout the likely outcomes of your legal problem and what needs to be done.
Commitment
How do you identify a committed attorney who will give everything for your case? They give you their time and attention at the first meeting, communicate with you in a way that you can understand, and are always available to answer more questions before you sign their retainer.
Lawyers are in abundance, but getting a good one that is committed to helping you look out for favorable options or a means to win your case is paramount. That is why you need to know if they possess the qualities mentioned above.
