While Cherella Law is a top Milwaukee Criminal Defense Attorney, I understand people may need an attorney for other reasons. You might hire an attorney when you purchase a home, draft a will, or are injured in an automobile accident. Should someone contact my office looking for an attorney to help with a practice area I usually do not work in, I am more than happy to give him or her names of attorneys who practice in that particular area of the law.
Having said the above, today’s blog post pertains to potential questions a client should ask a prospective attorney. Why ask questions at all? Understand that working with an attorney in any field is a personal process. The lawyer will generally have access to sensitive information. Often enough, the situation is pretty high stakes if an attorney is involved. With that in mind, hiring the right criminal defense attorney is critical to accomplishing your goals in defending against specific charges.
What do I mean by the right attorney? You want to hire the right criminal defense attorney for you. Since the process is so personal and high-stakes, find an attorney that fits you well. Accordingly, here are some questions you should and should not ask a prospective attorney to see if he/she is the right attorney for your needs.
First of all, how much will it cost? When you hire a criminal defense attorney, you will want to know the cost. Most attorneys who practice in this area will require an upfront payment to cover the cost of the representation. This is normal in the industry. The attorney will want to make sure that he/she is amply compensated to perform the proper representation explicitly designated for you.
Different types of cases will warrant varying fee schedules. For example, hire an attorney to represent you on a federal criminal defense matter. The fees will typically be much higher than that in a state criminal defense matter. The reason is that the process normally takes longer, and the government’s file is usually much larger in federal court. Accordingly, the fees will tend to be greater in the federal arena.
Also, the nature of the charge may dictate the cost associated with the defense. A simple misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge will typically be less expensive than a felony distribution of marijuana charge. The reason is simply that the process in misdemeanor court is less intensive than in felony court.
The criminal defense lawyer you hire will know this at the outset and base his/her fee on the proposed amount of time that may be required in your case. This is mainly based on experience in the legal industry.
The second question is how long this representation will take. This is a question for which the attorney may be able to give you a ballpark estimate but most likely cannot give you a specific time frame. As a Milwaukee criminal defense attorney, I have represented thousands of clients in state and federal court. Depending on the forum and judge, I can advise a client on a rough estimate of the time frame involved in the representation. I am usually very good at considering several factors to be considered in answering this question.
What will I need to do as the client? The criminal defense attorney and client work together to accomplish a specific goal. That goal is typically determined at the outset of the representation. The lawyer takes the helm concerning courtroom strategy and guiding the client through the process. The client must listen to his/her attorney and follow the attorney’s advice when requested to do certain things and perform specific tasks. The criminal defense attorney can only fully assist the client when the client follows through on the advice provided by the lawyer. There must always be an open line of communication between attorney and client for the relationship to function as one.
If you need legal help, don't hesitate to contact Cherella law.
