5 Things To Look For Before Hiring A Local Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer

The Los Angeles area is a vast metropolis with availability of virtually every service imaginable. This is definitely the case when it comes to criminal dense lawyers. With so many criminal lawyers in Los Angeles, how does one know who the best criminal defense lawyer for them is? In this blog, I will discuss what to look for when hiring a local Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer.

Does The Lawyer Have Experience?

No amount of schooling will replace experience when it come to the field of criminal defense. An experienced local criminal defense lawyer will not only know the law but also be familiarized with court judges, prosecutors and court staff. This knowledge is irreplaceable and can mean the difference between jail and freedom for a person facing criminal charges.

Is The Criminal Lawyer A Trial Lawyer?

Criminal cases go to trial more often than other types of legal cases. That is why it is important to find out how much trial experience a local Los Angeles criminal lawyer has before agreeing to work with that lawyer. Even an experienced criminal attorney may not have had a lot of trial experience so it is important to ask.

Even if your case will not end up going to trial, proper preparation for trial will always lead to better results. Only an experienced trial attorney can do this in a criminal case.

Does The Criminal Lawyer Have Experience With Your Type Of Case?

There are nuances and differences to every type of case and no one case is the same as the other. For that reason, only someone who has handled your type of cases before will know how to spot and handle various issues that arise.

For example, hiring a DUI lawyer to handle a murder case may not be the best idea and vice versa. Most criminal defense lawyers handle a wide variety of criminal cases, but make sure that you ask about the lawyer's experience with your case before hiring them.

What Is The Plan For My Case?

An experienced criminal lawyer will be able to gather enough facts and the free first consultation with a client to come up with at least a tentative plan for the defense. Ask the criminal lawyer at that free consultation what the plan would be in the event you decide to work with that lawyer. This will also clue you in on how much actual experience a criminal defense attorney has in dealing with your particular type of criminal case.

How Does The Attorney Charge?

Having a criminal case is hard enough, you don't want to be stressed out about unexpected expenses from your local Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer. Ask in advance how the lawyer charges and if there are any additional expenses that may arise during the course of the case. Also ask about payment plans and forms of payment that the lawyer accepts.

Our firm offers various payment options and is upfront about pricing. We never raise the fees for a case once we have agreed on a price. Not all local Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers do this so it is important to ask in advance.

Vitaly Sigal is local Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer and the founder and managing lawyer of the Los Angeles criminal defense firm the Sigal Law Group. He can be reached at 818 325-0570 or you may email him directly.