As silly as it may sound, you need to find a lawyer who routinely practices in the legal area where you are seeking representation. Think about it; you wouldn’t hire a knee surgeon to perform a heart surgery, so why would you hire a family law attorney for a criminal defense case?
QUESTIONS TO ASK AN ATTORNEY
Before you hire any attorney, be sure to research his/her background. You’ll also want to know the answer to these questions:
- Which areas of the law does he/she practice regularly?
- Does he/she practice multiple areas of law or concentrate on one specific area?
- What are his/her background, training and experience?
- How long has he/she been practicing in the area you are seeking representation?
When you are searching for a criminal defense lawyer, you could go to ten different firms and hear eight different ways to handle your case. This is because different lawyers will have different strategies. The two things that are exactly the same, regardless of which lawyer you talk to, are the law and the rules of criminal procedure. What makes one lawyer better than the other is the way he/she will take the facts and circumstances of the case and apply them to the law and the rules.
ATTORNEY/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP IS KEY
At the Reinhold Law Firm, before we take on a case, we require a certain attorney/client relationship be established. This is not something we were taught in law school, in a seminar or have read in a book; it comes from experience in handling cases. We believe it is important for you to find a lawyer and a firm you are comfortable with representing you. This will help you have faith and trust in their abilities. And, once you have faith and trust in them, you will talk to them about the facts and the case. We all know it takes good communication to create a team, and teamwork will help you achieve the goal that you are seeking. This relationship cannot guarantee you your desired result, but it will certainly give you the best chance.
NO GUARANTEES
If an attorney guarantees you a certain outcome during the initial consultation, be very skeptical of that attorney. He/she is only saying what you want to hear in order to win your business. When you go to the courthouse and what was promised does not come true, one of two thoughts will come to you; (a) either the attorney didn’t know what he/she is doing or (b) he/she lied to you. Neither is a good impression to have of your criminal defense attorney.
OUR PROMISE
At the Reinhold Law firm, we promise to render our best professional skill and answer your questions open and honestly. You will not leave the courthouse, our office, or hang up the phone with questions. We may not have the answer(s) for you right then and there, but we will let you know what we need to do to get those answers, and we will give you an approximate time frame to get back to you. If we can’t promise those things, we shouldn’t be doing what we are doing.
