10 Tips on Hiring an Attorney

Whether you're being investigated for some offense or have already been charged, it's important to find the right attorney to deal with your legal problem and to find that attorney immediately!

Obviously you need an experienced and competent criminal defense attorney who "knows the ropes". You need an attorney who:

• you trust and can communicate with.
• will listen to you patiently and with compassion.
• will provide you with an objective evaluation of your case.
• is respected by Prosecutors and skillful at negotiation.
• is well qualified and not afraid to take your case to trial and win.

As you would expect, almost all criminal defense attorneys claim to possess these attributes in their websites or phone book ads. It's a very competitive field of practice. As a result, some attorney advertisements engage in misleading or exaggerated claims to sucker you into hiring them. BE CAREFUL!!

Although you should hire a defense attorney as soon as possible, you don't want to rush ahead and get stuck with someone who is not qualified or lacks experience. Remember that your freedom and future may be at stake. Consider the following tips when evaluating and choosing an attorney to represent you:

1. The "Exaggerator":

These attorneys exaggerate their experience or qualifications by making vague claims or misleading statements in their web or phone book ads. They may want you to believe they've been in practice for much longer than they have by claiming to have "handled" or "defended" hundreds or even thousands of cases. Their ads conveniently omit any reference or estimate of the number of cases they've tried before a jury. They claim to be competent to "handle" serious crimes like Murder and Rape, but do not mention whether they have ever tried such serious offenses.

Example: A Seattle attorney who has only been practicing law for 5.2 years claims to have personally handled over one thousand criminal cases in Washington. Hmmm. That works out to 182 cases per year. If you do the math, this means he's closing 3.5 cases per week. Even if you assume he isn't exaggerating the number of cases he's handled, do you really want to hire an attorney with such a huge caseload? Will you get the attention your case deserves? Not likely.

To avoid the Exaggerator, you can check to see when an attorney was admitted to practice law by going to the website of the Washington State Bar Association. That site is http://www.wsba.org. Go to the "Lawyers Directory" and enter the attorney's name. You can also find out whether or not an attorney has been disciplined for unethical conduct at this site.

When meeting with a possible Exaggerator, be sure to ask them what kinds of cases they have handled and what kind they haven't. Ask about their trial experience and the results. Ask about their caseloads. Exaggerators who claim to have handled "thousands" of cases are often "Plea Machines" who seldom go to trial.

2. The Pit Bull:

This Pit Bull believes that the only way to get a good result for a client is to be "aggressive" and "fight" at every opportunity. They are constantly battling not only the Prosecutor, but judges, court staff, witnesses, and other attorneys even when it is not in their client's best interest to do so!

The Pit Bull thinks that tact, persuasiveness, and diplomacy are for sissies. They are despised by the Prosecution and seldom obtain good plea offers for their clients. Judges don't like them because they cause chaos in their courtrooms. They embarrass jurors during jury selection and frequently humiliate their own clients with their brutish behavior. They lose most of their cases and blame it on the "unfair" Prosecutor, the "dumb" judge, or the "stupid" jury. The Pit Bull always blames a poor outcome on someone else. Unfortunately, it is the client who pays the awful price of the Pit Bull's failure.

The Pit Bull can usually be recognized by the aggressive, combative tones of their advertising. When you meet a Pit Bull during an initial consultation, their aggressive "take no prisoners" attitude will usually become apparent. Ask them questions about how they negotiate with Prosecutors, or why their most recent cases went to trial instead of settling. Also, ask them for testimonials from former clients. They aren't likely to have many.

3. The Plea Machine:

This attorney pleads virtually all of their clients guilty without carefully evaluating the strength of the State's case or doing any investigation. They are not comfortable in a courtroom and fear going to trial like the plague. Since the Prosecutors all know their reputation for being Plea Machines, these attorneys usually can't get a good plea bargain because there is virtually no chance they'll take their clients to trial. The Plea Machine will spend most of their time trying to convince you that your situation is hopeless and that your only chance is to plead to whatever the Prosecutor decides to offer. Being represented by a Plea Machine is like having no attorney at all!

To avoid hiring a Plea Machine, ask them how many cases they take to trial. Ask them about the last case they tried. Ask them about the strengths and weaknesses of your case and what kind of plea deal they'll try to negotiate with the Prosecutor. Ask them how often they plead clients guilty "as charged". If they seem uncomfortable answering these questions, say goodbye!

4. The Big Spender:

This attorney or small criminal defense firm will have huge, full page ads in the phone books or even do radio and television advertising. They will have a staff of receptionists and paralegals wandering around their spacious, view offices. They have expensive hardwood furniture and bookcases full of impressive looking law books. They greet you at your consultation wearing expensive silk ties, Armani suites, and handmade Italian shoes. Downstairs in the parking garage, they have pricey, brand new sports cars with personalized plates.

When you are dealing with a "Big Spender" remember this; YOUR hard earned money will be paying for all this unnecessary extravagance. With the advent of modern technology - computer drafted documents, online legal research, and cellular phones - the need for "support staff" in criminal defense work is marginal. Hardwood furniture and imported business suits do not win cases. Experienced and skilled criminal defense attorneys do.

5. The Bait And Switch:

Here, you meet with the attorney at the first consultation and decide to hire him to represent you. When you arrive in Court for your next appearance, you're greeted by an attorney you've never met, who tells you he is an associate of the attorney you thought you'd hired, and that he will be handling your case from now on.

To avoid this, be sure to ask the attorney you are about to hire whether they will be handling your case personally, including all major court appearances and at trial if necessary. If your case is going to be handled by an associate, insist on meeting with the associate to determine his qualifications and experience.

6. The Jack of All Trades:

These are usually individual attorneys or small partnerships located in smaller cities or towns. Their ads will claim that they are competent to handle every type of legal problem, including divorce, trusts and estates, business transactions, bankruptcies, personal injury, immigration, AND criminal defense.

As the old saying goes, "A Jack of All Trades is a Master of None!". This is particularly true of criminal defense practice. A Jack of All Trades cannot possibly keep abreast of changes in the criminal law that are made almost daily in court decisions or at the legislature. The Jack of All Trades attorneys seldom go to trial because the majority of their law practice does not involve trial work. They are not familiar with the criminal court rules or the rules of evidence. Hiring the Jack of All Trades to represent you in a serious criminal case would be like having your family doctor perform triple bypass surgery.

7. The Switch Hitter:

The Switch Hitter is a former prosecutor who decides to switch over to criminal defense. Their ads claim that they have special insights into "the system" that make them better defense attorneys than the rest of us.

While defense attorneys and Prosecutors may work within the same criminal justice systems, their roles and perspectives are completely different. It's like comparing apples and oranges.

Prosecutors represent the State and do not have clients. Unlike experienced defenders, they have no idea what zealous advocacy of a client means. Because they have no clients, Prosecutors are not well versed in the ethics rules relating to attorney-client communications, conflict of interest, or ineffective assistance of counsel that defenders must grapple with on a daily basis.

Prosecutors are not well trained in and are generally poor at, conducting cross examinations of witnesses. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, must be masters of the art of cross examination, a skill which dates back to the time of Socrates. Cross examination is the defender's primary "weapon" used in defending their clients at trial. For more about the art of cross examination, go to www.howardnations.com/crossexamination/cross_ex.html.

Finally there is the issue of bias. Just because an attorney changes their job title from "Prosecutor" to "Defense Attorney" does not mean they've erased the mind set that people arrested for a crime are probably guilty. Can a leopard really change its spots?

Before meeting with a Switch Hitter, ask yourself--why would a person who spent 5-10 years or more prosecuting people like you suddenly become a zealous defender of your rights and freedom? Ask them why they left Prosecution. Money? Burnout? Some Switch Hitters do eventually become good defense attorneys despite having been Prosecutors, not because of it.

8. The Fee Churner:

A close offshoot of the "Big Spender", the Fee Churner has to take on far too many cases to support a high overhead or extravagant lifestyle. Because they have so many expenses, they have to keep increasing their cash flow and will never turn down a case, no matter how huge their caseloads may already be. The more cases a Fee Churner takes on, the less attention your case will get. I know a Fee Churner who once admitted to me that he was carrying over 90 active cases all across Western Washington and was still advertising for more!

You can avoid the Churner by asking them about their current caseloads or their policies regarding limits on their caseloads. Ask how much time he/she generally spends on your type of case. Find out whether this attorney will rely on the "Bait and Switch" in order to cover your court appearances by using relatively inexperienced, hired associates.

9. The Trophy Monger:

This attorney will try to dazzle you with certificates from lofty sounding organizations, training seminars, or "trial colleges". They are members of all sorts of organizations and display these membership affiliations prominently in their advertising or on the walls of their office.

Don't be fooled by meaningless labels and plaques on the wall. Attorneys can get dozens of snazzy looking certificates simply by paying dues and joining various organizations. Graduating from the Jerry Spence Trial College doesn't instantly turn you into a competent trial attorney. Calling yourself a "Super Lawyer" doesn't make you one.

The simple fact is that the experienced criminal defense attorneys develop and hone their skills in the "trenches" of the courtroom, under fire by the Prosecutor, before live juries, on behalf of real clients. While training seminars and criminal defense colleges are definitely helpful, they are not a substitute for actual experience. It's like comparing bootcamp to live fire combat.

10. The Cheap Defender:

There is an old saying about criminal defense lawyers, and that is that "you should hire the best lawyer you can afford". When your freedom, family, job, and reputation are at stake, looking for an attorney who promises to work cheap for a "low ball" fee will almost always get you mediocre results.

The Cheap Defender is the polar opposite of the Big Spender. The Cheap Defenders who try to lure clients with low fees are often "Plea Machines" or inexperienced attorneys who don't realize how much time and effort to expend on a given type of case.

You would not choose a heart surgeon on the basis of cost, would you? So why would you risk jail or prison by going to trial with the Cheap Defender? For a better perspective on the Cheap Defender, see "Fee and Retainer F.A.Q's".