Finding a DUI Lawyer
What do I look for in a DUI lawyer?
You want more than just a talented salesman. This type of lawyer is eager to take your
money with fast talk for which you get lots of promises of talent. With so
much at stake, however, you need to be sure that the lawyer has the skills and
training to back up those promises.
One source of information is the
Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. However, that is a general
resource and you can also find out whether a lawyer is a member of the
National College of DUI Defense. Members
of NCDD have indicated by their membership an interest in the defense of persons
accused of drunk driving. Sean A. Black is a member of the National College of
DUI Defense and the Georgia and National Associations of Criminal Defense
Lawyers.
Will the attorney I hire be the attorney who will actually handle my case?
At some firms, the lawyer you first talk to is not always the one who will
handle your case. You may talk to a big-name, widely respected
and experienced attorney, but your case may be turned over to associate
attorneys to handle. This may be alright when you are talking about
routine appearances, but you need to be sure that the lawyer you want is the one
who will handle the important parts of your case.
How much should I expect to pay?
Some lawyers offer low fees. Others have a good reputation and skills
to match. Don't expect to find both qualities in one lawyer. For a
lawyer to have the time to spend on your case to do the best job possible, he or
she has to be paid.
Criminal defense lawyers usually charge an upfront flat fee for pretrial
work, rather than billing by the hour as civil attorneys do. Some have a hybrid
fee structure, crediting the retainer against hourly billing. But most retainers
simply cover everything needed short of trial. Some well-known DUI
attorneys with statewide reputations charge $3500 to $7000 or more for a
misdemeanor first offense retainer, depending on the location and the attorney's
reputation. With a case where you have one or more prior convictions within
five years, you can expect
to pay a lot more. The retainer generally
covers both the ALS hearing and the court case, except for trial, which is
generally a separate charge.
Ask up front how much the daily
trial fee is. A reasonable fee - one designed to adequately compensate the
attorney for hours of trial preparation as well as 8 to 10 or more hours per day
during the trial itself - is between $1000 and $2500 per day. Such a fee is
reasonable without being primarily intended to discourage clients from pursuing
a trial.
Some attorneys include the trial fee in the initial retainer.
If your case is likely to be tried, this can save money for you, since the
practice usually is that all similarly situated clients pay the same retainer,
and many of their cases aren't tried. This allows the attorney to reduce the
trial portion of the fee considerably.
Is he or she recognized by others as a leader in the field?
The best attorneys participate as speakers in drunk driving defense seminars
for other lawyers. Sean Black is speaking in December 2001 at the annual
Georgia DUI Institute. He is a member of the Georgia Defenders of
Drinking Drivers and was recognized by that organization as "DUI Lawyer of the
Year" for 2000.
Will my case be dismissed?
Dismissal of all DUI charges is a routine procedure when the defendant plea
bargains for a reduced charge, such as reckless driving. When that
happens, all drunk driving charges are dismissed and the client pleads guilty to
the lesser charge.
As a general rule, you don't hire a good lawyer in order to plead guilty at the
first court appearance.
A quick guilty plea at the first court appearance may occasionally be justified.
Good lawyers prefer not to accept cases for clients who just want to plead
guilty with a attorney by their side. Good
DUI attorneys won't take a case like that unless it's a first offense with a
high blood alcohol result and the client just wants a quick review and advice.
This service takes two to four hours, including the time spent with you on the
phone and in the office. So it's worth about five hundred dollars.
What about ex-cops and ex-prosecutors?
Many attorneys start off their legal careers working for the government
arresting and prosecuting accused drunk drivers. Though the experience may have
some benefits - familiarity with inside information - the opposite is also true
- why did this person initially seek to put people like you behind bars? All in
all, it's probably a wash. Nevertheless, some attorneys make the ex-cop or
ex-prosecutor angle a major selling point in their marketing efforts. It's
nothing to brag about that way.
Sean Black has never been a full-time prosecutor, but he spent three years as
the part-time assistant Solicitor in Stephens County, so he is familiar with how
that part of the process works.
Wouldn't it be best to hire a local attorney who's friendly with the judge and
prosecutor?
Once again, there's pros and cons which probably balance out. But if the
attorney makes it a major selling point, one begins to wonder if there's
anything more substantial that the attorney has to offer.
Won't the judge be upset with me if I hire a lawyer and fight the charges
instead of pleading guilty?
The constitution prohibits punishing you for asserting your right to a trial.
Despite the constitution though, a very small number of judges do threaten
greater penalties later for not pleading guilty early. This tactic often works
with less-experienced attorneys. Other attorneys can call the judge's bluff,
outsmart him or her, or arrange for a different judge to handle the case.
A good lawyer armed with a solid background in the
law, and a willingness to challenge the court can often prevail over
even the worst of them. After all, isn't that what you hire a good lawyer for?
But if you feel like you'll just never be able to get rid of that knot in your
stomach that shows up when you question authority, and you're too frightened to
fight the charges in spite of that knot, you'll have to plead guilty . . . even
if you aren't. It takes courage to have things your way. Sometimes it takes a
lot of it.
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