Finding a good attorney is a difficult thing to do. The number of choices easily overwhelms some people, and you’ll have to do your homework to find the best fit for you. First of all, you have a particular case that requires the skill of an attorney in that field of law. Some attorneys handle wills and trusts. Other attorneys focus on criminal law or financial law or family law. A person may be related to a lawyer seasoned in divorce court, but that would not be quality representation for a murder trial.
As you begin searching for an attorney to handle your DUI case, look for not only one who practices criminal law but also one who primarily handles driving-under-the-influence cases. You want someone who’s been at it for a while too. Consider the education of your candidates as well as their work experience and court victories. You should be able to learn about their reputation from others in the community, including other lawyers. You will know that you are on the right track to finding a quality lawyer if you find that your choices include lawyers who have legal publications, participate in speaking engagements and hold active memberships in organizations related to their legal interests. For example, I myself have served as state ambassador for the DUI Defense Lawyers Association.
The attorney for you will be familiar with the area as well as those who are involved in your case such as the police officers, prosecutors, and judges. Knowing such people will help your attorney foresee upcoming orders and rulings a judge may make, enabling your attorney to advise you in proactive steps that may help you get the best outcome for your case.
When focusing on DUI cases, an attorney can seek out specialized training in that field. Opportunities exist for attorneys to be trained as qualified operators for breath-testing and drug-testing equipment. Be discriminating and particular in your choice of representation. Would you rather have an attorney who is a trained and qualified standardized field sobriety test administrator or one who is a qualified instructor for those in training? When you see attorneys with plenty of experience and qualifications, you may not be surprised to see that they can be more knowledgeable about DUIs than the district attorney, the prosecutor, the judge, the police officers, and even the state’s expert witnesses who will be testifying against you in court. If you want the best chance of success in winning your DUI case, you want your attorney to be the most knowledgeable and most prepared person in the court room.
Budget, of course, is a powerful factor in determining who will lead you through the legal process. The price should guarantee a devotion to the time needed for your case. Some aspects of a case add to the price to defend it. Jury trials, for example, require more preparation. That takes more time and more money.
Be cautious. To a certain extent, you do get what you pay for. While there will always be exceptions that add value to cost, beware of attorneys in Los Angeles whose fees seem to be too good of a deal. You can find an attorney who will handle cases for less than $1500, but you’ve really got to step back, look at that, and say, “What am I really getting?” Either you’re going to be getting somebody who is very inexperienced and doesn’t know anything about DUIs, or you’re going to get somebody for $1500 who’s not going to spend any time on the case. There are attorneys that will have people come into their office, and when the retainer agreement is signed during that very visit, it may as well have been the guilty form.
For $1500, that’s what you’re going to get. You’re not going to get the service or the time that your case really deserves. You want someone who’s going to invest the time. You don’t necessarily want to spend all the money in the world defending a first-time DUI case. There are times when attorneys will charge $10,000 for a first-time DUI. For most first-time DUIs, $10,000 is probably too much money. You’re not going to be spending that much time defending the case before trial to get to that point. Once we start talking about a jury trial, then the costs go up, but there’s good reason for that.
A lot of times you’re going to find some good, solid quality attorneys somewhere in the price range of $3500 up to $6500. That is a fair price range for first-time DUIs. Of course, if there’s an accident or other extenuating circumstances, the case’s amount of time needed and work involved increases, which could increase cost. In those situations, the price would be higher.
Also, if an attorney is planning on taking a case through a jury trial to a jury verdict, that’s going to take more time and more money. Often in Los Angeles when we’re taking cases to trial, the trials do not even last for a full day. They may be three-quarters of the day. It is also not unusual for a jury trial to last six, eight, or even ten days. If you’re taking an experienced DUI attorney away from his practice for 10 days to try a case, the price can get very expensive very quickly; however, it may be the best option. That’s something you need to talk to an attorney about.
With a driving-under-the-influence case, there are fines, fees, and costs every step of the way. Not only does the court want to charge you court fees, but the state charges you penalty fees. Alcohol classes charge fees. If there are additional programs, community service, or community labor ordered, they also charge fees. Insurance charges fees. Incredible costs can be connected to a DUI.
Recently, AAA came out with an article that said the average cost of a DUI is more than $15,000, which is not unusual. I’ve heard numbers that are a lot higher than that. With all of the fines, fees, penalties, and costs that go along with a DUI, it could very easily exceed $20,000 over the next couple years. If you hire a qualified attorney, a lot of times that number can be cut down significantly. It is money well spent to protect your rights and to protect your pocketbook. These are very important factors in dealing with a DUI.
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