Choosing a lawyer isn’t something that you should do quickly. While you might need a Houston criminal defense lawyer at your side quickly, it still doesn’t mean you should make rash decisions. If you need one fast, you can always enlist the help of friends or family to do a little research on the lawyers in the area to help you narrow down the list of ones that will work the best for you and your case. Choosing the wrong one can be disastrous for your livelihood, so you want to check various things.
The first thing you need to do when choosing a Houston criminal defense lawyer is narrow down your list to ones that specialize in the type of crime that you’ve been charged with. Whether it’s hate crimes, sex crimes, murder, arson or something else, this experience is very necessary for your lawyer to conduct themselves properly in the courtroom for your case. If a lawyer doesn’t have the right specialty, cross them off the list and move on to the next one. You can have other people help you with this part as it is relatively easy to determine.
Next, you need to find out what kind of record your Houston criminal defense lawyer has. There are lawyers that have been in the legal industry for months, years and even decades. All of them have a record of how many cases they have won versus the ones they have lost. You need to make sure you find a lawyer that has won more cases than they have lost. If you have any hopes of winning your case, you need a lawyer that has already proven themselves inside the courtroom. This is not the time to give someone a “shot” at doing better or proving themselves. You need the proof already.
Third, you need to meet with the three or four lawyers that are let on your list. You will need to be very open and honest with your Houston criminal defense lawyer and you can’t do that if you’re not comfortable with him or her. Lawyers offer free consultations for this very reason. You can get to know them and they can find out about your case to determine if they want to take your case. Even if you are in jail during this process, most lawyers will be happy to come to you – which is another good sign for the lawyer that you hire.
Every little thing about the Houston criminal defense lawyer that you hire should be found out ahead of time. While costs are a factor, you shouldn’t use that as the sole way to choose your lawyer otherwise you will end up with one outside of your specialty or without the experience needed to win your case. Being charged with a crime is very serious and that means you must pay attention to the features of your lawyer and hire the best possible one that you can find. Your life as a free man or woman may depend upon it.