If you are charged with a crime you need to know what to do to help you properly defend yourself. The first step towards a successful defense is hiring a competent criminal defense attorney. Because of the sheer population of Suffolk County, you will have a number of criminal defense attorneys to choose from. In fact, there are so many defense attorneys that it can be overwhelming. Knowing what to look for in an attorney can help you sift through the masses to find the perfect attorney for your case.
If you live in this area, are facing criminal charges and need to hire a Suffolk County criminal defense attorney, the following tips will help you find a lawyer to suit your needs.
Experience
The amount of experience a law firm has can greatly impact how well your defense team performs. Rather than looking at the experience of an individual attorney, look at the experience of the entire firm. This will help you better determine the abilities to mount a good defense.
Area of Practice
Criminal law encompasses a large part of the legal system. Because of this, you want to find a lawyer that has experience defending the charges that you are facing. For example, some attorneys will have a lot of experience defending white collar crimes while others will have a lot of experience handling drug charges. You need an attorney who is experienced handling the defense for the crimes you have been charged with.
Reputation
You may think it would be difficult to determine the reputation of a lawyer; however, with a little bit of online research, you will be able to determine the success rate of the lawyer. Read a variety of reviews to help you determine if the lawyer you are thinking of hiring is the right attorney for your criminal case.
Go with Your Gut
It may seem silly to tell you to go with your gut, but this is some of the best advice anyone can give you. You can tell a lot about someone when you are talking with them. After your consultation with your attorney, you should have an idea of how you feel about working with them. If you like them and feel that you can trust them to handle your case, listen to your gut. If you do not like the attorney’s attitude or something just doesn’t feel right, you may want to consider consulting with a different attorney.
The tips listed above will help you find the best criminal attorney to handle your case. Being by researching the different attorneys in your area, do a little bit of research, read online reviews and schedule a consultation to help you find a great criminal defense attorney.