Below, an Arlington criminal lawyer discusses how you can choose the best criminal defense attorney for your case. The process can be grueling and there are many factors to consider, but it is valuable that you give the process due diligence. To learn more about criminal lawyers in Arlington or to discuss a case schedule a free consultation today.
Having an aggressive attorney can only benefit you. An aggressive attorney and experienced attorney will know the prosecution’s motivations, what they can do what they can’t do, what they want out of the case. An aggressive attorney will not just sit back and accept a police officer’s word at face value, they will question the police, question their methods, and thoroughly and aggressively cross-examine the police should there be a trial.
Police officers are typically very well-meaning, they mean to do the right thing, but sometimes they jump to conclusions, sometimes they make arrests before they really should, or search people in violation of the Constitution. And an aggressive attorney can protect your interests in that regard to make sure that doesn’t happen to you and make sure that the police officer can explain to the satisfaction of a judge or jury why he did what he did.
An aggressive attorney is someone who will dig into a case and will investigate all aspects of the case, someone who will make sure every ”i” was dotted and every ”t” crossed from the prosecution from the police’s standpoint and they will exploit any weakness they see. They will show why witnesses were biased, wrong or just flat-out lying. They will explore the failure of police to fully investigate a case. So, having an aggressive attorney is absolutely necessary for a successful defense.
Experience is as important, or possibly even more important, than aggressiveness in the courtroom. Having an experienced attorney fighting on your behalf is invaluable. Experienced attorneys know the judges, know their proclivities, know what arguments work on them and which don’t.
They know what questions to ask of witness and in what tone. They know what mistakes prosecutors and police are prone to. They are able to gauge probable outcomes that will help inform your decision making. They know through past experience how to win cases. Any experience in the courtroom can only help someone defend their case.
Law firms can draw on a combined wealth of experience. Instead of one person’s experience, you have multiple attorneys who each have their own experience that other attorneys can learn from. You usually have much better resources, a broader range of trial and courtroom experience, and a much wider area of expertise.
Solo practitioners have no one to talk to about their cases. In a law firm, you can get multiple perspectives from multiple attorneys. For example, one particular lawyer might not have any experience with a particular judge, but another lawyer at their firm has. In such cases, the lawyer can ask their colleague: What’s this judge all about, what arguments work with them? What unique courtroom procedures do they prefer?
Different perspectives from different attorneys can help spot a unique legal issues that one attorney wouldn’t have noticed themselves, just like any other problem.
Solo practitioners are also often overwhelmed with just running the business, they are trying to pay the bills, keep the lights on and bring in new business in addition to actually practicing law. Law firms typically have a support unit for that which allows the attorneys to focus on being the best attorneys they can be.
When you have a law firm you have numerous people coming together for one goal and that’s to benefit their clients.