Evaluating a Criminal Defense Attorney

Article 1: Guerrilla Guide to Hiring a Lawyer

Without a doubt, trusting your attorney is of paramount importance. However, learning whether you can trust a person is a difficult task, and all of us know that we’ve had people in our lives we thought we could trust that let us down. One of the resources that I stumbled across actually suggests “people who don’t maintain eye contact usually have a problem with the truth.” So their recommendation is don’t retain an attorney that doesn’t make good eye contact. Most experts in non-verbal communication will tell you that evaluating someone’s trustworthiness based on the cue of bad eye-contact is about as scientific as allowing a groundhog to forecast the weather for you. The truth is, lawyers, like other people, have a variety of communication styles. Averting your eyes occurs for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is someone concentrating on what they’re hearing or deep in thought. You absolutely want an attorney that listens well and gives your matter serious thought. So, I will not endeavor to give a magic checklist of old wives-tales about picking the right attorney. I hope to give you resources and a framework to objectively seek out the most qualified and effective counsel. Regardless of your particular communication style or preferences, at the end of the day, you want to find an attorney that has the best chance of getting you the best results.

If you have made it this far, I appreciate your patience. The cynic in you should have alerted you to the fact that your are likely reading this on an attorney’s website. You’ll also realize this is a resource created by a criminal defense attorney to find a criminal defense attorney. So, you might expect this to shape up into a laundry list of the reasons as to why you should hire ME.

To an extent, this is unavoidable, and as you research you should always consider the source. However, I hope this resource finds users outside of my geographic area and market. A well respected attorney and blogger does a good job of addressing the innate bias of an undertaking like this. Is my advice about what makes a good defense lawyer colored by how I see myself? Well, yes, because what I’m directing you to seek out are lawyers that Practice Law the Right Way. Similar to Mr. Bennett, the author of the linked blog post, I believe there is a right way to represent clients and a right way to practice law. So, my feelings and experiences have shaped my articles. I am not the perfect lawyer, but I strive to be.

Please, read on to learn how to:

Evaluate an Attorney’s Experience

There is no “unit” that encapsulates an attorney’s experience. Clearly, the first characteristic which comes to mind is “how many years” has a lawyer been practicing. Next, you’re likely to jump to the idea of “how many cases” has a lawyer handled like mine. The most difficult to quantify is, what is a lawyer’s “win-loss record”? There is certainly value in all of these questions, but none should be the basis for choosing a lawyer. My great-aunt made the most horrific green bean casserole for 20 years of my life. It never tasted any better. She made it at least hundreds of times. All of those years of following the same recipe did not improve her casserole one bit. The same can be said for the recipe a lawyer may employ. So, how do you evaluate an attorney’s experience? [More to Come]

Evaluate an Attorney’s Approach

Probably the most common question asked of defense lawyers is, “Are you aggressive?” No one can escape the television ads or billboards promoting “aggressive” lawyers. I think the heart of what people are looking for is whether the attorney will actually zealously represent the person, and when the time comes really go to bat for them. Among other qualities, an effective attorney must be versatile. Sometimes an aggressive approach is effective. Yet on other occasions, a defense lawyer needs to be able to swallow their pride for the benefit of their client and extend their hat-in-hand to beg of a dismissal. If “aggressive” summarizes an attorneys entire approach, some clients will get lucky and get a good result, but on many occasions your mother was right, “You get more bees with honey.” The effective criminal defense attorney needs to be a balance of Dale Carnegie and General George Patton. So, what approach should your attorney take? [More to Come]

Evaluate an Attorney’s Reputation

If you ask my mother, “Who is the best lawyer in Fort Worth?” I expect she would proudly say, “My son, Cody Cofer.” You’ll find sources that say ask other lawyers. My wife is a lawyer, and she would probably give you the same answer as my mother. The point is, it pays to be a bit cynical in this arena. If you receive a referral from a friend, family member, or colleague, investigate further. The axiom, “Trust but Verify” good not be better advice when evaluating an attorney’s reputation. There are obvious red-flags for questioning a lawyers reputation, such as disciplinary action. But finding a truly skilled lawyer requires more than a connection to someone you know or trust. Further, reviews are becoming the ubiquitous, but again you must ask yourself, “What is this opinion based upon?” I have had clients sincerely grateful when a jury returned a verdict of 10 years in prison. On other occasions, I have had cases dismissed, and with no one else to blame, the client somehow is upset with me that the case was ever filed in the first place. How do you evaluate an attorney’s information? [More to Come]