How to choose your criminal law lawyer

Choosing a criminal lawyer can be much more complicated than you might think. In fact, taking into account that you are going to face a process whose sentence may entail a prison sentence, it is necessary to scrupulously follow a series of tips in order to end up choosing the most suitable one and the one that offers you the best guarantees. After all, there are hundreds of specialised law firms in all Spanish cities. Here we would like to give you the right recommendations to get it right.

Keys to choosing a criminal lawyer

Approachable and straightforward

It doesn't matter whether you use a criminal lawyer for the simple purpose of expunging your criminal record or if you need his services for something more serious, such as, for example, facing criminal proceedings of any kind. A good clue as to the professionalism of the subject will be found as soon as you pick up the phone to make an appointment or to make a consultation.

In this sense, a good criminal lawyer is one who is interested in your situation, listens to your case attentively from the outset, studies it and attends to you personally. Moreover, he or she is also the one who does not hesitate to meet with you if you ask him or her to do so.

Experience is a degree

Of course, there are many criminal law specialists who, straight out of university, are excellent professionals with impressive legislative knowledge. However, they need time to get used to the way criminal proceedings work. That is why the lawyer's experience is the best guarantee of good service.

Just think, in this respect, that if you had to choose a doctor for a life-threatening operation, you would not trust the first one you come across. The same is true when it comes to choosing a criminal lawyer. Bear in mind that not being properly defended can undermine your interests and you may end up having to serve a heavy sentence.

Specialised in the subject

Criminal Law, as is the case with the other branches of this discipline, is very broad. For this reason, the best professionals, once they have finished their university studies, continue their training in specific areas with the aim of becoming the best professionals for a specific case. For this reason, you should always look for the lawyer who is best qualified for the type of legal process you are going to face.

The success rate

This is as important an issue as experience when it comes to hiring one criminal lawyer or another. For what good is a wealth of experience if the lawyer in question has not been able to bring a convincing percentage of cases to a successful conclusion? It would probably be like flipping a coin and tempting fate.

Therefore, before putting yourself in the hands of a criminal lawyer, it is vitally important that you ask for references about this fact. Moreover, it is appropriate to make your own enquiries. If they are a reputable professional, you will have no trouble finding cases in which they have represented people in your situation and you will be able to find out whether they were successful or not.

The costs

You will obviously have set yourself a budget. It may be that, given a good opportunity, you can make an exception and spend a little more, although this is usually not the case. In this regard, the best criminal lawyers have rates that are commensurate with the seriousness of the matter they will be dealing with and the type of crime they will be defending an individual against.

For example, the rates for the defence of a defendant charged with murder are not the same as for someone who has committed an economic crime of a criminal nature. This is something you should take into consideration.

Proximity to your home

You may find a good criminal lawyer in Madrid who has a long professional track record, an excellent success rate and a rate that is in line with your budget. However, if you have to travel dozens of kilometres every time you need to consult him or attend a meeting with him, it probably won't be cost-effective. After all, what you don't spend on your fees, you will have to spend on petrol or public transport.

Therefore, you should also limit your search geographically. This will also help you to narrow down your options and make it clearer which decision is the right one.

First appointment without obligation

The first appointment is, purely and simply, an initial contact where you will meet the lawyer and tell him/her about your case. Based on his experience, he will advise you on the possible options available to you, although you will not be able to go any further until you have engaged his services and he has studied your case in detail.

Since you are in the middle of your search and you are still not sure which criminal lawyer should represent you and defend your rights, it is important that you look only at those professionals who offer you the possibility to enjoy a first contact without costs or commitments. In this way, you will be able to stop and think about what you feel about them and whether they seem worthy of your trust or not.

Never choose a criminal lawyer without comparing

If you do not make an appointment with several lawyers, it is impossible for you to get a comprehensive idea of what you are looking for. Nor will you have the tools to compare when deciding whether or not this is the right professional for you. You may get it right the first time, but chances are, given the number and variety of options available to you, you will not.

The importance of accessibility

In many cases, we need the services of a criminal lawyer at any time of the day or night. Just think about the possibility of you or a family member or friend being arrested for drunk driving and crossing the legal boundary between misdemeanour and felony. If it happens in the early hours of the morning, you probably don't want your acquaintance to spend the night in jail and face a speedy trial unrepresented.

For this reason, if you need the services of a criminal lawyer for this or a similar reason, it is important that you rely on a firm that offers 24-hour coverage. And, if not, then make sure that you can contact them, either by phone, email or in person, whenever you need to.

Ultimately, choosing a criminal lawyer you can trust and who is guaranteed to represent you properly is a process that takes time and a lot of consideration. However, we are sure that, if you take into consideration everything we have just discussed here, it will be much easier than you think.