When you are arrested for anything from an alleged DUI, drug possession, battery, domestic violence, theft, or any other crime, and have not had the traumatizing experience of going through the criminal system before, you have questions.  Even if you have been arrested or in the criminal system, you have questions.

It is difficult to talk to family and friends to get advice since you do not want others learning about it.

The best would be recommendations from people you trust who have unfortunately gone through the process or knows others who had  a great experienced criminal defense attorney and can give you an excellent recommendation.

What do you do when you do not want to disclose the situation or have no one you can talk to who has gone through the criminal court process before?

It used to be fumbling through the Yellow Pages, making calls and not knowing anything about who you were talking to.  You would get a bunch of letters often referred to as “jail mail” because arrest records are public, still is, and the “jail mails” invite you to call with coupons and/or suggestions that your case can dismissed.  “Jail mail” still goes out today and if you get arrested, you will have a flood of it within a few days lasting for many weeks.  Of course there is always a chance a case can be dismissed but it all depends on the facts and law relating to each specific case.

Today, there are ways to help your research and make calls to the right fit for you.  Most if not all criminal defense attorneys have a web presence and as a result of searches on Google, Yahoo, Bing or other search engines, sites like the California State Bar, and AVVO pop up to give you choices on who to research and/or call based on what you see or learn.  Both amoxil online sites will show whether an attorney have had any type of discipline actions.  AVVO and other lawyer review sites may rank attorneys as well as show reviews from past clients.

Most if not all criminal defense lawyers will give an initial consultation for free.

First of all, when you call a law office, one of the first things to ask is whether you are talking to an attorney.  Some law offices have individuals who are not licensed attorneys.

Second, if it is an attorney, ask if the person talking to you will be the one who will actually be representing you and not handing the case off to someone else in the office.

Third, don’t just call a few, call a number of lawyers and when you narrow down who you think is the right fit for you and they do not make a unrealistic promises, go meet them face to face and ask more questions.  In fact, you may want to call them a few times to see if the attorney is responsive to your calls because some may not be and that can be a sign of things to come after you pay a retainer fee.

Fourth, beware of the low ball attorneys.  If you have been quoted a certain range of fees and one is well below what you have been told by most of the lawyers you have already talked to, be cautious.  The more they try to sell you, beware.  Criminal defense lawyer fees can vary but when you hear about one who is really cheap, the question in your mind should be “why?”