FAQ

Well, the answer is, “hopefully you don’t.”  I personally enjoy telling someone they don’t need a lawyer.  I remember what it was like to not be an attorney and I have always understood the fear that accompanies needing an attorney.  But the reality is, if you feel you’re going to be charged with a crime – you need a lawyer.   The vast space between being charged with a crime and being convicted of a crime is full of more rules, laws, standards, practices, and exceptions than you can spend a lifetime studying.  You won’t get your answers from a single book, TV show or movie.  You need someone who lives and breathes criminal law to help you with the most important decision of your life.

Ask ten different lawyers this question and you’ll probably get ten different answers.   For me, the answer is, “The moment law enforcement has your case.”  For many of my consults, I tell my clients you don’t give me money unless you get a call from the police.”  Now, sometimes that answer will change if there’s a chance the police will get a warrant for my client (what we refer to as “walking a warrant”).  However, the most direct answer to this question is “the best time to get a lawyer is when the police have been brought into the mix.”   The wrong and most catastrophic answer is: “Right before trial.”

I don’t charge for a consult with you.  I also don’t treat our conversations like sales pitches.  Almost every consult with me goes the same way.  I begin by  asking if you’re speaking with me about a criminal matter?  If the answer is no, I’ll try to direct you to another lawyer who handles the area you’re dealing with.  I only handle one kind of law – criminal defense.

 If the answer is yes, I’ll ask you to tell me your story.   You won’t hear me speak very much because it’s my time to listen (I reserve my right to redirect you if you begin steering off the path).  After you’ve told me the story, I’ll follow up with some questions about details that I think are important to your defense. 

After listening, I’ll begin telling you about my process of defending you.  I’ll begin with assessing the facts, collecting the information, and preparing the foundation for your defense.  I’ll discuss the terrain of the courthouse and the process ahead of you from beginning to end.  By the end of this portion of the consult, I intend to have you as informed as possible about the road ahead. 

Next, I tell you about what my services include and how I would defend your case.  I inform you of my fee at the conclusion (always a flat fee, never hourly).  Then I ask if there are any follow up questions. 

At the conclusion of our conversation, my clients are given my cell phone number and informed that you can always text or call if you have any follow up questions. 

Absolutely.  I don’t run a law farm (yes, I’m not misspelling).  This isn’t an area of law where you should be paying one attorney and getting a different attorney in court.  You’re not buying a car.  You’re fighting for your life and you should be hiring the same lawyer who’s going to be fighting for you in the ring. 

I’ve already got an attorney appointed.   Can I even hire another attorney?

Yes.  You have an overwhelming power to decide who represents you in court.  The process of replacing a court appointed could not be simpler.  Typically, whenever I am hired in this scenario, I will contact the other attorney and let them know they are finished with their case.  They will submit a voucher to the court and they are done. 

Again, the answer is yes.  It’s a simple matter of substituting counsel with your former attorney.  It’s a matter that can be handled by your new attorney with little effort on your part.

The answer is “no” and you should never trust an attorney who tells you otherwise.   An attorney can never predict the outcome of any case or, especially, any trial.  Further, it’s considered unethical for an attorney to make such guarantees and that lawyer could be subject to sanctions by the Texas bar.  The only guarantee that an attorney can give you is that you will get their best effort.  There’s no other promise they can make realistically or ethically.  If you have an attorney who tells you otherwise, I suggest you keep looking.