If an individual is fighting domestic violence charges, he or she must be aware of the fact that there are more than 62,000 criminal lawyers and over 21,000 law firms across the United States. Before hiring a domestic violence defense law firm, it helps to have a well-formatted plan. Otherwise, a person might end up choosing a firm that lacks the resources and experience needed to get the charges dropped. This article enlists five key questions that one should ask before hiring a domestic violence defense attorney.
How long has the firm been specialized?
It is to be noted that there are more than law firms in the U.S and not every firm has sufficient resources necessary to defend the case. Before choosing a particular domestic violence defense law firm, it is always better to learn more about its professional history.
The first thing that one needs to do is determine if the law firm specializes in handling domestic violence cases. Also, consider how many lawyers the firm has that specialize in the related cases. Ask the lawyer who specialized in domestic violence cases about the number of cases he or she has handled over the years and how many cases were like yours.
How often do these domestic violence cases go to trial?
Once the domestic violence defense attorney has been shortlisted, consider asking how often the cases go to trial. It has been reported that almost 2% of federal criminal defendants go to trial and most of those who do are found guilty. A professional lawyer will never rush the defendant to go to trial without explaining the entire strategy.
How will both parties communicate?
Before choosing a law firm, make sure to have a communication plan. How often the legal team is going to contact the individual about the progress of the case? Also, it’s important to determine how a person will be communicating with the lawyers. Don’t forget to ask for a point of contact as well. Establishing a plan to communicate streamlines the things between both parties.
What strategy the firm recommends?
Now that every family case is a little different, the hired legal team needs to develop a unique strategy based on the particular case. Therefore, ask the firm about its strategy to handle the case in advance. Also, determine if the lawyers need to collect additional evidence so that they can get a better ruling.
What are the possible outcomes?
Before hiring the legal team it is recommended to ask the same about the outcomes they anticipate. No experienced domestic violence defense attorney provides the clients with any guarantee. Instead, they always help the clients remain realistic about how the case might proceed.
Conclusion
With the above-listed questions, finding the best domestic violence defense law firm should not feel complicated. Asking these questions helps an individual narrow down his or her options and thus, choose the best one. One thing that needs to be bear in the mind is asking the legal team about their fees before hiring them.
