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One of the most serious things that can happen to you is getting involved in a criminal defense case. With this in mind, you have to think about how to come out of it with the lowest consequences possible, and choosing a good criminal lawyer can be incredibly difficult if you don’t know what qualities to search for. This is why we will talk about the most important characteristics of a good criminal lawyer.
1) They Strike You With Confidence
Whether your attorney is confident in their standing or not can make or break a trial. If they don’t believe that they can win your case, then what do you think the judge will think? A confident performance is an extremely important trait of an excellent attorney. Like confidence has a major effect on football and volleyball player performance, so does it have on a lawyer’s court performance. This will mostly impact their commitment to your case as well as their public speaking. Soft skills like expressive speaking are a must in law due to the need to convince the jury that the client is innocent and give all of the relevant information to everyone present loud and clear so that no information that could help your case goes unnoticed.
This also means that the lawyer in question will take time to prepare for your case. Being thorough about something that involves your life is simply a must. There is no room for failure or misprepare. They have to be honest with you about what you can expect to get out of the trial and the most they are able to win for you. A lawyer that takes into account every single piece of evidence is a lawyer that you can trust.
2) They are Experienced in the Field
It can be tough sometimes to accurately judge how capable an attorney really is. They will all show a piece of paper that they are proud of, but to people from the outside, it can be really difficult to judge just how much that paper shows. They can be tricking you by giving subpar (or sometimes even plagiarized diplomas and passing it off as something of high prestige and you wouldn’t be the wiser. This is why judging a lawyer by their experience is the most valuable aspect of deeming if a lawyer is qualified enough to represent you. With this in mind, you shouldn’t settle for just any experienced lawyer. A lawyer who has 7 years of experience in marriage law will not be as useful as a lawyer who has 3 years of experience in criminal law. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their previous cases and what cases they have done in the past that resemble yours (as well as their final verdict).
This can sometimes be a double-edged sword because an experienced lawyer will always be much more expensive than a cheap and inexperienced one. So, depending on the seriousness of the case you can opt for a slightly more inexperienced lawyer over a more expensive one that can only slightly improve your final verdict.
3) They Possess Great Decision-Making Skills
A courtroom is a place where everything happens very swiftly, and you need a lawyer who has the wits and fast decision-making skills in such an environment in order to come out on top every time. Otherwise, you (and your lawyer) will be left dumbfounded in court when an accusation comes up and you don’t know how to react to it. With this in mind, a good lawyer will always have the right response to most situations based on the information at their disposal.
4) They are Committed to You
If an attorney does not commit to your case, can you really expect them to give their best to get you out of jail as soon as possible or reach the best possible outcome? The amount of dedication that a lawyer shows his client is the best indicator of how good they are at their job. A good lawyer will always know just how traumatizing it can be to be sent to jail, and so they will work their best to keep this option far away from reality. A good show of dedication is if they use every information you give to actively (and swiftly) work on improving your situation. So, look for criminal defense lawyers that would defend you like they would their own family.
5) Every Information You Give Them Stays Confidential
Trust is the main pillar of a relationship between attorney and client. If there is no trust, you can’t hope to cooperate or even know each other’s intentions. This is why you need to be absolutely certain that every piece of information that you give your lawyer (that you don’t want spread) stays between the two of you. Leaking vital information can lead to a massive conflict of interest between the two parties and cause further troubles. So, make sure that your lawyer is willing to investigate and verify whether these claims are true or not without leaking them to the wider audience and that your privacy remains safe.
6) They are an Excellent Negotiator
Despite popular belief, most cases do not reach trial in court. The lawyers will settle their cases outside of the courthouse. Taking this fact into account, the best trait for getting a better deal is being an excellent negotiator. This doesn’t even have to reflect only the situation outside of the court. If a lawyer can drive the jury into a negotiation, you are already in a better position. This is a trait that is, usually, best tied with having great communication skills. It is because you need your representative to be a leader who can dictate the pace and direction of the trial. Focus it on factors you want and not the factors that the persecutor wants.
These are the most important characteristics that any good criminal lawyer should have. They are, usually, connected to each other, and knowledge of one skill pairs well with another. So, the more criteria the lawyer fits, the calmer you can remain and know that you are in good hands.