Nobody is immune from making mistakes, but some mistakes can be a little more costly than others. This is especially true if it’s your lawyer that makes a mistake during your defense. We know that we’re not perfect and that we’ve made mistakes in the past, but we also know that our decades of experience have given us a massive leg up when it comes to helping our clients. We know some of the most common pitfalls that lawyers run into, and we know how to avoid putting our clients at a disadvantage by falling into these traps. Below, we take a look at these three mistakes that inexperienced lawyers often make, and how we avoid them.
Three Mistakes Your Lawyer Will Want To Avoid
Here’s a look at three things that can derail your criminal defense if your lawyer isn’t careful.
1. Taking Cases Outside Of Their Wheelhouse – One of the benefits of being a well-established law firm is that we have a steady flow of potential clients and are not afraid to turn away cases that we’re not comfortable with or that are outside of our specialty. If you go with a less experienced lawyer that may have fewer clients, they may be willing to take any case that comes their way, even if they don’t have much experience handling your specific type of case. During your initial consultation, make sure you ask about the firm’s previous experience challenging similar cases, and their past successes with these cases. Don’t hire a cheap lawyer with limited experience challenging your type of case.
2. Ignoring How Evidence Was Collected – The ends don’t always justice the means, and that’s especially true when it comes to our criminal justice system. There may be overwhelming evidence to convict, but if it’s not collected properly or legally, then it can’t be presented in the court of law. Just because your BAC on a breathalyzer was over the legal limit doesn’t mean that the police collected that evidence legally. A good lawyer will not just look at the evidence, but how the evidence was collected.
3. Won’t Let Anyone Else Help – Finally, one mistake that less experienced lawyers make is that they don’t rely on all the resources available to them. We regularly lean on the insights of others in the firm and other legal connections we’ve made over the years. We have great relationships with judges and prosecutors as well, which can go a long way when negotiating a plea deal or when working to get a reduced sentence. Avery and Brian bring extensive knowledge on their own, but they are best when they collaborate and lean on connections they’ve made along the way. Don’t hire a lawyer who tries to do everything on their own.
If you want to hire a firm that will not only work to avoid these pitfalls but help you achieve the best results possible, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today.
