When should I contact and obtain the services of a Criminal Defense Attorney?

• You should contact and obtain the services of a Criminal Defense Attorney immediately should the following happen:
• You have been accused by someone of committing a criminal offense.
• You have been contacted, or notified, by a law enforcement agency, or a prosecutor's office, that you have been accused of a criminal offense.
• You have heard that a law enforcement officer wants to talk to you.
• You have been arrested, or cited, for a criminal offense.

Reasons:

• A Criminal Defense Attorney can help to arrange for you to be bailed out as soon as possible.
• A Criminal Defense Attorney should begin your representation as soon as possible, so that evidence is not lost and witnesses memories are fresh.
• It is critical that a Criminal Defense Attorney interviews his client prior to his client being contacted by law enforcement officers who will try to interview a client without the assistance of counsel. An unprepared, unrepresented client is no match for an experienced police detective well trained in interrogation methods.
• The immediate involvement of a Criminal Defense Attorney allows the attorney to make every effort to influence the police, and the prosecutor, that criminal charges are not warranted, if possible.
• Time is always of the essence in a Criminal Case. An accused who procrastinates in obtaining immediate representation by a Criminal Defense Attorney, does so at his, or her, peril.

How do I find a honest and experienced Criminal Defense Attorney?

• If you know an attorney you trust and respect, who does not do Criminal Defense, there is a good chance that the attorney will know of a honest and experienced Criminal Defense Attorney with a good reputation.
• Ask those near and dear to you, whom you respect and trust, if they know of an honest and experienced Criminal Defense Attorney, or if they know of an attorney, who they trust and respect, who may know an honest and experienced Criminal Defense Attorney.
• Call your local Bar Association, i.e., the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, etc., and ask if they have a Criminal Attorney referral panel. At the very least, you will know that the Criminal Defense Attorney has met the experience criteria to qualify for that referral panel and that the Criminal Defense Attorney maintains malpractice insurance.

  Should I contact a Criminal Defense Attorney who sends me solicitations in the mail after I have been arrested? (This is commonly referred to as Jail Mail)

  Absolutely not! Jail Mail should be treated like all the other junk mail you receive. After two or three weeks the Jail Mail will stop arriving.

  Reasons:

• There is no quality control, nor screening process.
• These attorneys often pay thousands of dollars a month to have their brochures, solicitation letters, and advertisements sent to the address obtained from the booking sheet in specific geographic areas.
• These attorneys often are very high volume attorneys who often will not be able to devote the time and effort necessary to provide you the best representation possible.
• These attorneys often charge too little so that they can maintain their high volume, which often results in a financial motivation to not devote the time and effort necessary to provide you the best representation possible.
• Remember the main purpose of those flashy Jail Mail solicitations is to lure you in. If the solicitations, promises, and representations made there appear to be too good to be true, it is usually because they are not true. Remember the old adage, you get what you pay for!
• A Criminal Conviction can greatly impact your life, employment, and your freedom, and stays with you forever, with certain limited exceptions. The quality of your representation is much more important than the cost of your representation.