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Choose A Solicitor |
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7 Things you should look for when choosing a solicitor
PassionAny solicitor can stand before a court and bumble and stumble through a court appearance to make a quick buck. Select a solicitor who passionately wants to obtain the best result for you. You may get some hints from the way that you are dealt with by the solicitor. They may include:
Ask the solicitor how they will prepare your matter. You may judge them against our standard, which is: For pleas of guilty, each of our solicitors have a thorough knowledge of what they are going to say, so that they can sell you before the court. Once you take your eyes off the magistrate, you give them permission to look down, stop listening and re read the police documents. For pleas of not guilty, we take you through your evidence so that you feel comfortable giving evidence and know what questions you are likely to be asked. Experience & SpecialisationIt is most important that you choose a solicitor who only specialises in one area of law (Traffic law is a part of Criminal Law). The law is too complex and changes too frequently for a solicitor to be excellent in two areas of law.Hint: Ask the solicitor technical questions and listen to what they say. If they do not give you a confident answer or give a vague response, there is a good chance they do not have the experience you need. CommunicationWhen you engage a lawyer you need someone who is going to answer your telephone calls, respond to your emails and see you when you need to talk. We often appear for people in respect to an appeal after their previous solicitor had not listened to what they had to say and they did not accurately put their case.StrategyIt is so frustrating watching a solicitor make submissions on a plea of guilty without any real purpose to what they are saying. There is no strategy to what they are saying and the Magistrate is not being led to make a specific decision. In the same way, some solicitors will cross examine witnesses without any real purpose. They are unorganised and will ask silly questions that will allow the witness to take control of the court room.Hint: We recommend that you go and watch a solicitor in action before retaining them to make sure they know what they are doing. If you do not have the time to see a solicitor in action, you should ask them how they would approach your case. CostYou do not always get what you pay for. There are plenty of over priced lawyers. For a plea of guilty to a matter being dealt with in a Local Court, you should only choose a lawyer who is willing to give you a fixed price. Being charged by the hour often means that you are charged 2 or 3 times more than you should. Ignore sales pitches like “I don’t want to have to limit the work I do on your matter.”Be careful when comparing hourly rates for pleas of not guilty matters. Quite often paying an inexperienced lawyer $200.00 an hour works out far more expensive than an experienced lawyer at $350.00 an hour. The inexperienced lawyer may be learning on the job and performing work that is not required or getting a barrister involved when not required. HonestyWe could have far more clients if we were dishonest. It would be easy to promise an impossible result and then blame the Magistrate on the day for the bad result. You should be sceptical of solicitors who promise the earth. Armstrong Legal is one of the only private firms that subscribes to the sentencing statistics from the Judicial Commission ($1200.00 per year). We back up our advice with cold hard facts.We hope this guide helps you to find a solicitor that will work for you and not their bottom line. If you would like us to find you an experienced criminal lawyer in your area please call (02) 9261 4555. |
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