Facing police charges is understandably one of the scariest and most confusing ordeals you can go through. Without a doubt, facing the scrutiny of the police is a difficult position to be in and you’d naturally want all the help you can get.
There’s a lot at stake for you even with minor offences. A record of your misdeeds can limit your ability to find employment and travel overseas.
That’s not to mention to obvious risk of having your freedom curtailed and being sent to prison or incurring a large fine. There’s a lot that can go wrong in these situations.
If you are dealing with police charges, it makes sense that you’d want to engage one of the best criminal lawyers. They will be able to advise you on the best course of action and defend your legal rights in court.
However, finding a reputable solicitor that fits your budget and personality is often easier said than done. You need to be careful as the last thing you want is to engage a practitioner that is inexperienced or difficult to work with.
Let’s take a look at the top 3 traits of the best criminal lawyers.
Highly experienced
The best criminal lawyers will have multiple decades of practise experience behind them and will have represented thousands of clients throughout their long careers. While it isn’t essential, it’s common that they would have practise in police matters for most if not all of their career.
This means getting a practitioner on your side that has seen and done it all before. It’s absolutely essential to get a defence solicitor who is specifically skilled in the area you are being charged in such as traffic law or drug law.
This type of solicitor will also have built a good rapport with the local legal community including the judge that will likely hear your case. It goes a long way to be represented by someone who is well respected and known by the court system.
They will be able to use their expertise that they have developed over their long career to poke holes in the prosecution’s case against you and give you the best chance of an ideal outcome. While they can never guarantee an ideal result, getting a highly experience criminal lawyer is never a bad idea.
Good at communication
High quality criminal lawyers will also be extremely talented communicators. This means that they excel at listening to, translating and persuading with different forms of information.
They will be able to listen to your side of the story and translate this information into an actionable legal strategy. Their communication skills will also be useful during any negotiations with the police as they will be able to advocate for you in a powerful way.
This also means that in the courtroom the best criminal lawyers are able to address a judge or jury and be a powerful advocate on your behalf. They will have their own rhetorical style and voice within the courtroom.
Punctual and organised
Another important trait to look for with criminal lawyers is their punctuality and level of organisation. You don’t want to end up hiring someone that you can barely get in contact with when something important is happening with your case.
Ideally, you should be able to get in contact with them outside of regular practise hours during an emergency. When engaging criminal lawyers they should always be easy to get in touch with.