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Is It Worth It To Hire A Lawyer?
If you’ve been ticketed or charged with a crime, one of the first things you’re probably thinking about is whether or not it is in your best interest to hire an attorney. Yes, hiring an attorney will cost you money, but pleading guilty to a charge can cost you a lot more in the long run. Today, we help explain when it is worthwhile to hire an attorney.
Should I Hire A Criminal Defense Lawyer?
Since we are criminal defense lawyers, it is much easier for us to explain situations where it is in your best interest to hire an attorney. If your arrest involves any of these factors, it is likely a wise move to lawyer up.
1. Drugs/Drunk Driving – Although you may not need to serve jail time for some crimes involving drugs or drunk driving, a conviction can seriously impact your ability to get a job, keep a job, get into college or have your rental application approved. Don’t just pay the fine and try to keep the charge from being discovered, because it will show up on background checks.
2. Felonies – You should always get a lawyer for felony charges, as they often carry a potential penalty of a few years in prison, and most have mandatory minimum sentences.
3. Multiple Driving Violations – If you’ve been cited for multiple driving violations in the past couple of years, there’s a chance the most recent violation will result in the loss of your license. You need your license to get to work, to school or to run errands, so if you’re not sure if the latest charge could result in license revocation, set up a free consultation with our firm.
4. Certain Driving Violations – Even if you’re going to keep your license, it may be worth your while to hire an attorney for certain violations, like reckless driving or excessive speeding. These tickets have a set base fine, but where it really hits your wallet is on the back end with insurance increases. Pleading guilty to the charges can cost you thousands of dollars in insurance increases in the long run, so consider hiring an attorney.
5. Innocent – If you’re innocent, you should hire a lawyer. With a quick review of the facts and the presentation of a strong case, you should be able to have the charges dropped. If you’re innocent, you’ll want a professional in your corner.
When To Skip The Attorney
There’s no real set answer for when you are best to skip out on hiring an attorney, but it may not be in your best interest to fight a minor ticket, especially if you were in fact in violation of the law. When the case is black and white, there’s not a lot an attorney can do for you. However, an attorney can always try to have the charges reduced, so even if you were guilty of the allegations, there may be some benefit to hiring legal defense. But if you got a ticket for rolling a stop sign or going nine miles over the speed limit, you may be better off without an attorney. You can still challenge the case on your own, but it’s probably in your best interest to skip out on paying a lawyer for a charge that carries a small fine.
That being said, if you have any questions at all about whether you should hire a lawyer, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We offer a free case evaluation, so you can sit down with us and talk about your case. We can go over all your options, and we’ll be sure to explain if it’s something you’d simply be better at challenging on your own. Our goal is to help you with your legal trouble and do what’s best for your wallet, so contact us today if you have any questions.
