Factors Affecting The Attorney’s Fee In a Criminal Case

When it comes to any criminal case, it is very important, crucial even, to have an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer by your side. After all, only a good attorney will have skills and expertise to help you minimize the sentence or to get the case dismissed to begin with.

With that said, it is no secret that hiring a legal representative is not very affordable these days. Yet, it is a necessity, so you will have to find an attorney that will not let you down. So what are major factors, which affect the fee of an attorney?

First of all, it is how complex the case itself really is. Let us take a DUI case as an example. The defendant was pulled over after he or she provoked an accident and people were injured or even killed. His or her BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) was above the allowed .08% and on top of it all, he or she resisted arrest. Sure enough, it is obvious that the case is a complex one and will require a whole lot of efforts and, subsequently, fees of the attorney are going to grow substantially. However, if a person was found driving under the influence of alcohol, but the BAC was .07% and there was no accident, the lawyer is not going to have a hard time dealing with the case and the defendant will not need to pay more.

Hence, if a case is a felony, the Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer is going to charge more and if it is a misdemeanor, fees are going to be less expensive. Furthermore, if the defendant has some past criminal records, the judge may take into consideration and the prosecution will not hesitate to use that fact in its favor. The attorney will therefore need to gather enough testimonies from the defendant’s friends, colleagues and loved ones – testimonies, which demonstrate that the defendant is contributing to society and is well respected by the people around him. This is also considered as additional work and the lawyer is going to charge you more for it.

Finally, the reputation of the legal representative and his or her experience also play a major role in any criminal case. After all, lawyers, who have many years of experience in the field, are more likely to help you and to deliver positive outcomes, so it is only natural that they would charge you more than their less experienced colleagues.

Regardless of what kind of charges you may be facing, most of the time it makes sense to hire a more experienced legal representative in order to avoid some harsh legal penalties, which are going to have a negative impact on your day to day living. Choosing a professional Los Angeles criminal attorney will allow you to go through the entire process knowing that you are getting the best assistance possible.