In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
This is the 6th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and through this amendment is where we get our right to not only the assistance of counsel, but the right to a speedy and public trial, and to be informed of the charges we face. The courts interpreted this amendment to also give you the right to effective assistance of counsel. At its inception, this amendment did not guarantee an indigent defendant the right to be appointed an attorney; it was not until 1932 that the U.S. Supreme Court first recognized that an illiterate defendant facing the death penalty should be granted the assistance of an attorney appointed by the court at the states expense. (Powell v. Alabama 287 U.S. 45) Though this ruling was tailored to those who face that specific set of circumstances it became one of the landmark decisions that propelled the American judicial system forward, because for all of its flaws, this adversarial system has been good in that aspect of protecting the less fortunate, the other aspect is that with any profession some have taken the importance of this duty very lightly. Even for those who can afford an attorney, you get what you pay for, so choosing one should not be done in haste.
When you hire an attorney a contract exists between you and the attorney of your choice, this contract is just like any employee—employer relationship; you are the employer and the attorney is the employee. The attorney, though skilled in the art of the adversarial process, should follow your instructions and keep you informed of all aspects of your case, and as long as your instructions are not to do something that is against the law, your attorney has a duty to follow them carefully and promptly. Since we do not hire an attorney, most times, until we find ourselves in need of one because we are in a situation, then we will be at the mercy of a bullpen attorney, or an overworked public defender. This is not to disparage the work that the public defenders do, because there are excellent ones, and they make the system work for those who need them.
As a rule, the decision to hire an attorney should not be done on a moments notice, this decision deserves be thought out and researched, and the person you choose should be the best for your situation. So take time to put away some of your disposable income for a retainer now to invest later is a wise decision.
There are no hard and fast rules to choosing a good attorney, but some things to think about while looking are:
I. The purpose you need the lawyer for, is it civil or criminal in nature. Criminal lawyers take a retainer for services, civil Lawyers generally take a percentage of the judgment when they sue on your behalf, to represent you they take a retainer as well though. But there are several categories of law that lawyers specialize in from corporate to probate.
2. How much you can afford to pay? Whether the attorney is willing to take payments.
3. The attorneys level of experience in trials or negotiating. Some attorneys are best at trials, and others are good at negotiating, others at appeals. Experience can be a double edge sword, it can be positive in the sense that the years of being in a courtroom means a wealth of knowledge, and negative because some attorneys get complacent and do not do any work, just take the money and tell you what you want to hear. However, young attorneys tend to give your case attention and work hard because they are trying to make a name for themselves , the drawback is that they have little experience, unlike the long-time insider.
4. Whether you have an issue that demands lots of resources, smaller law firms do not have the resources that larger ones have, thus, more resources needed means more money needed to retain their services because they employ more people in-house.
Generally, attorneys who have made a name for themselves as prosecutors or judges, or even politicians, and are now in private practice are usually a safe bet. But again, you have to take the time to do the research. Go to the attorney’s website to see if there is a bio, or contact the city or state bar association to find out about them.
I cannot stress enough how great a decision it is to retain an attorney, because you never know when you will need one for any purpose, buying anything where there is a contract involved,
starting a business, even writing a will.
By Curtis “Delayahu” Ferdinand
Some lawyers that are upper tier:
Dan Cone – Former. U.S. Attorney General
Winston & Strawn
Thomas Sullivan
Montgomery, Cherry, & Cochran
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