When you are thinking about hiring a Melbourne criminal lawyer, you really don’t want to, but they can help you out of the hardest jams in your life. Going to court after committing a crime is a massive pain and can seem like such a waste of time and energy, but it is something that many people must do at some point in their life. Having a Melbourne criminal lawyer on retainer or being able to call one at any time is something that everyone should have, because you never know if you are going to be mistaken for someone else who has committed a crime. Here are a few things to look for when you are thinking about hiring a Melbourne criminal lawyer.
Look at Their Website
Every solicitor worth your time will have a website. Make sure to check it and figure out their credentials. Do they look legit? Do they have high reviews? Are they qualified to be a criminal defense solicitor or do they specialise in another area of law? These are all things that you should know before hiring a Melbourne criminal lawyer. If you don’t trust their website, then that’s probably a bad sign and you should consider going with another solicitor.
Check a Directory
Solicitor directories are super common, and you will have great luck finding a good lawyer through one of the many lawyer directories. Every solicitor that passes their practicing requirements will be in at least one of these directories. Once you find a solicitor, no matter which method you used to find them, you should check for them in the directory, just to make sure that they are qualified and are who they say they are.
Find Reviews Online
Checking for a highly rated Melbourne criminal lawyer is pretty important, and knowing how to weed out the bad reviews is also important. Some people will get angry and review their solicitor poorly, despite having an unwinnable case or not following their solicitors advice. Make sure that once you hire a solicitor, you follow their advice, as you are paying them quite a bit of money and to get the most out of your money, you should follow their advice closely.
Check Their Rates
Checking their rates is massively important not only to save you money but also to get the best possible service that you can get. For small cases, it’s completely fine to go with a cheap solicitor, such as a traffic violation that you didn’t commit or some other petty crime that can easily be dismissed. However, if you find yourself in a situation where there is some serious jail time on the line, then being cheap on your lawyer probably isn’t the most advisable thing to do. While all solicitors are capable of providing the best service, many of the cheaper solicitors have many clients and won’t be able to spend nearly as much time on your case as one of the more expensive solicitors, so you won’t be getting the best possible service and could be looking at facing a much larger penalty than if you decided to pay just a little bit more for a better Melbourne criminal lawyer.
Getting a solicitor isn’t cheap, and it will cost you quite a bit of money, so getting the best possible services from a Melbourne criminal lawyer is ideal. Make sure that you trust your solicitor and know that they will fight for you, as you are their boss and are paying them. Paying solicitors is expensive, but going to jail is much worse and has much worse consequences than paying a couple extra dollars on your defence.