If I am charged with a crime, when should I retain a Texas criminal defense lawyer?
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Video Transcription
A common mistake that many defendants make when they are charged with an offense is waiting a long time to hire an attorney. To get the best result you need to get an attorney on board as soon as possible, because I’ve never met a client yet that I didn’t have to take to a psychiatrist who told me they wanted to go to trial.
But the longer you wait to hire an attorney, the more likely you’re going to have to take an unreasonable offer or go to trial. By getting a qualified attorney on board immediately, you can avoid going to trial in all likelihood because the attorney will be able to, hopefully, negotiate what you see as a reasonable plea deal, or be able to get the case dismissed based on it being an invalid case, or have you properly prepared for trial because that’s a big part of what goes into preparation.
I start preparing for trial on day one. You don’t prepare for trial the day before you go into a trial, anymore than you prepare for a final exam the day before, and expect a good result. The only way you get a good result is by preparing from day one—so the earlier you get an attorney on board, the likelihood is you’ll get a better result than otherwise.
