Drinking and driving don’t mix, but the mayhem of the road shows that many people are doing it anyway. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 37 people die every day in the U.S. because of drunk-driving collisions. That’s 37 deaths too many.
If you ever face a DUI charge, the first thing to do is hire a good DUI lawyer for help. Whether or not the allegations are true, you need a good legal professional in your corner. But one lawyer isn’t necessarily as good as another. The goal is to find the right one for you, so you’ll want to find a DUI lawyer with the following six qualities.
1. Specialized Expertise in DUI Law
Find a lawyer with specialized experience in DUI law. Some people mistakenly believe that a DUI charge is no big deal. But remember that a DUI charge is a criminal offense. Do you want a criminal record that may negatively impact your reputation and job prospects? Probably not.
So, it’s essential to find a DUI attorney who knows DUI law inside and out. The person you hire needs to understand processes and protocols so they can challenge the integrity of field sobriety tests, blood tests, breathalyzer tests, and driver’s license suspensions. You don’t want someone who’s a legal jack of all trades. Only a specialist will do.
2. Proven Track Record
It’s also vital to find a DUI attorney with a strong track record of success, whether it relates to winning DUI cases, getting charges dismissed, reducing penalties, or negotiating settlements.
So, when looking for a good DUI lawyer, ask the right questions. You can’t make an informed decision if you don’t ask about their success rate. It’s essential to know whether or not a DUI lawyer can help you achieve a desirable outcome.
3. Good Communication Skills
You also need to find a professional with superior communication skills. It won’t do you any good to hire a DUI lawyer who, while smart as a whip, can’t explain things well enough for a novice to understand. Just because someone is knowledgeable doesn’t necessarily mean they can explain things clearly and sufficiently to those less experienced.
Before hiring a DUI lawyer, you need to set up an initial consultation to assess things like communication skills. Remember, you’re relying on getting the right advice so you can make good decisions. But that’ll be hard if your lawyer is so bad at communicating that they might as well be speaking another language.
4. Courtroom Experience
Don’t hire a DUI lawyer lacking courtroom experience. You need a legal professional experienced not only in negotiating settlements to spare clients the courtroom experience, but also the skills to go to bat in court for clients. A DUI lawyer must know how to effectively interact with the jury and the judge while respecting written and unwritten courtroom rules.
5. Negotiation Skills
Finding a good lawyer with stellar negotiating skills is also a must. You need someone who can improve your odds of a better outcome than might otherwise be the case. That could mean negotiating reduced penalties or alternative sentencing possibilities.
6. Good Reputation
Before hiring a DUI lawyer, ensure you check online to see reviews on different service providers. If a lawyer treated a previous client poorly, who’s to say you won’t get the same treatment? The same applies should a lawyer have a reputation for going above and beyond the call to duty.
Remember these six points when you need a DUI lawyer to achieve the best possible results and move forward with your life.
