I’m a Seattle DUI defense lawyer. That suggests I observe people in my office every day who require assistance with their recent DUI defense charge. And I glimpse a lot of individuals. And they are all looking for one thing, a good Seattle DUI attorney, with one requirement, who is cheap. But decent and economical isn’t usually a pragmatic combination.
In addition to observing lots of clients, I also get to notice a lot of DUI defense attorneys. And I’ve come to see something - there are usually three sorts of DUI defense attorneys out there - terrible ones; decent ones; and great ones. Wonder what the discrepancy is between them and how to tell them apart? Pay attention…
The terrible attorneys are almost certainly the easiest to notice. First of all they will nearly always be the cheapest. And what is inexpensive? From what I’ve come to see, anyone who begins at $2,000 and works their way down is not someone you want to effort with, no matter how decent of a salesman they are. How do I know this? It’s all a matter of simple math.
DUI defense bills were made to be paid at a fixed fee - this ensures you pay a practical cost, and it encourages your DUI defense attorney to do their best for you. But, at a precise place - for me that is about $2,000, the capability to do the effort crucial to get the appropriate ending is compromised. And it’s compromised for one basis - you have to be responsible for too many cases to live on if you are charging something below $2,000. If you decide to pay that much you are justly getting what you paid for - jack shit.
There are other signs of a dreadful DUI defense attorney other than just cost. They are almost certainly going to try to do the hard sell on you - attempt to get you to enlist right away. They’ll most likely gloss over everything that has to do with your situation except to assure you they can take care of everything. And they may even guarantee you an ending they know you want to hear. Be cautious of the poor Dui attorney in seattle - selecting one of these people may well haunt you for the rest of your life.
Next up is the good DUI attorney, which I think makes up a lot of the DUI defense community in Seattle. As far as money, they accusation anywhere from $2,000 to $6,500 depending on your situation and what they can persuade you to pay. And the rationale for this is effortless, and derives from the awful attorneys above - they have to charge you more money so they can assign more time to your circumstances, receiving you a better result. You have to think of it this way - is it worth it to give a few added thousand dollars now to have the peace of mind that you got the best ending doable? Or do you want to go the low-cost route and end up disillusioned?
What else makes up a decent DUI attorney? First, they care about your situation, they want to do the most excellent they can for you, and they’ll fight hard for you. Second, they commonly don’t have the experience, especially in trial, that the first-rate DUI attorney has. They understand the law, they understand what they are doing, and they will typically get you as decent an conclusion as the celebrated attorney, though they may not do it with the flair and poise that the great Seattle DUI defense lawyer would.
I would consider myself to be in this category.
Now, on to the great Seattle DUI defense lawyer. These are the individuals that are out there fighting the breath test science. These are the individuals that know the field sobriety tests inside and out, can recite you verbatim almost something you want from the WAC on breath test policy, and win DUI defense trials on a fairly recurring basis (when they have to go to trial). Downside? They start at $6,500 through pretrial and run at least $10,000 for a trial. For some individuals, that sort of cash just isn’t within reach.
So, how do you select the best DUI defense attorney? First, budget at least $3,000. Second, take the time to listen to what they are saying to you in the interview - how organized are they? Do they pay attention to what you have to say? Are they answering your inquiries or just making you more promises? And third, talk to a couple of different people to see what is out there and pick the one that is the greatest for you.
The best thing you can do is not get a Seattle DUI. But we all understand they occur at the most horrible times and under the most harmless of circumstances. Hopefully you never need one. If you do, take the time to select the suitable one.