Being charged with a crime can be very stressful. You might be worried about your future and how this charge will affect your finances. One of the most important parts of having a good outcome from the process is to hire the right criminal defense lawyer. Before you hire an attorney you should ask them some questions. Here are some things you need to know about hiring a criminal attorney.

How Much Experience Do You Have With These Cases?

One of the first questions you need to ask is how much experience the individual has with your type of charge. Just because your attorney is a criminal attorney doesn't mean that they have dealt with cases like yours. The attorney may be better with DUI's and have little or no experience with sexual assault.

The more experience the attorney has with your specific charge the better your chances will be of beating it. Thus, only hire an attorney you has specific experience.

Will You Be Personally Handling The Case Or Will Someone Else?

Ideally you would hire an attorney and they would take care of all of the work, but that is not necessarily the case. In many situations an attorney will delegate it to a younger attorney, or a paralegal and only do a small portion of the case. This isn't generally a problem, but you should be sure that you are paying accordingly. In addition, you don't want to hire an attorney thinking you are going to get certain representation, only to have it handed to someone else.

Do You Charge By The Hour Or A Flat Fee?

Knowing how your attorney bill is very important. In many cases if you don't have a retainer paid, the attorney won't work on you case, consequently if you hire an attorney but can't pay the bill because it was more than you expected, you could be in trouble. For this reason, ask before you hire them how much they anticipate the case costing, and how they charge for their services.

What Do You Recommend For My Case?

Lastly, it will help you see if you and your attorney are on the same page by asking for advice upfront. Ask them what steps they will take on your case. They may immediately suggest that you plea it out, while you want to fight it. It could become frustrating if you and your attorney don't agree on the course of action.

By asking these questions before you hire an attorney you can be confident that you hired the right attorney for your situation.