San Diego DUI Attorney

 

Red Flag # 1: The lawyer will not meet with you in person:

 

Some people will hire a lawyer for a DUI in San Diego based on a phone conversation, which is not always a bad idea. But there is no substitute for an in person consultation. One reason to insist on an in person meeting with a lawyer is that you can get an idea of how much time he is willing to devote to your case. If you go to a law office with the intention of speaking with a lawyer for a DUI in San Diego, and all you get is an administrator who interviews you and tries to sign you to a contract, you should ask yourself this: if my lawyer doesn't even have time for an in person meeting with me now, then how can i expect him to have time to work on my case?  

 

Red Flag # 2: You meet with a lawyer, but not the one who will be handling your case:

 

There are some law firms in San Diego whose number one goal is to "make sales. If you contact one of these firms you may meet with a lawyer for a DUI in San Diego who is experienced, polished, and  a good salesman, but is not actually going to work on your case. Make sure you ask whoever you are meeting with at the initial consultation who whether they are actually going to be the lawyer handling your case. If the answer is no, you should use your common sense to decide whether you are being taken advantage of by a classic bait and switch. Is the lawyer you are meeting with going to pawn your case of on an inexperienced and overworked associate? 

 

Also, watch out for firms that have you meet with a non-lawyer for your initial consultation. A common tactic is to hire a non-lawyer to handle the initial client consultaions and make promises that cannot be kept, then have the clients sign a form after the consultation acknowleding that the non-lawyer is not qualified to give legal advice, and is not qualified to make any prediction of an outcome in a case.  Firms use this tactic because it is easier to hide behind a disclaimer of a non-lawyer's advice than a disclaimer of a lawyers advice. Some lawyers for DUI in San Diego get away with this tactic and make a great deal of money at the expense of unsuspecting clients.  

 

Red Flag # 3: The lawyer guarantees you results:

 

No lawyer for DUI in San Diego can, in good conscience, guarantee you results in a DUI case because the outcome of a DUI case depends on  too many factors that are totally out of any lawyer's control. In order to win a jury trial, an attorney for DUI in San Diego must be able to create reasonable doubt in the mind of 12 jurors. In order to finish with a hung jury, an attorney must be able to create reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror. At the time of your consultation with a lawyer, he will have no idea what jurors would be on your case if you went to trial. Furthermore, even if the attorney could see into the future and know the identity of hte jurors, he would still not have control over their eventual decisions. So no lawyer for DUI in San Diego can honestly promise you any particular outcome in your case. This is especially true if the lawyer is giving you advice without seeing a copy of the police report in your case. If a lawyer makes predictions of the outcome of a case without seeing the police report, then you should run out of the office and not look back. 

 

On the other hand, if San Diego DUI lawyer has seen the police report, then he may be able to give you an indication as to what kind of a deal a prosecutor is likely to offer in your case. Prosecutors are far more predictable than juries because they are not easily influenced by sympathy and because they make decisions as to what kind of a plea bargain to offer based on the evidence and based on their observations of what juries are statistically likely to do in similar cases. Still, many lawyers for DUI in San Diego will promise clients a wet reckless when it is totally unrealistic to expect that kind of offer. Unless a defendant's blood alcohol concentration as measured by law enforcement tests is as low as .08%, and there is pretty good performance on field sobriety tests, it is irresponsible for a lawyer to make any strong predictions. And even with a .08% and good field sobriety test performance there are other factors may prevent the prosecution from offering a wet reckless. 

 

Red Flag #4: The lawyer rushes you into hiring him.

 

As a general rule, the sooner you hire a  lawyer for a DUI in San Diego the better. But you should be very wary of anyone who pressures you to sign a contract before you leave their office. Any lawyer with integrity will want you to make a hiring decision when you are calm and collected. You will be less likely to regret a decision made under those circumstances, and will be more likely to be happy with your representation.  One pressure tactic is to tell a client that the lawyer will hold open a deal that day only. A lawyer for DUI in San Diego should set a fee based on the seriousness of a case and the amount of work that will go into handling it, and that doesn't fluctuate from day to day. Anyone who tells you have to hire them before you leave the office in order to lock in a fee is a dishonest, high pressure salesman, and should be avoided. 

 

Red Flag #5: The Lawyer uses scare tactics:

 

Many lawyers for DUI in San Diego will try to scare you in to hiring them by telling you they can save a DUI from ruining your life. Generally speaking, a DUI is not going to ruin your life.  Plenty of laweyrs, judges, and doctors have a DUI conviction. There was even a judge in San Diego County who suffered three DUI convictions before he finally resigned. Being convicted of a DUI is no fun. You lose your license. You have to attend months of boring classes, and the fines are expensive. But the vast majority of people with a first-time DUI conviction do not serve any time in jail. And even people with second and third time DUIs can often get a work furlough sentence, allowing them leave their facility to work during the day, so that their job is still there when they get out. A first time DUI conviction should be a wake-up-call and a learning experience. But it is not something that will typically prevent you from getting a good job or being admitted in to college or graduate school. 

 

The best way to find a lawyer for DUI in San Diego is to educate yourself using the internet or the law library, meet with a few different lawyers,, and ask people you know for a recommendations.  Make sure you talk to the lawyer who will be handling your case, and do not be taken in by slick advertisements, intimidated by scare tactics or fooled promises that are to good to be true.