Pouncing when the deal is ripe needs to be coupled with full trial readiness, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Pouncing when the deal is right is an important part of fighting Virginia prosecutions. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer I fully prepare my clients’ cases to proceed to trial, thereby pursuing my clients’ best defense, keeping in the defendant’s hands the full control over approving or rejecting particular negotiation developments, enabling the defendant to make such decisions from a position of trial readiness and confidence in their lawyer to successfully pursue a trial battle for them, and being more persuasive with settlement negotiations by having a powerful trial threat as an incentive for the prosecutor to negotiate a deal that the defendant wants. In talking about negotiations and settlement, I am not talking only about guilty pleas, but a range of possible solutions running from outright dismissal, eventual dismissal, amending charges to less serious charges, and negotiating on possible sentences and sentencing ranges.

Knowing what the prosecutor wants and their settlement authority – That is a key in Virginia settlement negotiations

Early in my career as a lawyer, I interviewed at a litigation law firm, where a senior lawyer talked about how vital it is to have both strong trial and negotiations skills. Great trial ability comes not only from preparation and training, but also from successfully handling many trial.  By now, I have successfully taken hundreds of cases to trial. Sometimes, only when the prosecutor sees that my client and I are not bluffing that we are going to trial, does the prosecutor finally agree to our settlement demand. When the prosecutor sees during our discussion that my trial file is fully organized and ready for battle, that underlines to the prosecutor that I am ready and rearing for trial. By prosecutors’ knowing that I have the drive, energy, stamina and ability to do excellently at trial, they often re-think if it is worth their time, energy and opportunity cost to proceed to trial rather than to accept my client’s negotiating demands, as presented by me. My Beat the Prosecution podcast guest Lisa Monet Wayne aptly underlines how your choice of a Virginia criminal lawyer can influence how well your settlement negotiations proceed, for pouncing on the right deals.

Successful Virginia settlement negotiating comes not from baring fangs, and certainly not from acting out of anxiousness

Fang baring does not accomplish successful Virginia criminal negotiating. On the other extreme, acting out of anxiousness in settlement negotiations makes the prosecutor smell blood and sense that the defendant will do almost anything in plea negotiations to avoid a trial. I make myself open and approachable for prosecutors to discuss settlement negotiations. By Virginia assistant commonwealth’s attorneys knowing that I am at once fully ready for trial, approachable, honest, and will not stab them in the back, that makes them more open to settlement negotiations on for my pouncing on the right deals.

Negotiating like the pouncing frog quickly catching the fly rather than the hunter waiting for deer

Many of my best settlement negotiations come not from constantly dwelling on obtaining a negotiated settlement, but instead on pouncing on the identified opportunity. This is imperfectly akin to the frog acting with its long tongue to grab and eat a passing fly, rather than the hunter who might wait hours to shoot a dear and still might end up empty handed. The frog and deer hunter both exemplify the patience that is needed to catch their bounty. Time and patience are commodities that often yield rewards by being invested. Here is an examples of negotiating success I obtained through such patience. Police arrested my client for alleged felony fleeing from law enforcement and a Virginia DUI violation with an allegedly elevated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.20. In that instance, a law enforcement officer (LEO) pursued my client on the interstate highway with lights and sirens blazing, for weaving in and out of lanes allegedly unsafely and without signaling. My client kept driving in the now-slow traffic, even after police boxed him in with their cruisers. Post-arrest breath testing showed the elevated BAC. During the several months that we awaited our Virginia preliminary hearing, my client engaged in extensive self improvement steps, including doing community service, obtaining a positive psychological prognosis, completing a driver improvement class, attending several self improvement / AA-type meetings, and completing a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Victim Impact Panel. My client is a professional for whom a fleeing LEO or active jail time could have been a major issue for his career. The prosecutor recognized this alleged behavior for the aberration that it was, and agreed to a plea that reduced fleeing the police to reckless driving, and reduced elevated BAC DUI to non-jailable DUI. This achieved a true getting to yes approach of negotiating on goals rather than positions.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz pursues your best defense with cunning, instinct, and successful experience against Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. Your next step to a great defense is a phone call away for your free in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending Virginia prosecution. Schedule your meeting with Jon at 703-383-1100, info@KatzJustice.com or (text) 571-406-7268.