Trial lawyers — good ones — are what you need as a Virginia criminal or DUI defendant

Trial lawyers — good ones — are essential for Virginia criminal and DUI defendants, not only in the event that settlement negotiations do not go your way, but also as the needed threat to persuade prosecutors to come as close as possible to your preferred settlement or plea arrangement. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know how risk-averse are so many criminal defendants against the potential uncontrolled roller coaster of a trial. However, if a criminal defendant did commit a crime, in so doing, you committed a risk at that very point, and your case is now full of risk analysis (which needs to be a constant and fluid activity), overcovering risk, and blunting risk. Rushing into settling or pleading our your case is too risky. Arming yourself fully (in a legal sense)  — including obtaining the best possible attorney for you — is essential. To hire a lawyer who is otherwise an able negotiator but not a strong trial lawyer is too risky for you.

Am I going to alienate my prosecutor by choosing among the most aggressive and capable trial lawyers?

Prosecutors do not mask their strength in order to get along with your Virginia criminal defense lawyer and not to alienate your attorney nor to make them freeze. It is folly for you to be concerned that hiring great trial lawyer will put you at a disadvantage in negotiating with prosecutors. Nonetheless, I have had a client — who in public life fits the persona of a brash New Yorker — plead with me: “Are you gonna piss ’em off? Don’t piss ’em off!” Of course “’em” was the prosecutors. The only reason — unfounded — my client would have had to be concerned in this way is that he knew how passionate I am about reforming the drug laws, when he was charged with marijuana possession when that was still a crime. We got a great result with no conviction. Another client was concerned that he would alienate his prosecutor for his assault with substantial injuries case, by having hired a lawyer from the capital area for his case in a small town, and, therefore, switched lawyers. That is curious, because I have also had clients — also misguided in the following way — hire me for their defense several counties away, not trusting that any of the local lawyers will be willing to fight hard enough for them, lest they offset their local relationship with the judges, prosecutors and police.

How do I find a Virginia criminal lawyer who is great at trials?

Being a great trial lawyer comes with great ability, experience and killer instincts. You do not want to undergo major surgery by a neophyte, and need to inquire in detail about your potential Virginia criminal and DUI lawyer’s trial experience, ability, and devotion. Great trial lawyers do not rest on their laurels. New ways of approaching and executing essential trial persuasion are always available to be discovered. The trial must be approached as a whole, and not for its parts alone, and must be in the process of preparation, development and integration from the first day that the lawyer is hired.

Being a great criminal lawyer is not about incantations

One day I told a newer trial lawyer about an upcoming gathering of trial lawyers who would be working on bringing one of the participants’ case to a higher quantum level of victory potential. This lawyer stunned me by saying that he did not want to learn new things, lest that undo whatever he had done to win most of his recent cases. Virginia criminal and DUI attorneys do not win by invoking incantations. If this lawyer was truly good — rather than lucky or with the cards stacked in his favor — in winning his recent trials, learning new and improved approaches to winning would not have undone nor unraveled his own abilities one bit, but would have enhanced them.

Talk is cheap if not backed up by true relevant trial ability

To this day, I shake my head that I let the attorney who drafted my former law firm partnership agreement reassure me  that he would charge a fair fee for his work rather than naming any numbers. He ended up doing a very good job and charging a fair rate (in fact the fee that I told him I was hoping his bill would not exceed). Even though I had known and trusted this highly accomplished business lawyer since eight years before — when we both worked at the same law firm — that was not enough to assure the right fee. In your shoes as a Virginia criminal defendant, you probably have never even met your potential lawyer before your need arose for one. Do not let your potential criminal or DWI defense trial lawyers simply smile and say “don’t worry about it” concerning how good a job the attorney will do with all aspects of your defense, including any trial. Probe, probe, and probe some more, of course diplomatically. This is your life and liberty on the line, not the lawyer’s.

Great trial lawyers and great athletes need to fully train and prepare for each match

Just as the greatest athletes can be beaten by opponents who prepare like their life depends on it if the more skilled athlete sits in his or her armchair, great lawyers bust ’em to obtain the best possible result for you, and understand that it is always a sign of strength and not weakness to collaborate with great colleagues in further developing their court persuasion abilities and in talking about and preparing with colleagues for specific cases. Dozens of times, I have joined with local alums of the Trial Lawyers College and those of like ability and drive, to raise my and their trial delivery by quantum persuasion levels, without trying to impress each other, ready to share our concerns about any shortcomings we feel in our cases or ourselves for the case that need overcoming and transcending, and ready for some hard work together.

Are you ready to pursue your best Virginia criminal or DUI defense?

If you are ready to pursue your best Virginia criminal or DUI defense, call Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz — a graduate of the Trial Lawyers College and National Criminal Defense College’s Trial Practice Institute , and a member of the National College of DUI Defense — for your free in-person initial confidential consultation about your court-pending prosecution. Jon Katz pursues your best defense against felony and misdemeanor prosecutions, backed up by his great administrative staff. Jon and his staff are fully respectful of and responsive to you every step of the way. Jon usually can meet with you the same day or next business day after you call us at 703-383-1100.