Choosing A Criminal Attorney in Richmond

The main benefit of using a private lawyer in Richmond versus a public defender is that with a private attorney, you can choose who your attorney is. With the public defender, you apply for court-appointed counsel and you are appointed a public defender, so you don’t have any word or say so in who gets chosen to be your attorney.

In addition to that, typically a private attorney can dedicate more time to your specific case. In many instances they do have more experience in your particular charge. This is by no mean discrediting the public defenders, but in many cases they’re carrying a significant case load, which can sometimes hamper their ability to give the specialized treatment that some defendants are looking for.

Our Approach to a New Richmond Criminal Case

The first things we ask a client during the criminal intake is what happened. We need to know the specific facts of the incident in question such as:

• What statements they made
• What statements law enforcement officer then follow that up with getting information about their background, issues of substance abuse, family issues, and if they have a prior criminal record. Then finally, we try and find out about some mitigating factors that include whether it was an emergency, self-defense, or if there were independent witnesses. That being said every case is different and requires its own analysis.

Advantages of Having a Private Richmond Attorney

In most cases, a private attorney has more experience. Most of the time the private attorneys have been practicing for significantly longer than a lot of the public defenders. But in addition to that, a private attorney is allowed to focus on particular types of case more.

In other words you might have an attorney who practices only in DUI defense or they only handle federal cases, immigration issues or drug possession charges. So, with the private attorney you can try and pick that specific experience when you’re searching.

The Value of Local Experience in Richmond

Similarly, the main benefit with hiring an experienced Richmond criminal lawyer is having an attorney who understands the law and the legal issues. You’re going to want someone with the knowledge of the judges and the prosecutors and the police in the city of Richmond. You’re going to want an attorney that understands how the city treats certain crimes and prosecutes certain cases.

You are going to want an attorney who has knowledge of the sentencing standards in the city of Richmond as well as the possible diversionary options like drug court or drug counseling in lieu of a jail sentence.

The main advantage with having an experienced attorney in the city of Richmond is that you’re going to want an attorney who knows when to fight on a case and knows when to negotiate on a case.

Law Firms and Solo Practitioners in Richmond

I think the benefit of having an attorney within a law firm is the support a law firm can provide versus a sole practitioner. A law firm can typically provide regular support, whether it be paralegals or legal assistants who can assist with case preparation as well as research.

A law firm provides the benefits of having other attorney’s you can use to assist on a case and get recommendations on how to handle a particular case.