What You Will Pay for a DUI Attorney
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When you have been arrested and charged with a DUI, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will want to seek legal counsel immediately. A DUI attorney can help you get the charges dismissed, win your case, or if you lose, they can help lighten your sentence. Each DUI attorney charges their clients differently for their services, and there is no set sum for lawyer fees, though they can range from several hundred to thousands of dollars. Most will charge you by the hour, though other fees may be involved. If you pay your attorney by the hour, an average fee would be $300 per hour, so you will want your case settled quickly, but still to your advantage. The amount you pay your DUI attorney will depend on multiple factors, some of which will be discussed here:
1. Hire Your Own Attorney or Court Appointment
2. Jurisdiction
3. Experience and Reputation
4. Complexity of Your Case
5. Length of Trial
6. Court Fees
7. Research and Evidential costs
8. Appeals
Hire Your Own Attorney or Court Appointment
The first deciding factor in cost to you will come when you decide to hire your own DUI attorney, or if you qualify financially, have the court appoint a DUI attorney to you. If the court appoints an attorney to you, you generally will pay nothing. Not everyone qualifies for a court appointed defense, however, so you may have to find your own.
If you do find your own DUI attorney, the initial consultation is generally free, or if not free, costs very little. A typical fee for an initial consultation if one is charged is $30. In the initial consultation, you and the DUI attorney should discuss your plea and whether you have a case worth pursuing a not guilty plea. You should also discuss their fee schedule, whether you will be paying them as you go or after the trial is completed, what services they charge for and how much. They should take a look at your financial situation and work out an arrangement that meets both parties' satisfaction.
Jurisdiction
Saving money on an attorney
Attorneys cost money, and even if they are going to let you pay them out of settlement winnings, there are ways to save money on an attorney, especially one that bills by the hour. The following are some great tips:
Tip one: Save on phone calls by only calling your attorney once and have a list of matters you wish to discuss written out so you do not forget anything.
Tip two: Don't play phone tag, instead set up a phone call appointment with the secretary of the attorney. You can also tell the secretary what you wish to speak with the attorney about so they can review your file, etc. before the call, saving you time.
Tip three: During any call with your attorney, make notes of the answers or advice you are given so you will have them for reference.
Tip five: Send emails rather than make phone calls. These are clearer because you can organize, list, ask specific questions, and you get everything in writing so you do not miss anything wile trying to keep track of what they told you.
Tip six: When writing to an attorney, use a separate page or email for information about each different legal matter. This makes it easier for the law office to take the necessary actions in a minimum amount of time and to file the information appropriately.
Tip seven: When communicating with your attorney using writing, number the paragraphs for easy reference for later conversations.
Tip eight: Whenever meeting with or communicating with the attorney, find out what they need ahead of time, write it out, provide them with a copy, etc. In other words, go prepared. If your attorney needs to know your side of the story, write it out and present it to them when you meet with them. This saves them the time of taking notes on what you said, and eliminates confusion.
Begin each paragraph with the date and time of the event, followed by a description of what took place.
Tip nine: While it is good to get along with your attorney, you are often billed by the hour, so stick to business, not socializing.
Tip ten: Do some of the leg work yourself. If you have a witness to the car accident, talk to them and ask them to attend any meetings with their account already prepared, that way the attorney does not waste time (and your money) locating them, etc.
The second factor that affects how much you will pay for your DUI attorney is the jurisdiction where you have been charged, and the jurisdiction in which the DUI attorney you are considering practices. If you were charged in small jurisdiction, like a small town or suburb, attorney fees tend to be lower, whereas a large city attorney will charge more. If you choose a lawyer that practices in a jurisdiction outside the one you are facing charges in, you will end up paying more simply because your DUI attorney will have to do more research.
Jurisdiction also plays a roll in the likeliness of winning your case. When an attorney knows the judges and prosecutors they are facing in your case, they will know how to present your case better and you are more likely to win, or receive lighter sentencing. For a better result all around and lower fees, choose an attorney that practices in, or is at least familiar with the jurisdiction in which you are facing charges.
Experience and Reputation
One of the biggest factors affecting how much you will pay for a DUI attorney is their level of experience. The more experience and the more success an attorney has, the more he or she is sought after and the higher their fees can be, as opposed to someone just out of law school hanging out a shingle for themselves with very little experience under their belt. Someone with very little experience isn't necessarily a bad choice, though, just a risky one. The less trial experience your DUI attorney has, the less they will charge, but the more risk you take with your future. Whatever their experience may be, make sure that at least half the cases your attorney has tried have been DUI cases so you can rest assured that they have the right kind of experience to represent you.
Well known DUI attorneys can also charge more, simply because you are paying for a name as well as representation. An attorney well known for their wins can be intimidating, even to a state prosecutor, and intimidation is a strong tool to be used in winning a case. Reputation can increase costs to you, especially if it's a good reputation.
Complexity of Your Case
Another factor that affects how much you will pay for your DUI attorney is how complex your case is. If your lawyer has to order tests, research the evidence against you, prep witnesses, or find experts to support your case, costs will go up. If a child was in the car with you, someone else was hurt or injured, public property was damaged, or other charges are added to the DUI charge, their fees will be higher. If you have had previous DUI charges, or you are facing a felony DUI charge rather than a misdemeanor you will have to pay your attorney more to represent you, and you could pay $25,000 or more if you are facing a DUI homicide charge. The more complex your case is the more work your DUI attorney has to do, and therefore the more they are going to charge you, regardless of whether you win or loose. Be sure to tell your DUI attorney everything you are facing at the outset so you are surprised at the costs that can be associated with a complex case.
Length of Trial
The biggest factor effecting how much you will pay your DUI attorney is how long you spend in court. If you can settle or have the charges dismissed at the outset, your attorney's fees will be significantly lower than if you actually have to go to trial. The longer your attorney has your case to deal with the more you have to pay him or her. Many DUI attorneys can tell you from the initial consultation if they think you should take a plea bargain, plead guilty, or if they think they can get the charges dismissed. The initial consultation should give you an idea of how long your trial and case will last, and what you will be paying if it happens to go longer than your DUI attorney initially thought. If a long drawn out trial is more than you can pay for, you may consider another attorney, taking a plea bargain or pleading guilty. The longer your trial takes, the more you will be paying, but it may be worth it for the chance to keep your record clean and your license.
Court Fees
One factor that may or may not affect how much you pay for your DUI attorney is court fees. If your attorney charges a flat rate, you won't need to worry about fees associated with filing motions, but some DUI attorneys charge you the fees associated with your case. Every motion that is filed with the court, such as evidence suppression, dismissal of charges, etc, costs your attorney a fee of around $40. Some attorneys will pay the fees, then have you reimburse them, or they charge their flat hourly rate and any fees involved with your case they take care of. Be sure to find out exactly what you will be paying up front.
Research and Evidential Costs
Your DUI attorney will charge you for any research they have to do to represent your case. It is typically an hourly fee for research, but if your case requires a lot of research, it will add up quickly. The research and evidence they will be gathering comes from police reports of your arrests, the video of your arrest, the test results from your BAC test, the testing procedure used, and other evidence that can be used for or against you. A good DUI attorney knows exactly what they are looking for to get your case dismissed as soon as possible and may not need to do a lot of research if they find evidence of the police not handling your arrest as guidelines stipulate. They will ask you questions in the initial consultation about your arrest to see if your case could be an easy one to dismiss. If your DUI attorney needs to hire an expert to support evidence, the cost of the expert may be added to the fees.
Appeals
If your case is not dismissed, goes to trial and you loose, you have the option to appeal the court's decision. An appeal is more time involved for you DUI attorney so you will be charged more if you take your case to the appeals court and retain them as your attorney. You will probably only be going to the appeals court if you have more than one DUI on your record or if you are charged with a felony DUI as most first time offenders have their cases dismissed or settled early on.
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