Attorney Fees

Never Pre-pay for Motions, Trial or Expungement.

Most attorneys that handle criminal and DUI matters charge flat rate fees ($500.00 – $10,000 or more) where the lawyer “renders a predetermined legal service to the client in exchange for a fixed sum.” Ken Marlborough California Lawyer Rates

Regardless of how much you ultimately pay your attorney make sure you understand exactly what you are getting for your money – shop and compare. But make sure you understand that some defense attorneys will charge you, in-full, now for every potential option – motions, blood sample re-testing, trial etc. Although this might seem like a bargain now, did you know that less than 3% of clients arrested on drug offenses (alcohol is a drug) in San Diego county actually exercise every available option? [Criminal Justice In America, George F. Cole (2004)]

3 percent.

One possible reason for the low percentage of trials etc. is that the defendant in a criminal case makes the ultimate determination as to whether or not to proceed to trial – not the defense lawyer, prosecutor or judge. Defense lawyers can only advise & recommend a course of action to you.

A competent lawyer or law office will review as much information as can be gathered before making a recommendation on your case. This means that a legitimate recommendation for motion or trial etc. can not be provided by any attorney or law firm until AFTER you have hired them and all available information has been reviewed.

Have you seen the police report? Do you know what the pre-trial offer is? Have you completed the DMV hearing? Don’t you think your decision to go to trial, or file motions etc. should be based on all the available information not just what you can recall during a consultation? Should you pay for a Jury Trial now based on promotional statements and subjective claims? – OR – Should you pay for a Jury Trial later based on objective facts? Formulating a defense strategy during an initial consultation without having reviewed all the information is misleading at best.

Does it make sense to pay for a blood sample re-test if you took a breath test? If you pay for trial today and then decide to not go to trial do you think you are going to get a refund? Don’t prepay for things you may not want. Never pay for motions, trials, experts etc. until you conclude for yourself what the best course of action is.

The simple truth is that most defendants don’t need to pay for everything up front especially if you consider actual time spent in court. Understand that the rules of court apply to every lawyer – actual time in court will vary from case to case, however, those lawyers who charge excessive fees upfront will not spend significantly more time in court on your case as compared to any other attorney during the pre-trial process. Regardless of your choice of counsel never pre-pay for motions, trial or expungement. If your lawyer tells you that they will also include an expungement in their “package” ask yourself why? Expungement is removal of your “conviction” from your record. Are you paying to be convicted?

According to Lawyer.com Fees for lawyers’ services are based on many factors: Location, Advice, Difficulty, Experience, Time, and Overhead or operating cost:

(01) Location – Office Location cost is passed on to you. Fancy furniture, a view of the bay, fancy clothes, etc. only guarantee higher cost to you.

(02) Difficulty

(03) Overhead – See above.

(04) Advice – The advice you get will be based on the following two factors:

(05) Time – How do they prepare? What is the process before the first court date?

(06) Experience – How many DUI’s have they defended before?

If you lawyer has a big office that cost passed on to you. If you lawyer has Yellow Page advertisements that cost is passed on to you. If you lawyer sent you Junk Mail advertising that cost is passed on to you. If you lawyer advertises on Television & Radio that cost is passed on to you. How many cases does it take per month to pay the lawyers overhead?