5 Duties of a Personal Defence Lawyer
Are you in need of a defence lawyer? If so, it’s essential to know what your lawyer is obligated to do for you. If you’re seeing your lawyer isn’t living up to their duties, you want to start looking for another one. You can end up losing your personal defence case in the event of mishandling. But the first step is to know when your lawyer is neglecting the obligated duties.
Here’s a list of things that your lawyer should do:
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Careful Examination of the Case
Your lawyer should be putting in the time to really dig into the case. You should know what kind of approach will be taken, given examples of similar cases, have laws interpreted to you, and honest opinion of your chances of winning the case. Whether the charge is your fault and the odds look slim, the criminal defence lawyer should always provide all the available options.
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Put Effort Into Getting Evidence
In many criminal defence cases, it can come down to evidence, even circumstantial evidence. Your lawyer should be looking for evidence to defend the charge and prove a false accusation, if that’s what is happening. The process may include going through things like photos, cell phone records, videos, and more.
There should be an outreach for witnesses if they were any, and follow-ups to ensure their participation. If you feel like your defence attorney is not putting effort into gathering information and evidence, then the attorney is not taking your case seriously enough. It may be time to talk to another attorney, or you’re going to have a weak defence in court.
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Giving You Full Representation in Court
The criminal defence lawyer should represent you throughout the entire court process. You want to feel like care is occurring. If your lawyer is not showing up at many points of the process or relegating another person in their firm when the lawyer promised to give your case the attention it deserves, it’s a red flag.
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Regular Updates Throughout the Case
Your lawyer should update you as the case progresses. There may be new information, different charges, and other information that can affect your case. It’s your lawyer’s job to make sense of everything and communicate the information to you in a way that’s easy to understand. You want to feel like your lawyer is giving you the attention you expect.
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Negotiate Deals
There are many cases where the odds are against you. Your lawyer should be honest about your chances and work to mitigate the consequences of a guilty charge. The lawyer should try to negotiate a plea deal, work out a settlement with the plaintiff, or try to go for a lesser charge.
And aside from performing their duties, you still want to think about how you’d go about finding a competent lawyer. You want to see that the lawyer has handled cases like yours. You want to see that the lawyer has a good track record of winning cases for clients. And you want full transparency about the process, fees, and legal issues so that you know what to expect.
These are just some of the many things that a personal defence lawyer should do for you. Again, you must know what your lawyer should do for you to ensure you’re getting the best service. You want to know that you’re going to get a fair shot at defending yourself, especially when the stakes are high.
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