This video is presented by Board Certified Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Cody Cofer.
Finding a Criminal Defense Lawyer – Interview Pitfalls 1
My name is Cody Cofer. I am a criminal defense lawyer in Fort Worth, Texas. This is my first video blog post. As I was brainstorming about ideas for this post, I did the Google search for “questions to ask a criminal defense lawyer.” I combed through about 15 or 20 pages, and I saw several questions that kept popping up. Some of these questions really just don’t make any sense. A lot of ’em are really “throwaway questions.”
Think about if you have ever been on a job interview. Either the person interviewing or the person being interviewed. You sit in there and the interviewer say, “Do you think you can do a good job in our organization?”
Well, everybody knows the answer is, “Absolutely, yes! I’ll do the best job for you. I will work hard. I’ll be on time.” The answer is never different.
So, when you’re interviewing criminal defense attorneys for your criminal case, stay away from these “throwaway” questions. Some of the questions I saw were actually useful. One of those is, “How long have you been a lawyer?”
This is a useful question that serves as a screening question. Meaning it can eliminate a lot of lawyers from your list. You can find out how long someone has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas by going to the State Bar Website – Texasbar.com. You probably don’t want a brand new lawyer handling your very serious murder or sexual assault charge. You don’t want to be their first serious case. So, another good guide is the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. You know, if you are working from a list of lawyers that are Board Certified in a specific area, for instance criminal law, they have to be licensed for at least 5 years before they can even sit for the exam and apply to be a Board Certified expert. Now, specialization also requires a high level of trial experience, appellate experience, and a great breath of experience in criminal law. Once you submit the application, you can sit for an exam. If you pass the exam then you become Board Certified. You have to continue to have legal education at an above average rate to maintain that certification.
I want you to think of your criminal defense lawyer kind of like a boat captain. Now, if you are going to get on a ferry that is just going to take you across a relatively small river, you don’t need a captain that has all that much experience. This may apply to a misdemeanor DWI or misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge. There is going to be a tradeoff with the attorneys’ fees, because younger lawyers generally are going to have attorneys’ fees less expensive than older lawyers.
Now, if you facing a very serious criminal charge, think of it as taking a trip across the ocean. You’re going to want a sea-captain that has experience, that is going to be cool under pressure, that knows how to navigate in a variety of circumstances. Even unpredictable volatile circumstance.
Thank you for viewing our video. To find more useful criminal law information visit our YouTube page or visit our website CoferLaw.com.
