Please See Below for a Transcript of the Video
Hi, I’m Richard Waring, and I’m a criminal lawyer in Charleston, SC. If you’ve been charged with a DUI, trafficking, possession of marijuana or cocaine, or robbery, you might have wondered what a good criminal defense attorney will do for you. Well, I’ve put together a list of 10 things that I think makes a good criminal attorney. This list is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good idea of what to look for.
1. Return your phone calls and emails promptly. Unless your attorney tells you in advance that they are on vacation or in a trial, there’s no reason your attorney should not respond to your phone calls and emails promptly. A good defense attorney will get back to you quickly.
2. Contact you once updates arise. Having been charged with a crime, naturally you’re going to be concerned about what’s going on with your case. A good criminal attorney will let you know quickly once an update comes about so that you don’t stress out about your case unnecessarily.
3. Investigate your case thoroughly. A good criminal defense attorney in Charleston, SC, Berkeley county, or Dorchester county will get all of the discovery in your case and sift through it with a microscope to make sure no important details slip through the cracks. A skilled attorney will know what to look for and will use details that benefit you to your advantage.
4. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your criminal case and provide you with an assessment on the risk of going to trial based on those strengths and weaknesses. This is a crucial skill for a criminal lawyer that often times can be obtained without extensive trial experience. A good trial attorney will know, based on the circumstances and evidence in your own case, whether or not you’ve got a chance of winning at trial or not.
5. Stay up to speed on the criminal laws and case law, and adapt to changes in the law. This is important for a criminal lawyer in South Carolina because the laws are constantly changing with every court opinion that comes out.
6. Thoroughly prepare for trial if the circumstances warrant a trial. In my opinion, trials are won before they even begin. In other words, a good criminal defense attorney in Charleston, SC, Mt. Pleasant, James Island, or Folly Beach is going to spend significant time in preparation for your trial, fine tuning your case, thereby diminishing the amount of unknown problems that might arise during the actual trial. The more your criminal lawyer prepares, the better your chances.
7. Provide zealous representation at trial. Alright, if you get to the trial phase, a good criminal defense attorney will appear confident but not arrogant in front of the jury and will as effectively as possible implement all of that hard work and preparation that they had spent gearing up for the trial. You’ll want someone who knows how to question witness, provide effective opening statements and closing arguments, and demonstrate the art of persuasion in front of the jury.
8. Look out for your best interests. At all times on your case, a good criminal lawyer in Charleston, SC, James Island, or Mt. Pleasant will be looking out for you.
9. Remain proactive throughout the whole case, constantly looking for ways to resolve the case in the best possible manner. A good criminal defense attorney will be looking to get you the best result possible at every available turn.
10. Treat you with respect and decency. Maybe you’re in a low point in your life due to getting arrested and charged with a crime. You still deserve to be treated fairly and in a manner that demonstrates to you that your criminal lawyer cares about your case.
Alright, folks, that’s it for this quick video on 10 things that a good criminal defense attorney will do for you. And, if you’re in Charleston, SC, James Island, Mt. Pleasant, Folly Beach, West Ashley or wherever in South Carolina, feel free to give me a call anytime and we can go over your case. If you do, I think you’ll find you’ll be able to take a deep breath and not have to worry about any of these 10 things I mentioned. Best of luck.
DISCLAIMER: These blog articles/videos are intended for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Media posted on this channel, my other social media channels, and/or my website is intended for a general overview and discussion of the subjects dealt with, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not intended to be, and should not be used as, a substitute for taking legal advice in any specific situation. The Law Office of Richard Waring, LLC will accept no responsibility for any actions taken or not taken on the basis of this publication. The information on this site and any other associated social media pages or website pages should not be construed as a guarantee of any result on your case. No bona fide expectation about how your own case will result can be drawn from these articles/videos alone as each case is different and must be looked at in its own unique light. No representation is made that the quality, service, or experience of hiring Law Office of Richard Waring, LLC is greater than the quality, service, or experience of other lawyers. Nothing contained in this article/video is intended to compare the type or quality of this firm’s services to the type or quality of any other lawyers or law firm’s services or to imply specialization or certification by any organization not previously approved by the South Carolina State BAR Board of Legal Specialization. Furthermore, Richard’s prior experience as a prosecutor does not in any way imply that he can improperly influence the government in getting you a better deal than any other attorney on your criminal case. No special treatment on your criminal case should be expected based on Richard’s prior prosecutorial experience, and Richard in no way suggests or implies that you will be given such special treatment by the government. All videos, photos, articles, blog posts or any other media published by Law Office of Richard Waring, LLC remain copyrighted and all rights are reserved.
