Chicago Civil Rights Attorney asked:


Choosing an attorney, no matter what it is for, is a very involved process. This is especially true when you need a Chicago civil rights attorney. Your civil rights - anyone’s civil rights - are extremely important issues. You want to make sure that you find someone who will represent you with integrity, dignity, and knowledge of both those rights and the laws which apply to them.

You’re quite lucky if you live in Chicago, or close enough to the city that you can easily travel there, as there are many civil rights attorneys you can choose from there. Chicago is, after all, a city which stands as a front-runner for civil rights.

One of the best places you can begin your hunt for a civil rights lawyer is on the Internet. By simply typing in Chicago civil rights attorney you will come up with a large selection of sites listing legal practices which handle civil rights cases.

You can also talk to the people you know. Family members, friends, colleagues, and even simple acquaintances: if any of them have had to make use of a Chicago civil rights lawyer, or know someone who has, they may be able to make recommendations. That way, you have firsthand knowledge of how a potential lawyer performs.

You need to get together a list of possible candidates. Then, you need to talk to those potential lawyers. You want to detail your case to see if they can handle it. You also want to see how to two of you seem to get along.

What is perhaps the most important item to consider is the lawyer’s credentials. You’ll want to ask a few questions to get a good idea about their level of experience, as well as their success rate, and maybe even their educational background. Ask to see a portfolio of past cases whose circumstance resembles that of your own. Pay attention to the win/lose ratio to get a good feel of where your case might lead.

For more information about Chicago civil rights lawyers, you can look online or visit your local library.

John S. asked:


One can sometimes save a lot on legal fees when they ask to be billed by the hour. But when it comes to a DWI/DUI case which is a criminal case, do most attorneys automaticly price their services on a flat fee? For this kind of case, could one ask for fees by the hour and not be immediately dismissed as “unreasonable” or “off market”?

And when it comes to accounting for hours spent on a case, most attorneys are less willing to provide an hour by hour accounting, at least from my experence. How common is it to ask for an hour-by-hour accounting? And if a flat fee were charged, could one ask for an hour-by-hour accounting so as to determine the REAL hourly rate the client is paying? Or would to do so invoke the ire of the attorney and potentially “underwhelm” them with the attractiveness of your case such that their attention to your legal need may be less than if they were not required to account for hours spent?
To Responder Salem: I qualified my statement about more attorneys charging by a flat fee with my admission, “to my experience”, which has been limited. I’ve worked with many different attorneys in different areas of law but my sense was that criminal attorneys are more inclined to charge a flat fee. But if you are an attorney or have superior knowledge of the legal industry on a national basis, then I would defer to your knowledge as I ask this question to learn. I did not mean to generalize but since you did not provide your source of information, I’m not sure you can speak to “averages” either unless you have the specific data or a credible and authoritative reference.

FindLaw asked:

www.FormerDistrictAttorneys.com (866) 381-6922. DUI Drunk Driving - If you have been arrested for DUI, it does not mean you are guilty! Contact the DUI lawyers of Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff LLP, former district attorneys. Los Angeles, Orange County & Ventura.

Tom Sample asked:


If you’ve been falsely accused of a crime, it’s likely you don’t think any price is too high to pay for your freedom. But, when money does matter, it’s important not to sacrifice the quality of your criminal attorney just to meet a budget.

If you are truly innocent, it’s very likely a good criminal attorney can get you off. Going for a discount rate wouldn’t be wise, but there are ways to keep costs at a minimum or even recoup them after a win in court. As long as you insist on finding a criminal attorney that displays some basic, but very important, traits, you should be okay with your hire even if his or her rates are less than others.

Should money be an issue in hiring a criminal attorney, consider these things:

Stay clear of the ‘best of the best’ if you can’t afford them. Instead, settle for a criminal attorney that displays the traits of a good criminal defense lawyer. This means someone with years of experience in the law, a person who has perhaps also been a prosecutor and maybe even someone with a minimal (but existent) track record in trial courts. Newer criminal attorneys are likely to cost less, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be awful. Trial experience and former prosecution work are vital traits in that they ensure the criminal attorney you’re thinking of hiring knows his or her way around a criminal case. Consider going with the attorney provided you by the courts if: that attorney has a good track record, shows a genuine concern about you and your case, really seems to believe your side of the story. If these three things are not present, you might want to try and hire a criminal attorney on your own if it’s at all possible. Public defenders can be fantastic lawyers, but that doesn’t mean all of them are - just like private criminal attorneys. Find a lawyer with a good background who is willing to wait on payments until the case’s outcome is decided or is at least willing to work with you. Some lawyers will work on a retainer that’s fair and wait to recover costs for false arrest at a later date. Plan to recover costs if you clearly are not guilty of the crime you’ve been accused of.

As you look for a criminal lawyer, remember there are certain traits to look for. You want a criminal lawyer who:

Has experience in the field. Understands how the prosecution works. Is versed in trial law, as well. Is open with the lines of communication and clearly listens to you and your input on the case. Treats you like a person and not a ‘criminal.’ Keeps you apprised of the case as it progresses. Fights for your side without prejudice.

Finding a good criminal lawyer can be a costly venture, but there are ways to keep it more affordable without sacrificing quality. If you make sure experience and communication are present with your criminal lawyer, you should be okay even if you haven’t been able to hire the ‘best of the best.’