A DWI lawyer may be your best resource when you have been charged with driving while intoxicated. DWI lawyers know the laws in your state and can use them to your best interest to help you avoid jail time and harsh civil fines.
How can you find a DWI lawyer who can take your case today? Use this information to decide how and when to retain a DWI lawyer before you head to court.
DWI Lawyer Benefits
What kinds of advantages come with hiring lawyers for DWI in your state? Regardless of what state you live in, the DWI lawyers in your city and county will know what the DWI laws are and what impact they can have on your future and finances.
If you have never before faced these charges in court, you need a first offense DWI defense lawyer to help you avoid going to jail. A DWI lawyer worth his or her mettle should be able to get the charges dropped or reduced so that you keep your license to drive, pay the lowest court costs and civil penalties possible, perhaps serve community service, and stay out of county jail or prison.
If you are a repeat offender, you need a 3rd DWI lawyer to protect your rights and make sure that any jail time and fines that you receive match the severity of your crime. Your DWI lawyer can ensure that you do not spend decades in prison if you did not harm or kill anyone. Likewise, your DWI lawyer can help keep the monetary fines to an amount that you can pay off quickly.
As a defendant facing a serious crime, you are entitled to a number of Constitutional rights. When you retain a DWI lawyer, you get the protection you need to ensure that those rights are not violated and that you are treated fairly by the court and prosecution.
Affording a DWI Lawyer
No DWI lawyer offers his or her services for free. Even if the court appoints a DWI lawyer to represent you, it still pays the attorney for his or her legal services.
However, if you have the monetary means to hire a DWI lawyer, you may wonder what kind of DWI lawyer prices you might face once your case is all said and done. The cost to retain DWI lawyer help can vary from state to state. Your DWI lawyer and you can discuss any DWI lawyer fees during the initial consultation that you should set up before you are arraigned.
Likewise, the availability of your DWI lawyer may influence your overall DWI lawyer cost. It is no secret that 24 7 DWI lawyers cost more than a DWI lawyer who has set office hours. The round-the-clock availability could raise prices for DWI lawyers who meet with clients regardless of the time of day or night.
If you are on a budget and need to watch your money carefully even while needing to hire a DWI lawyer, you should reach out to one who offers a DWI lawyer free consult first. You can get started by typing in affordable DWI lawyers near me in a search engine and reviewing the list of DWI lawyer firms in your city or state.
During that initial free constitutional, you should ask your DWI lawyer what kinds of payment options are open to you as a new client. Your DWI lawyer might allow you to make payments. You also might be able to use any future income as a guarantee for the services of this DWI lawyer.
For example, if you are expecting a big tax refund, you may use it as collateral to pay for your DWI defense now. Your DWI lawyer will have you sign a contract allowing the IRS to mail the tax refund to the DWI lawyer instead of you. Once your DWI lawyer fees are paid, the remainder of the refund will then be released to you.
Your DWI lawyer may also allow you to make monthly payments on your fees. If you cannot afford to make payments, you might use a credit card or take out a small bank loan. These options are all common when people on limited budgets need to hire a DWI lawyer fast.
Finding a Lawyer for DWI
What options do you have to find a DWI lawyer in your city or state? When all you know at this point is that I need a lawyer for DWI, you should use the most common sense strategies to find a DWI lawyer ready to take your case.
Your first most obvious strategy should be to ask friends, family members, coworkers, and even neighbors for advice. With as common as DWI is today, it is not surprising that many people know the name and location of at least one defense attorney. You can get a jump on building your defense by asking people whom you know for input on where to find such an attorney today.
You can also find a good driving under the influence lawyer by searching online. When you search on the Internet, you want to consider those attorneys who have favorable client reviews and high ratings. You also may review those who have websites for either the firms for which they work or their own private practices.
Some of the best qualifications to look for when you search for an attorney include:
- years of experience practicing DUI, DWI, OUI, or defense law
- all or a portion of the practice dedicated to this area of law
- high record of DUI case dismissals or charge reductions
- affordable and varied payment options
You also want to look for a lawyer who will not hand your case over to his or her paralegals or associates but instead will devote a majority of time building a defense you can take to court. If you speak more to the attorney’s associates or paralegals than the attorney himself or herself, you might have cause to worry that your counsel is not truly committed to keeping you out of jail.
When to Hire a DUI Defense Attorney
At what point in your case should you get an attorney on retainer? You should ideally contact one immediately after you have been booked and processed for DWI. Once the police have fingerprinted, photographed, and searched you, you should then ask to make a phone call to a local DUI attorney.
However, if you are arraigned and bailed out of jail before you can make that phone call, you should contact a defense attorney as soon as you are released. You will probably need to appear before a judge for a pre-trial hearing within the first 24 to 48 hours after your DUI arrest. When you want to avoid the worst DUI charges and pay the least amount in court costs and civil penalties, you need a good defense attorney to argue for you before the judge.
At the very least, you should hire an attorney before your case goes to trial. A good defense attorney may be able to have the charges against you dropped. If not, he or she may be able to get the charges reduced or settle your case without going to trial. These options could help spare you heavy fines, lengthy jail sentences, and long-lasting damages to your life because of your DWI arrest.
Driving while intoxicated is a serious crime regardless of where you live in the country. You could face months or years in jail as well as steep civil fines that take months to pay off in full. When you want to get back to your normal life without serving time in prison or spending all of your money on court fines, you should hire a lawyer who can represent you during your DWI court case. Your lawyer may be able to have the charges against you dropped or reduced.