Knowing how to find a criminal defence lawyer will definitely be helpful if you find yourself charged with a crime. If you, your company or someone you know is charged with criminal conduct, hiring a good, experienced defence lawyer is very important.
What is a criminal defence lawyer?
A criminal defence lawyer is an attorney who specialises in defending individuals, companies or organisations who have been charged with a crime.
If you have been arrested, you can contact a defence lawyer as they will first try to stop any charges being filed against you. If the charges are filed and there is to be a trial or court case, a criminal defence lawyer will defend you in court and attempt to have you found not guilty.
At the very least, your lawyer will attempt to have the least severe charges, decision and punishment given to you. It is a very good idea to hire a reputable, experienced criminal defence lawyer to protect your interests if you have been arrested for a criminal offence in order to keep yourself out of jail or to ward off other punishments.
Having a good attorney will also allow you to rest assured that your case is being handled the right way by the best person for the job. You will be able to trust that you are being looked after by someone who knows exactly what they are doing.
How to find a criminal defence lawyer
You can find a criminal defence lawyer in many ways. There are a great number of lawyers who work throughout the country. In the cities especially, there are many who differ only in their level of experience and where they studied.
You can look for a criminal defence lawyer in the yellow pages or any other print business classified, you can ask your friends and family members to recommend a good criminal defence lawyer or you can simply look online for lawyers who may be operating in your area.
This is probably your best bet in finding a criminal defence lawyer near you. There are online classified listings that you can peruse to find an attorney and many places where you can search for information about the lawyers that you find.
It is, however, a good idea to start off with a list of names that you can work your way through. The following criminal defence lawyers operate in different parts of South Africa:
- R Crowther Attorneys
- Kidd Visser Attorneys
- Marcello Stevens Attorney at Law
- Martins Attorneys
What would you need a criminal defence lawyer for?
If you are arrested or charged for or considered a suspect of a criminal activity.
No matter how small or how large the crime, if you are charged and found guilty you could find yourself paying a large fine, doing jail time and having a permanent criminal record against your name.
This will affect your chances of employment in the future as well as many other things.
What to remember when looking to hire a defence attorney
It is always a good idea, when looking to hire an individual or a company for a service, to look for a reputable, long-standing company or individual with several success stories under his or her belts and many happy customers.
Look for reviews online, ask around of friends, family and acquaintances and look for someone who you feel safe and comfortable with.