When I started practicing law, I was taught it was a profession.  That meant that we, the members of the profession, carried certain responsibilities that transcended the basic fee for service model.  People trusted us to exercise a level of thoughtfulness, effort and insight on their behalf that had no direct connection to the fact that we were paid for our services. 

So where did everything go awry?  When a new client comes to me, I begin with the assumption that I’m there to achieve the results the client desires.  This doesn’t mean that it may not ultimately be possible, but I’m damn well going to try.  It would never occur to me to assume, from day 1, that it’s a quick plea.  So I’m part of the club that anticipates working for his client.  It’s a very lonely club these days.

Many criminal defense lawyers take cases (note cases, not clients) under the assumption that (1) they will never go to trial, (2) they will be pleading guilty, and (3) the only work involved on the lawyer’s part is a negotiation to determine how many years the defendant will spend in prison.  Hey, defendants out there, did your lawyer tell you this when you decided to retain him/her?  Did you realize that you hired a lawyer for the purpose of losing your case?

The answer, unfortunately, is that the lawyer DID tell you, though not in so many words.  When you retain counsel on a serious felony for $2500, exactly how much time did you think the lawyer intended to spend on you?  It’s a math question, and nothing more.  The lawyer is saying to you that he has no intention of putting time and effort into your defense, and that you (and your case) are going down so fast it will make your head spin. 

Let’s assume that the lawyer is charging $250 per hour, a rate that is not inappropriate for a relatively rookie lawyer. That’s 10 hours of work for $2500.  Figure 2 hours per court appearance, and maybe 2 hours of office time (meeting with you) and 2 hours of research and writing (more likely just copying over an old set of motion papers with the name changed) for an attorney to handle your case.  You’re left with a total of 3 court appearances, just enough for a plea and sentence.  Did you think you were going to trial for that amount?

“But he promised me he was going to take care of me!” you exclaim.  And so he did, though not in the way you expected.  Let’s face some cold, hard facts.  You, the client, couldn’t distinguish a competent lawyer from a banana if your life depended on it.  You, the client, chose a lawyer because you like him or her, or because he told you what you wanted to hear, or because he comes recommended by someone who had a good outcome.  But having a warm and fuzzy personality, or intentionally deceiving a client, has nothing to do with being a good lawyer.  The hard work that top quality lawyers do happens outside the view of clients for the most part, but becomes readily apparent on the back side when and if you go to court.  See your lawyer on trial and you will either see someone command the courtroom or look like a blithering idiot.  Believe me, it can be painful to watch some lawyers on trial.

The best method is by recommendation, but that has extreme pitfalls as well.  Most look to the outcome achieved by the person who made the recommendation, under the assumption that if one person beat the case, you will beat the case as well.  The problem here, of course, is that no two cases are alike and outcome in one case means nothing as to outcome in another.  Further, there are a variety of factors that result in any given outcome, many of which have nothing to do with the lawyer.  You would need to know a lot about how the outcome was achieved in order to make any meaningful determination of whether it applies to you. 

The real question when considering a recommendation is whether the lawyer demonstrated the skills and determination necessary to achieve the outcome, regardless of the particular facts and circumstances of the other case.  What you want is the lawyer capable of producing the best results, not necessarily the identical outcome, because your case is never going to be exactly the same as someone else’s case, and you aren’t the same as anyone else. 

So when you read between the lines, realize that lawyers who are charging you a fraction of what is required to represent you and achieve the outcome you desire are sending you a message.  They want your business.  They hope for the best.  But they aren’t going to put in the time and effort necessary to win.  If circumstances work in their favor, they will look like a hero.  But if the DA doesn’t drop the ball, or decide to drop the case, then you’ve just bought a quick plea.  Pack your toothbrush, you’re going to jail.  If this is okay with you, then you’ve made a wise choice.  If this isn’t what you had in mind, then think long and hard about who your retaining and why he’s charging so little.  The lawyer doesn’t really love you.  The lawyer isn’t giving you a big break on the fee because he likes your smile.  The lawyer is telling you that you are one of the herd of criminal defendants that will presumptively fill up the prisons, and that you got what you paid for. 

It’s your life.  Think about it.