Frequently Asked Questions:
Criminal Law

When should I contact a lawyer?
We recommend that you contact a lawyer in the following circumstances:

• You have been charged with a crime.
• You have assets, children, a spouse, but no will or you have a will but your circumstances have changed.
• You are about to acquire a substantial asset or assets by way of purchase or lease.
• You are owed money and are having trouble collecting it.
• You are asked to personally guarantee another's debt.
• Generally you are concerned about what legal rights you have in a certain area or you want to enforce your legal rights.

Is there a consultation fee?
There is not a consultation fee on a criminal case where a warrant for arrest has already been issued. On all other cases, there is a consultation fee of $200 an hour. You may schedule an appointment for a half an hour or an hour. At this consultation, all legal and tactical options will be laid out for you. If you choose to retain the firm to represent you in the matter being discussed, the consultation fee will be applied to your retainer.

Can you guarantee an outcome?
Due to the many factors on which a case depends, we cannot guarantee an outcome. However, we can tell you what is likely to happen every step of the way, but we can never say for sure what a judge is going to say or do. We do guarantee that we will overturn every stone to find evidence in your favor and present it appropriately.

How are your fees assessed?
There are three types of fee agreements that we utilize. Typically, criminal cases are a flat fee. That fee is determined after we assess how much time the case is going to take and what the potential problems are surrounding every situation. For personal injury cases, we use a contingency plan where we will assess a fee equal to 33.3% of any award ultimately given. For all other cases, we normally charge an hourly fee.

How many lawyers will work on my case?
Generally, there will be one lawyer working on a case. We do not see the point in double billing our clients for two lawyers when one competent lawyer would provide adequate representation. In addition, there will always be support staff that offers assistance to that lawyer. If for some reason you would like more lawyers on your case, we can work out a fee arrangement for that as well.