In a medium sized city of about 500,000 people. I know a lot of it has to do with how many cases are tried to begin with, but i’m just looking for a good ball-park figure. Preferably, anyone with experience with attorneys or court should answer
I’m not out to hire an attorney, I just need an average figure of what a good amount of victories is in a year, regardless of specialization.
#1 by peaceyolinda on November 15th, 2011
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I’m not a lawyer and any case won is a victory, it doesn’t have to be a certain number.
#2 by CDK on November 15th, 2011
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This is not the right way to measure the situation.
The biggest factors in whether a case will be won or lost are all outside the attorney’s control. It is only in a very small portion of cases where the quality of the attorney will have any impact on the likelihood of a conviction. Some attorneys will specialize in cases that are easier to defend (e.g., white collar crime, drug possession cases where suppression of evidence may be a common issue, etc.) whereas other attorneys may specialize in cases that are much harder to defend (e.g., major felony trials where the prosecution and police have gone to great lengths to conduct a proper investigation and gather evidence).
As you mention, it also will depend on the number of cases tried by the attorney. If the attorney tries serious felony or murder cases, odds are they may have only had ~5-10 clients in the past year, and odds are that all of them were convicted. On the other hand, an attorney specializing in misdemeanor DUI law may handle well in excess of 50 cases a year, in which case they probably have acquired a one or tmaybe two not guilty verdicts from those cases. Criminal defendants are almost always found guilty, because there are significant protections in place to ensure that a person is guilty (and that it can be proven) before they are even charged.
Most attorneys who try only major crimes will likely see only a handful of not guilty verdicts in their entire careers. More often, cases will be dismissed before trial or terminated at the preliminary hearing stage, prior to the trial being conducted.
What a good attorney CAN do is work with a client to get a good plea bargain, minimize the sentence, etc. etc. etc.
It is difficult for the general public to distinguish among attorneys. Personally, when selecting an attorney, I would start by looking for attorneys who practice ONLY criminal defense law, who have a minimum of 5-10 years of experience, who previously worked for the agency prosecuting you (e.g., the same DA’s office, the US Attorney office, etc.), and who did well at a top nationally ranked law school (e.g., Harvard, Yale, Duke, Stanford, Georgetown) or a the best local law school. Of course, this attorney will be much more expensive.
I would also want an attorney who specializes in or has significant experience in cases of my type. i.e., if it is DUI, I would want someone who mainly or exclusively practices DUI law. If it is murder, I would want someone who has tried several murder cases. If it is white collar crime, someone specializing in that. As a practical matter, this is a bit of a “wish list” and you will not find attorneys meeting these criteria in a town of 500K people, and if you are able to find them, their rates will be astronimical.
After getting a short list, I would interview each attorney and make a final decision based on my gut feeling and the rate the attorney charges.
I would also be cautious of any attorney whose rate is significantly below the local average.
Good luck!