Let me give you some free advice…are you ready? Have a pen and paper to write this down? Okay, here you go:
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE BEFORE YOU CALL AN ATTORNEY!
I received a call the other day at about 10:00 a.m. from someone who had court at 1:30 p.m. that same day. They wanted to know if they should hire an attorney. That is a perfect example of waiting until the last minute. You do not want to do that when you are dealing with something as serious as a criminal case (whether its a criminal speeding ticket, indictment, or complaint you received in the mail.) I can understand procrastinating a week or so in order to get your mind wrapped around the situation you now find yourself in; however, waiting until just hours before or even the day of is simply not a good idea.
Many attorneys give free consultations or if they charge for the initial consultation, they will put that amount towards the fee for the representation so that you do not “lose” any money. Take it from me though, even if you cannot afford to hire counsel for the entire case, it is worth the money to spend one hour talking to an attorney. They give you insight into what you are facing, point out important consequences and prep you for the court date. The information you learn from that hour will likely be invaluable.
So, the take away to this blog post? Call an attorney as soon as possible, it will be worth it! This goes for any case, criminal, civil, family etc. Your case is not going away and ignoring it will not help you – neither will waiting until the very last minute to speak to someone about it.
