READER QUESTION:

Is the AV rated Houston DUI lawyer the best one?

Ricky

THANKS FOR ASKING.

While an AV rating isn’t the only way to determine a lawyer’s quality, an AV rated Houston DUI lawyer is necessarily going to be one of the top scratch, so by hiring a lawyer with this distinction you know you will be getting someone good. AV ratings are determined by the lawyer community, and they are based on such important factors such as success, experience, and knowledge. However, just because a lawyer has a high rating doesn’t mean they are suited for your case.

Another caution for those seeking an AV rated Houston DUI lawyer is that these lawyers are often able to charge higher fees, so it might take a little more effort to be able to afford one. Since lawyers costs thousands and thousands of dollars in most cases, this can put them out of range for most people. However, through arrangements such as payment plans and keeping in control of the fees you pay, you can often find away to get around this and get some bang for your buck.

–Fashun.

After you have settled things with your DWI attorney in Houston TX and know who will be representing you, you have to take into mind what the next steps are that you will have to take if you want to see your ultimate goal reached and your case succeed. If you want to meet those goals, then you will have to keep yourself in the circle of the process, and you will also have to stay knowledgeable and realistic.

In your next meeting with your DWI attorney in Houston TX, which should be soon, you should discuss what exactly the two of you hope to accomplish in court. Are you looking to be allowed certain restricted abilities to drive? Do you want six months in jail (or none) instead of a year? Do you want to get rid of all punishment? The last option might be the favorite for many, but is rarely possible. Discussing these things with your lawyer allow you to keep in touch with reality, and know when this will all be over–another important goal to define.

You should be in communication with your lawyer and with the people at the courthouse or the police department responsible for your case, so that you have every bit of information which might help or hurt you and can put it in the hands of your lawyer. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and always expect an answer.

So, you’ve put off really thinking about the situation until the day you’re supposed to be hiring a Houston DWI lawyer. Don’t be afraid. I have some questions you can ask which should guide you through your consultation. They are not the limit on questions you need to be asking, but provide a firm basis to your final decision.

• Who am I going to be represented by in a court of law? Essential to your decision is the experience, pricing, and compatibility of the lawyer you will be working with, so that is the person you need to be meeting with. If the person you ARE meeting with says you will be referred to another lawyer, then you need to request a consultation with that lawyer. If that isn’t possible, bye bye.
• Be demanding about experience. You need details. Ask for the number of years your lawyer has been practicing law, and when they started on DUI cases. Do they defend DUIs full time; if so, for how long; if not, what percent of their defense is on DUI?
• Do the two of you come together on money things? Are they charging within the realm of what you would consider reasonable? Do they have options for payment plans or deferred payments? Get it on paper!

As mentioned before, there are times when you always need an attorney, while in other times it’s just very likely that you need an attorney. In this cases, there is still soimetimes the remote possibility that you will be able to come decently out of your case without a Houston DUI attorney, but it will be an extremely hard fight which you will probably lose, and it would be better to be safe and hire a lawyer. Below I have listed a few of the reasons you may find yourself in this situation, so that you can consult a lawyer and decide which way to go.

You are probably going to need to hire a Houston DUI attorney if…

• you already have a previous DUI conviction on your record and are up for your second time. With a second ticket, you will see longer jail sentences, more fines, and less leeway and willingness to forgive, so you will have to fight hard for reductions.
• you were driving under extreme toxication. Drunk isn’t drunk when it comes to DUIs, and you can get in trouble for being more drunk than the next guy. Having an intoxication level twice the limit can garner more penalties.
• you were driving with a child in the car with you. If you had someone under the age of 18 with you, you will also face more penalties.

The complexity of DUI law may be possible to breakthrough, especially if you have a simple case. It would still be hard and might take too much time out of an already busy life, so it’s still suggested to get a lawyer, but some people are indeed able to make it through less extreme DUI cases without hiring on a Houston DWI attorney. I have below listed some cases which may fall into this category. As always, to be truly sure you should consult free with a lawyer first.

You may not need to, but probably still should, hire a Houston DWI attorney if…

• you just don’t get it. You need someone to be able to sit down with you and point out and explain DUI law and what it means in the context of your case. You need to have a clear idea of the consequences of your actions so that you can prepare.
• you work at a job which has a bonding requirement
• you are working and tudying to get a professional license which you wouldn’t be allowed to get with a criminal conviction
• you would lose your job if you got a DUI

There are about three categories you can place yourself in based on the level of which you really need a Houston DWI lawyer. Some people really need one, others probably need one, and others can go either way. There’s no one who absolutely should not hire a lawyer, but even if you don’t necessarily need one, it’s a nice convencience. I give below a short explanation of the situations which might indicate that you have no choice but to hire an experienced Houston DWI lawyer.

You absolutely should hire a lawyer if…

• you are on your third DUI ticket or above. Just looking at the law, you can see how the fines and the jail terms and license revocation periods and so on shoot up dramatically each time you get caught or DUI. It’s already expensive the first time, but much much more so the third.
• you were in a very serious accident. If you managed to injure or kill someone in an accident, then you are going to be on the stand for a lot more than just drunk driving.
• your job is one which involves transportation. Maybe you drive a taxi or deliver things or are a traveling salesperson, but if you drive for a living then you’ll need some help getting a temporary restricted license.

At your consultation with your Houston Texas DUI attorney, your attorney and you will decide where to place the next step forward. However, in order to do this, you will need to know where you stand at the moment. Get as much information as you can about your case so that the two of you can look at it. Some of the most important information is the evidence, because it will make or break you.

• Verbal.
  • when pulled over by a police officer, you speak in a slurred voice and mix your words up
  • when asked how much alcohol you have had, you answer, whether truthfully or not, that you have had a large amount
• Sight.
  • the police officer spots you weaving in and out of other people’s lanes
  • you drive in some other unusual/dangerous way
  • when asked to walk in a straight line, you can’t
  • you have bloodshot eyes
• Tests.
  • when given a test to determine your BAC, you have a high result

Dealing with a DUI is stressful, so the most important thing for you to do is elax and stop worrying so that you can figure out what the next step is for you to take. After you have arranged transportation and the like after having your driver’s license suspended, that next step will probably be hiring a Houston DUI lawyer to help you with your case. DUI cases are not quite as open and shut as other traffic offenses, and can often lead to criminal convictions. In a few of the following ways, a Houston DUI lawyer can help you:

• A Houston DUI lawyer knows DUI law and, knowing that, has a better position to help you come to an understanding of it. If you’re on your own, you could find yourself learning too much of the wrong thing, but a lawyer can introduce you to specific parts of the law which apply to you and thus make you see what you’re facing so that you can prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
• A lawyer can handle the small stuff which is easy to forget during the stress and can mess your case up if you do forget. Paperwork, scheduling, phone calls, and so on.
• A lawyer is able to be your representation in trial court and defend your case in a way that can help you get less consequences.

Once you have made the decision to go ahead and hire a lawyer, the first thing you need to do is figure out which lawyer. You can do this by scheduling a consultation with a few lawyers you find through the Texas bar or through the yellow pages or friends or wherever. Here are some things to keep in mind when you go to your consultation with a Houston TX DUI lawyer.

• Be prepared.

This Boy Scout motto applies to almost everything. If you go to a consultation with a Houston TX DUI lawyer, then you may find yourself confused during the process and not know if things are going well or badly. Get yourself a little familiar with DUI law–just a little bit–by checking the internet and doing some skimming for a few minutes, so that you can judge from an educated standpoint.

• Make the right, experienced choice.

The most important thing in a Houston TX DUI lawyer is the experience. A lawyer should have been practicing law for at least a couple of years, and more specifically DUI law. If less than half of their cases are DUI, then they don’t have enough experience.

The cost of a Houston DUI lawyer is as expensive as you want it to be, and even so the costs of your total DUI case is going to be pretty high–for some people, it can be as much as $20,000 for just the first offense. You have bail to pay, court operation fees, tickets and fines, license restoration fees, SR22 insurance, lawyers, and so on and so on and so on. A lot of these fees, fines, and other charges are set in the law and can’t be changed, but you can have some influence on the cost of Houston DUI lawyer and SR22 insurance.

If you want to do this, then you need to shop around for both of these. This is why it’s important to go to multiple consultations. You can both speak with a lawyer to see if you’re compatible and if they are competent and experienced, and in addition to that you can find out the price. A cheap lawyer doesn’t mean bad representation.

As for the SR22 insurance, all you have to do is pull up quotes online. Many people pay something like $400 too much for their auto insurance, so break away from the mold and get a deal by shopping around, adding on iscounts, raising deductibles, and so on.