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I am a criminal defense lawyer, AMA. : IAmA
Main Post: I am a criminal defense lawyer, AMA. : IAmA
Anyone work in criminal defense?
Main Post:
If the paralegal doesn't believe in supporting individuals who ARE guilty of domestic violence, sexual assault, DUI, burglary, grand theft, white collar crimes, etc., would you say it's ALWAYS a bad idea to work for a criminal defense law firm?
I have very mixed feelings and opinions about this, so PLEASE be gentle but honest. On one hand, I think everyone deserves a defense attorney. Sometimes, the clients ARE 100% innocent, or not 100% guilty. Maybe someone else was also involved, etc. On the other hand, I'm wondering how much I personally want to help them if they are causing harm to society -- intentionally.
I'm on the fence about this.
I've known a couple of defense attorneys in the past, socially, and they were the most kind and caring individuals. They worked for the state, and worked as court-appointed defense attorneys. They told me a lot of stories of how vulnerable their clients were as children. Their parents were sociopaths, drug/alcohol addicts, and abusers of every kind. As a result, those kids grew up to be criminals. I mean, I get that. I have compassion and sympathy for adults who have C-PTSD & become addicts due to self-medications.
I'm jumping back into the legal field after being away for 5 years. I was previously a working paralegal. I have a bachelor's degree and paralegal certificate.
I want to do some meaningful work, and I'm looking at my options.
I'm just wondering if I'm putting myself in harm's way by helping attorneys represent some private-pay clients who have committed atrocious crimes. I don't think I want to help an attorney represent a client who committed sexual assault or domestic violence, or intentionally laundered money or stole from an employer.
But, is there something I'm not seeing? I know good people DO make mistakes. But, Are there good people who make the mistake of sexually assaulting someone, especially a child???
Are there good people who make the mistake of stalking someone or intimidating someone and beating them up???
Are there good people who make the mistake of laundering money or stealing money???
I think I am too passionate about my stance and am looking for a neutral and objective pov.
Like I said, I want to do meaningful work, so I have not written off criminal defense. I'm kind of intrigued by it. If the client is actually factually innocent, or if it is their first offense, I would pray for that client myself to be rehabilitated, and would want that client to have the best representation. But, if it is a repeat criminal, I don't know that I want to. Am I being too shortsighted and too judgmental?
Also, I heard from my family law professor that family law is full of drama, and clients can often become quite hostile and aggressive with their own lawyer and the paralegal, saying some awful things to them if the outcome isn't what the client believes they deserve. The professor said that sometimes those clients can threaten or even injure their attorney and staff.
I imagine there are many clients who seek a criminal defense attorney can have some serious mental health issues, which also is a very difficult population to work with. So, they may threaten their attorney or staff. Should I be concerned about that?
Anyway, thank you for reading. Please add your insights into the defense side of criminal law, and the questions you would ask a potential candidate who is interested in working in this area of law.
P.S. PLEASE DO NOT tell me what I would like or not. Or, what my mind is thinking or needing. Or, that I don't have the stomach for it, or that I can't do important work. It's not your job to determine that, and you certainly don't know what I am capable of. I don't want your opinion about me. I know myself better than anyone else, and you certainly don't know me.
What I DO want is your insight into the area of law and what YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE in the field.
Thank you in advance!
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Top Comment: There’s an old saying: “I would rather 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man be convicted.” This is just how our system is supposed to work. Guilty people deserve a fair trial and a zealous defense, but it is also about holding government accountable and ensuring that in one of the two areas where government has an unmatched monopoly (criminal justice and the other is defense of the country), we make it difficult for the state to take away life, liberty, or property. Others have discussed the practical aspects of criminal defense, but I wanted to add the philosophical perspective.
Would you recommend being a criminal lawyer?
Main Post: Would you recommend being a criminal lawyer?
I am a criminal defense lawyer in New York City..Ask me ...
Main Post: I am a criminal defense lawyer in New York City..Ask me ...
Life after Criminal Defense?
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I'm at the end of my rope and I feel like I have nowhere to turn.
I work as "assigned counsel" in which I subcontract with the State to handle criminal defense cases while working out of my own office. I have my own solo practice and the bulk of my work is either indigent criminal defense or child protective. I've been doing this for 8 years now, give or take.
To make a long story short: I cannot take this job anymore. The clients are awful, our courts are ridiculously restrictive, the prosecutors are unmoving, and did I mention how fucking awful the clients are? Unfortunately, I'm hyper-specialized and my knowledge is nontransferable. I took an 8 month sabbatical last year in the hopes that would help, but after being back to work (with a full, almost all felony caseload) for 5 months, I'm coming to terms that I cannot do this anymore. I want to help people, but the system won't allow me to do so and the people I want to help despise me for it. I used to do great work, but the judges have made a turn for the worse and fighting anything just makes things substantially worse for the clients.
Any job I'll take will be a massive loss in pay (I've accepted that) and with less flexibility for time off (that's a harder pill to swallow). I'm also exhausted with litigation- I'm tired of multiple dead end trials a month, so I would want to take a job where I'm not expected to be in the courtroom every day. I wonder if that even exists.
The purpose of this post is to see if anyone else has been in this boat or to see any advice people can give? Is there a life after doing criminal defense for so long?
Top Comment:
The only thing I want to add is that you really need to think more broadly about the value of your experience. You have litigation experience that most attorneys, let alone most people, will never get. But there're plenty of other ways to spin your experience. For example, you've learned to evaluate the risks associate with litigation, trials, etc. You've learned a lot about the criminal justice system, in a way that could inform policy, or NGO efforts. More broadly, though, you know how to negotiate, come up with creative solutions, and sell deals to your clients. You're also probably a better public speaker than most. Find the role you want, and spin your experience generously.
Can criminal law defense be profitable?
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Does it make sense career wise to work for the public defender for a couple years and then do criminal defense as a solo? My goal is to go solo. But I don’t have a lot of experience Civil or criminal. There is a good job opening with a public defender. I am thinking about taking it to grow my skills. Does it makes sense or will the skills not transfer?
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What skills make great criminal defense attorneys?
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In your experience or observations, what hard or soft skills do really excellent criminal defense attorneys have?
Top Comment: Confidence, passion, being funny and likeable, dressing well, and most importantly actually knowing the law, how to object and case law to back it up in court on the fly
Pros and Cons of being a Criminal Defense Attorney?
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Hello! So going into law school I thought I wanted to be a criminal defense attorney, but after hearing and reading such negative things about the job, I am questioning it. So, if there are any criminal defense attorneys on here, would you mind kind of summarizing what your day to day life is like as a criminal defense attorney and what are the pros and cons of your job!
Any input at all is appreciated!
Top Comment:
One of the most interesting things I heard from a PD was that she sees her job as an accountability check for the prosecutors. Her job is to make sure that the client gets a fair trial that every citizen is entitled to, and to make sure that everyone from the police to the prosecutors are not cutting corners.
What do lawyers (especially defense attorneys) really think of their clients?
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I guess I'm trying to restore my faith in humanity a bit.
I was trying to do some research on whether it's legal for jails to prevent inmates from calling their attorneys, but found myself reading a bunch of threads on other sites where people were upset about attorneys not being responsive to calls from their clients in custody.
Some of the responses from people claiming to be defense attorneys seriously made me want to throw up. They acted as if receiving phone calls from THEIR CUSTOMERS, who likely paid them tens of thousands of dollars, are such a huge annoyance, and one even said how it's so annoying when their clients call them from the jail and suggested that the inmates get bored and just want someone to talk to and attorneys have better things to do.
I couldn't believe how many responses had this tone to them. Are attorneys in general really like this? Do they really think they're way more important or that their time is more valuable than their customer's? So many people end up in jail and have their whole world torn apart when they haven't done anything wrong and are just victims of a flawed system.
I have a loved one in jail, which is why I was researching in the first place. Thankfully her attorney does not have this attitude and is very responsive (we actually have the opposite problem where the attorney is trying to contact the client and the jail isn't allowing it) but I can't imagine paying an attorney that kind of money and having them act like I'm a nuisance if I need to get a hold of them. Isn't that what I'd be paying for?
I hope this doesn't represent attorneys in general.
Top Comment: Most criminal clients I've dealt with have been alright people. Nothing against them. Made a few mistakes along the way. Often they just need someone in their corner to put their version of events out there and watch out for them in the courtroom. But phone calls are really fucking annoying when we're trying to work. Remember in school, when the teacher would give you homework in one class, and you'd complain about it because every other teacher was giving you homework as well? That's how it is with clients. The lawyer may be the only lawyer a particular client is dealing with, but the client is not the only client of that lawyer. If every client calls up with "THIS IS URGENT I NEED TO TALK TO MY LAWYER NOW" and we have to drop everything to take the call, then nothing else is getting done today. We're not our client's friends, nor are we their therapists. We do a bad job of it when we try to be what we're not. In criminal cases, roughly 95% of client-initiated phone calls mid-case are unnecessary for the work the lawyer is contracted for.
What do the best criminal defense attorneys actually do, ...
Main Post: What do the best criminal defense attorneys actually do, ...