D. Dos and Don’ts In Selecting An Attorney

Dos:

D-1. Do Ask
The attorney about his “win rate”. My win rate is about 70%¹ for DWI and 100%²; for no insurance charges . Ask the attorney the total number of DWI clients taken at a certain point of time and how many of them were found not guilty. Even a well-known DWI attorney can say, “I have won over a thousand cases”, but he may have won 1,200 cases of 9,000 cases in total. In that case, the win rate is only a little over 10%! Referencing the total number of winning cases is not the right measure to quantify an attorney’s performance. I believe the more precise way to measure quality is the win rate, not the absolute number of winning cases. Hospitals use a measurement such as “survival rate” or “success rate” of certain surgical procedures to measure their performance. Why not ask the success rate for attorneys?

George Bernard Shaw had this to say on the subject of choosing a defense attorney:

“For example, there died a short time ago a barrister who once acquired extraordinary celebrity as an Old Bailey advocate, especially in murder cases. When he was at his zenith I read all his most famous defences, and can certify that he always missed the strong point in his client’s case and the weak one in the case for the prosecution, and was, in short, the most homicidally incompetent impostor that ever bullied a witness or made a “moving” but useless appeal to a jury. Fortunately for him the murderers were too stupid to see this: besides, their imaginations were powerfully impressed by the number of clients of his who were hanged. So they always engaged him, and added to his fame by getting hanged themselves in due course.”

D-2. Do Ask
If the attorney participated in the Supreme Court case of State v. Chun, et al. . As of today, not many issues and findings from this litigation have been disclosed to the public. If you are serious about defending your DWI charge, you should retain an attorney who is fully informed about the machine, the science behind it, and DWI law at its most current.

D-3. Do Ask
If the attorney fully participated in State v. Chun et al., or if that attorney was absent for most of the hearing days. Ask how many of the State’s witnesses the attorney personally cross-examined. Ask if the attorney defended one of the named clients in the case, or was a non-party attorney.

D-4. Do Ask
The attorney if he or she is the one who will be defending your case in court. The attorney you speak to may not be the one who defends your case. You really want to speak to the attorney directly who will actually defend your case in court. You have more idea of the attorney’s expertise, knowledge, skill, and style when you speak to the attorney directly.

D-5. Do Ask
If the attorney is going to prepare to fight your DWI all the way. If you want to retain an attorney who will fight for your case, you do not want an attorney who will plead you guilty. If the attorney says, “Well, there is not much you can do about DWI, especially the new machine.”, he or she is not the right attorney when you want comprehensive and zealous representation. This office is loyal to clients and do not give up a DWI case unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

D-6. Do Ask
How many court appearances will be made for the suggested legal fees. There is no easy way to defend a DWI charge in New Jersey. It usually takes a very long time, great skill, and patience to defend this serious charge. In my experience, it usually takes at least five court appearances to successfully defend DWI. If the attorney is going to appear in court only once or twice for your DWI case, he or she may not be planning to be patient and fight your case all way, which means you will be counseled to plead guilty quite soon.

D-7. Do Have
A feeling about what kind of person the attorney is. If you want to fight your case all the way, you want to retain an attorney who will be patient and loyal to his or her clients. Besides the expertise, experience and knowledge that the attorney has, these two qualities, which are patience and loyalty, can affect how much the attorney will fight for you. Try to have a sense of the attorney’s character besides his or her professional skills.

D-8. Do Ask
If the attorney will consider the immigration consequences if you are a non-US citizen. As I explained in Immigration Consequences for International Clients, your records of convictions of motor vehicle violations can affect whether later motor vehicle charges or accidents are treated as crimes that would cause immigration consequences. Do not let your records ruin your future life in America. This office works with an immigration attorney to defend international client’s DWI, motor vehicle and criminal cases.

Don’ts:

D-9. Do Not Decide
On an attorney based on the legal fees alone. You need to choose an attorney based on your legal needs. If you want to fight your charge all the way, you should not choose an attorney that intends to plead you guilty. On the other hand, however, sometimes a guilty plea is the right decision because of, for example, exposure on other motor vehicle or criminal charges from the same incident. You should retain an attorney who will thoroughly evaluate your circumstances and who can and will fight all the way for you.

D-10. Do Not Choose
An attorney who cannot tell you what he or she can do. When you want to do your best to fight your DWI charge, you do not want to retain an attorney who says, “There is not much you can do about your DWI. I will charge a reasonable fee and make sure that you will get the minimum.” There is no point to choose an attorney who even cannot tell you what he or she can do.

D-11. Do Not Choose
The attorney that says, “I do not see a defense” without telling you a good and compelling reason. The decision to fight your case should be made intelligently, and if the attorney advises pleading guilty, it should be for a good and compelling reason. In addition, “We can’t afford to come back to court” is not a good reason.

D-12. Do Not Underestimate
The potential collateral immigration consequences if you are a non-US citizen. To learn more about this issues, visit International Clients . For example, non-compliance with certain motor vehicle laws can lead to criminal charges under certain circumstances. Further, you may be asked to submit your driving history when you apply for your new immigrant visa in the future. In America, driving history can be used to measure one’s credibility. You want to make sure that you keep a good record about yourself so that you may be able to show that you are responsible and law-abiding.

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¹The figure is as of May 29, 2007. Win rate is defined as the number of clients not convicted for DWI divided by the total number of clients who were charged with DWI. The clients are those who retained this office after 2005. Each case varies. Under any circumstance, we do NOT guarantee a successful outcome in any individual case.

²The figure is as of May 29, 2007. Win rate is defined as the number of clients not convicted for No Automobile Liability Insurance divided by the total number of clients who were charged with said charge. The clients are those who retained this office after 2000. Each case varies. Under any circumstance, we do NOT guarantee a successful outcome in any individual case.