Our Approach to Virginia Beach Criminal Cases

Below, a Virginia Beach criminal lawyer discusses their approach to criminal cases. To get in contact with an attorney call today to schedule a free consultation.

What Are Some of The First Questions You Ask a Potential Client During the Initial Process?

First, we ask clients what happened. This prompts them to tell me the story of how they received the charge in the first place and then we can ask questions to fill in any gaps or clarify pieces of their story as they go forward.

We try to get as many details as possible right after that so that it is easier to explain to them what options they could be looking at going forward. We keep the elements of the charge in mind and try to see if the client’s actions meet these elements as they go through their timeline of the events.

Are There Any Questions That You Are Frequently Asked by Potential Clients?

We frequently get asked what is going to happen to the client or are they going to go to jail for their charge and for how long. We always give the universal lawyer answer which is, “It depends”. We try to explain all the possibilities based on the facts of their case and go through the potential outcomes that may result from different options. We try to prepare the client for anything that maybe a possibility so that they aren’t taken by surprise later.

As far as jail and whether they will face jail time we explain to them what sort of penalties their charges may carry and what goes into the judge’s decision on whether someone will be punished with jail time. Clients often balk when they hear that a class 1 misdemeanor has up to 12 months in jail but we explain to them that that is uncommon for a first charge.

Why Should I Work With a Private Law Office As Opposed to Working With a Public Defender?

Private law office versus the public defender is really going to come down to a matter of time. Someone in a private law office is not going to have as large of a case load as a public defender is going to have, therefore they will have more time to devote to your case and likewise more time to devote to answering any questions the client may ask.

While public defenders have handled easily 100s of more cases than any private law attorney in one year they are often overworked and overburdened and do not spend as much time with each particular client as an attorney who has a much smaller case load.