Choosing lawyer for self defense representation

M

MeanStreaker

New member
For those of you that have consulted with lawyers in order to decide on the second phone number you'll call (after 911) God forbid you ever have to shoot in self defense... how did you do your research? What advice do you have for someone that's going through the same process? What questions did you pose to the lawyer? Thanks.
 
Pre paid legal is a good thing to have. 34 dollars a month is not much and you can get identity theft protection with that price.
 
One of the most pleasant and under-rated benefits of getting professional training is that afterwards you have access to a great network of good guys. Ask them.

pax
 
Any good criminal defense attorney will serve you well. The chances of your needing such an attorney are minimal. You won't get a good defense attorney or any other good attorney for $34 per month pre-paid.
 
Its called legal insurance and yes you can get desent lawyer for that amount . Have you checked out what a criminal lawyer will charge for defending you in court. If you shoot someone and kill them and the DA gets a wild hair and decides to make an example of you. Your'e looking at 50 to a 100 grand in legal fees if it goes to trial or would you rather rely on public defenders that are over worked and all they want to do is cut a deal at your expense. I myself can't even come up with 10 grand for a retainer. so 34 dollars a month isn't bad. I know you get what you pay for but if you can't come up with that much money you're screwed. Other wise why do you have home owners insurance if you have that much money laying around just spend the cash and replace what you lost in a fire . you would save all that insurance premiums that way.
 
As a lawyer I will not publicly comment on prepaid legal services. I will remind people that they get what they pay for and $34/month is not a whole lot of money. Especially when you consider that if the DA is going to prosecute & seek the a death penalty, you're looking at a whole different possible result than needing advice about a misdemeanor DUI or on a business contract.

If you CCW, then you should have some sort of policy specifically for the possibility you will shoot and kill or injure someone and get sued or prosecuted for that. Your agent should know, or have access to a list of attorneys who specialize in that area that you could (and should!) talk to before things hit the rotary oscillating device.

And as Pax said, training comes with a family & connections to those you need to get acquainted with.
 
Ask around- don't go for the biggest, flashiest advertisements. I would be inclined to ask a lawyer who does not practice in the area to make some enquiries.

Who I would choose would also depend upon the nature and severity of the charge.
 
Call lawyers who practice in the locality. Ask them who the good criminal lawyers are. They will probably know, and if they don't, they will know which other lawyers to ask. It wouldn't take more than a few phone calls to zero in on a couple of good lawyers. If you don't know any lawyers personally, then I agree it's best to ask someone who does not practice in the area. That way, you won't be in the awkward position of asking the guy for a favor (to help you, free of charge, find a lawyer that you can hire) and then turning him down when he offers his services.

Bar associations work off lists. They generally don't make recommendations. You get the next name on the list, good or bad. Better than nothing, perhaps, but not as good as recommendations from practicing lawyers who know reputations.

Re public defenders: They can be very good lawyers, but you don't get one just because you don't want to pay for a private lawyer. There are income tests (which vary from place to place), and if your income is more than their limit, no public defender for you.

--Rick
 
+1 for checking with the state bar, many even have a website for this purpose. Be prepared to pay a fee though(they are lawyers after all)

As far as prepaid lawyer scams, I have argued about them in this forum before. No sense saying the same things over again.
 
Maybe I just don't understand the semantics of "pre-paid lawyer." I thought that there were firms or individual lawyers who offer such plans, but one must use that firm or that lawyer, should one exercise one's need for a lawyer under that "pre-paid" plan.

Now, if you're really talking about an insurance policy that, for $34 per month, you can go out and hire a $500 per hour criminal defense attorney for an unlimited number of hours, then I'd say you got a good deal @ $34 per month. How about giving us the details of that $34 per month pre-paid lawyer deal?
 
Don't know if the "Google" reference was for me, but I do know not only how to use Google, but how to ask rhetorical, provocative questions, also. ;)
 
Well if you know how to use use google then use it and don't ask non-firearm related questions in this forum. I realise you are a junior member but please respect the rules here.
 
Since we're in the legal forum, I think it's appropriate to talk about self defense shooting insurance that can be had for $34/month.

Does anyone use the NRA endorsed Self Defense insurance for legal fees? I haven't looked into the details yet...
 
Blackwater: Not only do I know how to use Google and ask rhetorical, provocative questions, but I can read the first post in this thread and see that I didn't introduce the subject. I believe my response was germane to this thread, but I don't believe that your response was germane to my response. ;)

Oh, I see that you have a whopping 185 posts; that explains everything! My mistake, of course.
 
The time to find a good lawyer with an acceptable philosophical outlook on self-defense is BEFORE, not after you need one.

I know someone who got moderately screwed in a fairly clear-cut self-defense (martial arts) situation by following his lawyer's advice to take a plea bargain and settle it out quickly.

The problem was that he broke free of the guy who was holding his arms and administered a kick to the head of the guy who was repeatedly punching him at the very moment the police car came around the corner.
 
Kicking the guy in the head just as the police arrive on the scene, so all they see is his kick and not the punches that preceded it, makes it less than a "clear-cut" case IMHO. It may have been perfectly righteous (certainly it sounds like it in the telling by your friend), but it is hard to judge a case without having reviewed all the evidence. Maybe there were other facts that made the plea bargain advisable, facts that your friend may not have mentioned.

In any event, while the advice to find a lawyer before you need one seems sound, in reality, few people are going to invest the effort. Moreover, most lawyers won't be inclined to provide a free consultation for someone who does not need their services and may never need them but who wants to talk, just in case.

I think it would better serve gun owners to know the law of self defense in their state. For example, in some states, a party has the duty to retreat if he can do so safely before he uses deadly force to repel an attacker. In other states, no retreat required. In some states, retreat while inside your home is not required, but outside the home, it is.

Where to find such information? Sad to say, you're going to have to work for it if you don't want to pay a lawyer for the information (and I don't think it would be worth the fees to do so). The best bet would be to go to a public law library, such as the county law library if your county has one. Look at the treatises on criminal law, and review the chapter on self-defense. If possible, look for a treatise that concentrates on the law of your state. If all the criminal law treatises are general (i.e., have a national rather than a state orientation), learn what you can from them about the law of self defense generally and take the most conservative approach.

While you may be able to find worthwhile articles on self-defense on the internet (did someone mention Google?), be careful about getting advice in online forums. IMO, the legal advice given on internet forums is worth double what you pay for it.

--Rick
 
Anyone have statistics on how often an SD shooting is followed by a civil lawsuit? Or criminal charges?

Just how likely are we to need an attorney? Factually speaking....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top