Everything you need to know about a Criminal Lawyer

Criminal lawyers are also known as Criminal Defense lawyers and public defenders. They usually work to defend individuals and private or public organizations that are accused with a crime. The crime could be stealing (any property forcefully), misleading, murder, or any unlawful act to harm someone physically or emotionally.

Lawyers have to handle a large orbit of criminal cases like theft, robbery, drug crimes, murder crimes, violent crimes, frauds, etc.

Additionally, in this article, we will discuss the two common types of lawyers, the responsibilities of a lawyer, how to become a lawyer, and how much a lawyer makes as a public defender and as a working body for a law firm.

Common Types of Lawyers 

There are two types of criminal lawyers, criminal defense lawyers, and criminal defense attorneys.

Criminal defense attorneys’ work with the criminal law court and act as a spokesperson of the defendant in the law court. They are the personals who stand with you and represent your case in the criminal law court. More or less, many criminal defense attorneys work privately for the clients who approach them through a law firm. On the other hand, others are employed by the various jurisdiction with criminal courts to present cases.

Criminal defense lawyers are the ones who study law, can guide their clients accordingly and, provide legal advice and do technical paperwork, but can not act as your spokesperson in a criminal law court.

Precisely, there is not much difference between a criminal defense lawyer and a criminal defense attorney. Personals who prefer to have both titles are the ones who study and practice law in a criminal law court.

If you are taking suggestions from your peers, and they tell you that they have contacted a criminal defense lawyer for their case, which proved to be a great experience. They expectedly are referring to a criminal defense attorney.

Who’s better? Private Criminal Defense attorney or Public Criminal Defense Lawyer

A private defense lawyer may charge high, but they are devoted to your case and possibly will take your case free of charge as well. It is because private attorneys with high rates are approached for high profile cases and by those who can bear the extended disbursements.

A private criminal defense attorney is admitted privately to a bar that defends and represents private criminal defendants.

A public criminal defense attorney, commonly known as ‘Public Defenders’, are government employees that represent criminal defendants, and the government pays their fees. They get their share from the court as well. Due to this, they don’t charge clients. Usually, public defenders have lower pays and have to work extra hours.

When choosing between a private attorney and public criminal attorney, remember that public defense lawyers are mostly overburdened and underpaid. They are highly educated and skilled, but the reality is that they cannot dedicate their time and energy to your case as much as a private criminal attorney can.

Duties of a Criminal Lawyer- Criminal Lawyer Information

Assessing is Necessary

Case assessment is as necessary as breathing. A competent criminal defense attorney must assess the case rigorously. He must operate the case smartly, even if his client is guilty. He must take effective measures to tackle any problem that could occur in the case.

Investigation to collect information

To pursue the case in the correct direction, a lawyer must collect all the information as much as possible. There will be no harm in visiting the crime scenes to gather all the traces from the place where the crime happened. If he spots witnesses, then he must contact them to have any clue which may be neglected in the past. He must take all the medical reports from the client if the client had taken any treatment after the crime because reports can provide legal help for tracking case details.

Updated clients are happy clients.

A criminal defense attorney may appear at the court many times on behalf of his client, but he should convey every proceeding of the case to his client. The client must know the dates of hearing the jury is allocating for the case. Any witness or any document which is helping in the case or accommodating the case, he should inform his client timely. A criminal defense attorney should keep the client updated about every proceeding.

Must be experienced

An experienced criminal defense lawyer is in practice for a long time. He must have all the information regarding criminal laws and what will be the best move for any situation that his client is facing. He must get along with his clients several times, meet them, and create a comfortable environment while talking to them. In most cases, when the client has committed a crime that they think will not be appropriate to reveal, then the lawyer should play his role to build trust with them. If a client wants to confess anything and wants to disclose any secret, they must have full faith in their lawyer. It is a lawyers’ responsibility that if his client is disclosing anything to him, he must take care of every information and use them when appropriate, and keep it private.

Careful Analysis

Your criminal defense attorney should be sufficiently eligible to analyze the situations well. To get the charge dismissed from his client, he must find the hidden inadequacy in his client’s case. He must suggest his client in the best way he can and add an emphasis on the outcome of every step he takes to keep the case in the client’s favor. He should analyze every aspect of the situation and how to deal with them. He must predict the results of every decision his client is making. He must also guide his clients thoroughly and tell them about the laws and consequences after each step.

It is undoubtedly a great responsibility of a lawyer to fight for justice and proceed with the case according to the criminal laws. For this, one must know the criminal laws, and there is a success path you have to follow.

Keep your interest tight if you want to become a lawyer. Here you will find out the path to become a criminal lawyer.

What Do You Need to Become a Lawyer?

Preparatory Education

If you want admission into a law school of your choice, then you must keep your grades high, as the law school admission board uses the undergraduate GPA to consider someone for admission. Courses that may help you in securing admission to a law school include Criminology, Psychology, Sociology, Humanities, History, Philosophy, etc.

Entrance Exams

Board will also use your grade score to determine if you are eligible for admission or not. To be acceptable, you must meet the requirements of LSAT (Law school Admission test).

The LSAT consists of five sections. Three sections are the skills test that you will need at law schools, such as logical reasoning and comprehension. The fourth is reading, and the fifth one is ungraded.

Students start their studies months ago before appearing for the admission test because it is not an easy task to clear all the exams in one go.

Degree Requirements

If you are looking to have a law degree, you must complete three years of law school to obtain your degree. After having your law degree known as, Juris Doctor, you can apply for an internship or externship with criminal lawyers and judges to practice further.

Required Examination

A lawyer must enroll for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) that tests ethics and analytical skills. A lawyer must pass a state’s bar examination test that examines your knowledge of the subject in which you want to take admission in the law school. You have to clear all the exams to secure admission to your chosen law school.

How much does a Criminal Lawyer Make? 

Criminal lawyer salary varies depending on the experience as most of the positions around the globe. The salary of Non-profit lawyers, also known as public defenders, ranges between $30,000 to $50,000 annually.

Lawyers that work in a law firm earn the highest salaries. They mostly represent high-profile clients. So they get their pays directly from the client.

Work Schedule

Attorneys that work with Law firms or with private cases have to work extra hours. Many attorneys have to work more than 40 hours per week to prepare, research, and analyze vital aspects of cases.

Public defenders mostly work 24/7 because they have a pile of numerous cases to deal with, as they don’t deal with the client directly.