Choosing the right white-collar crime lawyer can be the difference between freedom and jail. This starts from their very first interaction with the prosecution and police and is ongoing throughout the New York criminal justice system. This is why it is so important to find the right lawyer and find them fast.
Public defenders
Hopefully, when you were arrested, you did not talk and you asked for a Manhattan lawyer. Unless you were able to contact a lawyer before being arrested or someone else was there and called a lawyer for you, the first attorney you will see is the public defender.
These are provided for all criminal cases, including at both the state and federal level. This attorney will help in the immediate aftermath of an arrest, but no one is forced to accept them. And, for most, staying with the public defender is not advisable simply because these well-meaning and well-intentioned attorneys are underfunded and overworked.
They rarely have the ability to devote the amount of time needed to present the best possible defense for their clients. This is why, for those that can afford it, they seek out their own Staten Island white collar crime attorney.
Referrals
The first way that someone can find their own Brooklyn attorney is through a referral. This can be a referral from the public defender themselves, or from friends or family, if you have a friend or family member who was accused of a similar crime. Remember, just because an attorney is a Queens criminal law attorney does not mean they have experience with white-collar crime.
Online searches
Another popular method of finding a Bronx attorney is through review websites, like Google, Yelp or some specific attorney referral website. These can be popular ways to get a list of potential attorneys. However, choosing the right attorney on this list requires much more than looking for the one with the best reviews because again, just because they are the best traffic ticket attorney in town does not mean they have the knowledge and ability to competently represent someone charged with a white-collar crime.
Success rates and specific experiences
Success rates are important, but success rates with white-collar charges are even more important. Indeed, the lawyer one chooses should have experience with not just white-collar crime generally but also in your actual charges. White-collar crimes can be extremely complicated and need very specialized knowledge to fight.