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How to Find the Best Criminal Lawyer

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If you or someone you know has been charged with a criminal offence or is under investigation, the situation may initially appear overwhelming. But you should know that having an expert criminal defence lawyer on your side is the best way of securing a strong legal defence and it will ensure that your fundamental rights are not infringed on in any way.

But how do you source the best criminal lawyer to work with? And how can you tell if a criminal lawyer stands above the rest of the competition?

Here, we discuss the ways you can identify the best criminal lawyer to work with if you are facing charges, so you can be sure that you have a robust defence.

What are some of the ways you can source a suitable criminal lawyer?

If you have been arrested or have reason to believe that you will be arrested, you will require the assistance of a solicitor. There are a number of ways you may search for a suitable criminal solicitor, including:

Word of mouth

It remains true that many people are still referred to certain criminal defence solicitors via word of mouth. If someone you trust has had a positive experience with a criminal defence firm or a specific solicitor, their feedback is likely to persuade you to instruct them to support you with your case.

However, this may not be the most effective way of sourcing an appropriate criminal defence solicitor, as their fees may not align with your current financial situation, or their areas of expertise may not extend to the particulars of your case.

The recommendation may not always be reliable. The client may not always really know if that was the best outcome. The client may also have achieved a good outcome to a case that was not very serious or the evidence was not strong in the first place. So, even word of mouth may not always be reliable.

Your own research

If you do not have any sort of reference or do not know where to start in finding a criminal defence solicitor to help you with your case, it is relatively simple to carry out some basic research online. Simply searching for basic terms like ‘criminal defence solicitor UK’ or ‘criminal defence solicitor near me’ will provide plenty of options for you to choose from, but it is then up to you to narrow down the options at your disposal.

Locality

You should keep in mind that, when searching for a criminal defence solicitor, you will want to work with someone who is able to easily meet and represent you. Some firms may be tied to a specific location, or they may be able to travel further afield, depending on their resources and relative size.

Specialist areas of practice

If you are due to be charged, it might be the case that it will take the support from a solicitor with specific expertise or a niche area of practice to be able to support you. Some firms do not cover the full spectrum of criminal law, so you should keep that in mind when looking for someone to represent you.

Law Society

If you have found a criminal defence solicitor that you would like to instruct, it is a sensible idea to refer to the Law Society. The Law Society keeps a track record of all licensed solicitors in the UK and also provides a ‘Find a Solicitor’ tool, which can help with the process of checking the details and qualifications of solicitors.

As an example, please see our Law Society page here.

How do you choose between criminal lawyers?

Once you think you have finished your search for a criminal lawyer, you will likely have a number of different potential firms whom you think that you might like to work with. There are several ways you can then narrow down your final selection.

Experience

How does each firm’s respective experience and expertise match up to one another? Naturally, you will want to be in the hands of a firm and criminal law solicitor who has as much experience as possible, as this will ultimately help you to secure a positive outcome for your case, whatever that may look like.

Take a closer look at who works in the criminal law department, how long they have been practicing for, and whether they have any relevant accreditations or professional memberships.

You might also find positive testimonials relating to a criminal law solicitor from previous clients who have been satisfied with the representation they have received.

Communication

When it comes to criminal law cases, effective communication from your solicitor is absolutely essential. You will want a solicitor who responds quickly and efficiently to you and provides clear honest advice. You can often get a good idea of how well a solicitor communicates by seeing how quickly they respond to you after you make an enquiry, whether that is over the phone or via email.

Approach to meeting you

It is also a good idea to assess what circumstances a solicitor is likely to meet with you. For instance, some solicitors may not be willing to provide immediate representation for a criminal law case, at least not until they have met with you to learn more about your case. That may not be helpful if you require urgent support.

Some solicitors’ working hours may also prevent you from being able to meet with them at your convenience.

Fees

Fees are always going to be a critical factor in choosing the best criminal defence solicitor. Where private fees are concerned, the most important thing to be aware of is that a firm is open and transparent about the likely costs that will be incurred, rather than hiding them. This will allow you to properly plan ahead and budget accordingly.

We have a clear example of how we deal with fees here.

Can you use a duty solicitor?

Duty solicitors are independent criminal defence solicitors from a local law firm who can assist you if you are accused of committing a crime. They are assigned to cases via a rota, which means that you cannot choose who will be representing you. They could be an experienced solicitor from a well-established firm, or they could simply be a paralegal with very little experience.

Duty solicitors are duty bound to provide independent legal advice, so you can be sure that they will make every effort to act in your best interests. However, they may not be able to provide the high-quality advice and representation and advice to provide the best possible result for your case.

To find out more about using a duty solicitor vs a privately instructed solicitor, read our previous blog, ‘What Is a Duty Solicitor, and Are They Any Good?’.

How our UK criminal lawyers can be of assistance

At JD Spicer Zeb, our expert team of criminal defence solicitors have an in-depth and breadth of expertise in a wide range of matters and can be on hand to support and represent you with specialist criminal defence, no matter what your charges relate to.

Our team have over 40 years of specialist criminal defence expertise and Law Society accredited in Criminal Litigation, meaning we are perfectly positioned to provide robust representation and empathetic support, no matter what your circumstances may be.

Our specialist criminal defence lawyers have worked on many high profile cases throughout the UK and have developed an excellent reputation and track record of success. We have experience in defending clients at the Magistrates’ Court, Youth Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal and all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Umar Zeb, Senior Partner and Head of Private Client Crime, has also been ranked as one of the 3 best criminal defence solicitors in London by ThreeBestRated.

Using our detailed knowledge of criminal law, we can work to request that the police to drop charges against you, the CPS to drop charges, or for the penalties to be reduced where conviction is unavoidable. Our criminal law solicitors will provide robust representation and act in your best interests.

We are also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to represent you, so you can contact us to speak to a solicitor whenever you need to.

Speak to our criminal lawyers today

For urgent specialist advice, immediate representation, or to speak to us confidentially about a potential criminal charge or prosecution, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

You can contact our specialist criminal defence lawyers in London, Birmingham and Manchester by telephone on:

Or email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk

Alternatively, you can fill out our quick online enquiry form, and we will get back to you quickly.

24/7 legal representation for criminal defence proceedings

Please get in touch for a free consultation with one of our expert criminal defence solicitors, as well as immediate representation and advice for the allegations you may be facing.

We are available to represent clients all over England and Wales at any time, so please contact our Emergency Number at 07836 577 556.

How can we help?

Common questions

We always work with the most experienced and best leading UK barristers, KCs (Kings Counsel). We cover all criminal cases 24/7 at the police station and court. Offices in London, Birmingham, and Manchester cover cases across England and Wales. We can offer Legal Aid and affordable Private fee agreements. We can see you the same day, including virtually. Our Senior Partners supervise all of our cases.

How quickly do you respond?

We respond quickly even during out of hours. We do not get our work by paying for online adverts but based on the fact that few criminal law firms can match our 45 years of experience. Most of our cases are still from word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied clients. We are called daily by dissatisfied clients from firms with less experience than us. We respond very quickly to new enquiries. We know what clients seek and so we update clients rapidly.

Can you get cases dropped?

Yes, read about the recent cases we've helped our clients with here.

We always keep you updated and give straightforward advice. We will get cases dropped early where the case is weak or should not be prosecuted. We will be upfront with you about where you can benefit from a good result with an early guilty plea, such as a discount on your sentence. As we work on cases across all levels with clients from all walks of life, we are excellent at giving clear, spot-on advice. As an established firm, we can allocate a whole team to your case often at short notice to secure evidence to minimise the damage to you. 

Have you won any awards?

OUR PROFESSIONAL BODY THE LAW SOCIETY AWARDED US IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH THE EXCELLENCE IN CLIENT SERVICE AWARD AND STATED - 

"JD Spicer Zeb demonstrated a clear commitment to client service through their work with vulnerable and diverse individuals in what can be severely traumatic circumstances".

Do you offer free consultations?

Where it is possible, we aim to provide an initial consultation to you. If we can speak to you, we can if required inform you about  –

  • Whether we can take the case on and our relevant experience.
  • Public and private funding benefits.
  • Assistance in applying for legal aid where we are likely to accept instructions.
  • An outline of options in police interview only. We will not advise you on which option to adopt.
  • Providing our free written guide explaining the police station process.
  • The gravity of routine and day-to-day offences you face.
  • Consequences of not attending the court or police station.
  • Consequences of interfering with any witnesses.
  • Retaining any evidence in support of your case.
  • If possible an outline of the elements of the offence that the police or CPS must prove.
  • This consultation will normally be by telephone or email and will only be for as long as we deem necessary to establish if we can act for you. If we cannot usefully give you any advice in this manner then we will not continue with the consultation. We will not discuss the case in depth for you to be able to decide on your plea or any significant aspect of the case, as this cannot be undertaken informally.
  • Referring you, if possible, to other firms for matters out of our specialism or if we cannot help.

Consultations do not apply to the following cases –

  • If we do not intend to take the case on.
  • Road Traffic cases, drink driving, drug driving, driving bans, speeding, no insurance, mobile phone use, points etc.
  • In all cases where we do not have the capacity to take your case or the availability of suitably qualified staff to provide an initial free consultation. This is applicable in all cases but especially where a more senior lawyer is required because of your personal needs or the complexity of the case.
  • Harassment/stalking/ coercive behaviour/malicious communications or road traffic cases and most sensitive cases. These cases are often too complicated to assess in short consultations.
  • The locations concerned may be too distant to represent you adequately or it may not be cost-effective for you or us.
  • The case is too complicated to assess or raises various charges or facts, complexity, or history to be considered informally or in a short consultation.
  • In most Legal aid transfers where legal aid is granted to another firm except in very grave cases, we may assess the case and merits for a transfer.
  • If your relationship has broken down with your existing solicitor or several solicitors.
  • If you have been released under investigation and have already had a police station attendance. 
  • If you hold legal aid with another firm and seek a second opinion.
  • If you are calling on behalf of the client as a friend or family member unless you have full authority and full facts.
  • To businesses.
  • Advising whether you were given good advice by your other solicitor.
  • Whether to decide to plead guilty or not guilty.
  • Whether you have an arguable defence in law or factually complicated defences.
  • Any advice you have had after your first court appearance.
  • Any advice on appeal on conviction or sentence.
  • If we feel we are unable to communicate with you.
  • If we are likely to be conflicted or breach our professional rules.