How Much Does A Criminal Defense Attorney In Los Angeles Cost?
Different attorneys will charge different prices. I've been doing this a long time, and what I've seen is that there is a standard of price, depending on what you're charged with, where your case is, and what your prior criminal record looks like between attorneys who know what they're doing and have experience and can get you a good result. There's a range of prices, again, depending on certain factors.
However, some attorneys who will undercut the big attorneys who are the most successful in Los Angeles have entered the market. This is just part of economics and part of doing business: other individuals will come in and charge low prices in the market.
The only problem with this is if the attorney charging the lower fee is doing that so they can get experience by gathering a bunch of cases at small prices. This could be a problem for you because that means they don't already have experience.
They haven't been practicing criminal defense in Los Angeles for a long time, and you'll probably suffer from the result you obtain. They'll get experience. They'll get some money to charge higher prices in the future, but you will not get what you want out of your criminal case.
That's where you have to be careful. Even if someone charges a small fee, they still need to learn what they're doing. You're going to have to do your research. Check out their reviews. Check out Avvo's site and see how long they've been practicing.
See if they are the attorney that is going to do the case. Sometimes, these services are marketing cheap fees, and they get a bunch of cheap young lawyers who need to know how they will handle the cases.
So, you have to look into it and then meet with the attorney. Come with a list of questions, and talk to them about it.
Author of “The Art of the Perfect Defense”
I've written a book called The Art of the Perfect Defense. The chapter talks about what you need to do in deciding how much you pay, which attorney you hire, and some of the pitfalls to look out for. But, the bottom line is this.
You're not going to find any book or any information that's going to tell you exactly what an attorney charges because the reality is that they can charge whatever they want. But you will find some ranges.
A lot of times, your typical felony case might be $5,000, but some attorneys – even good attorneys – could charge a little bit less. If they like the courthouse where your case is pending and they do a lot of cases there, it might be easier for them to do it, and if the case looks like a good case where they can get you a great result, they might be more willing to give you a little bit better price than they normally do.
To say, here's the formula. You're going to have to do some research and use your common sense, as well as talk to these attorneys about the price and reasonable lawyer fees in Los Angeles.
But once you do a little research and make a few phone calls, sit down with somebody you think knows what they're doing. If you feel comfortable with them, you can make an informed decision about hiring a criminal defense attorney, see if it's in your price range, talk to the attorney about a fair price, and then hire somebody you feel comfortable with.