Why should I hire a criminal defense attorney?
When you are charged with a crime, your first hurdle in dealing with it is often deciding whether you are going to hire a lawyer. The state might offer you a plea bargain, and you might believe that you can handle it on your own. You may think that you don’t need to spend your hard-earned money to hire a professional; you’d be wrong in thinking this. If you accept a plea bargain without enlisting the help of an experienced criminal defense attorney, you will still come out of the incident with a criminal record. You will never know if an experienced attorney might have gotten you an even better deal than the one the prosecution offered.
The state of Florida will provide you with an attorney, a public defender. You might believe that this is just as good as paying for a private lawyer. In thinking this, you would be wrong again. Many who are charged with a crime go through the same thought process you are going through. A great many of them will elect to go with the public defender rather than hire an experienced criminal defense attorney. Florida does not assign a single public defender to each person who needs one. Your public defender will be handling a great many other cases in addition to yours. You will share your attorney, and his available time, with numerous others who made the same error in choosing a public defender.
If you have been charged with a crime, you have a great deal on the line. When you are making the decision whether to entrust a public defender with your life and your freedom, ask yourself what your life and your freedom are worth to you. What you think is the least expensive way out might actually cost you more. A serious criminal charge can result in prison time. You may be unable to work or earn a living for a number of years. When you get out, you may not be able to find a well-paying job because of your criminal record. Balance that lost income against what an private lawyer might cost you, and you will probably find that hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney will cost you less.
At Katz & Phillips, you get what you pay for: personalized representation by a team of attorneys who know how important your life and your family are to you. David Katz and James Phillips, the founders of Katz & Phillips, are both former prosecutors. When you make the decision to hire our firm, you’re getting more than just your average lawyer. You are getting invaluable experience from professionals who have worked both sides of the fence. If you choose to go with a public defender, it is unlikely that he or she will have the same kind of dual experience or intimate knowledge of Florida’s justice system. Most public defenders have not worked as both prosecutors and defense lawyers. Our dual experience gives us the ability to know what is going to happen to you before it happens. We know what the prosecution is going to do next…because we once did it ourselves.
From drug and alcohol charges such as driving under the influence, all the way through violent crimes and sex crimes, the attorneys at Katz & Phillips have handled it all. If you decide to go with a public defender, you will be rolling the dice. If you choose to enlist the services of our team, you will get fierce representation with your best interest at heart. We will fight hard to resolve your problem in the best possible way, with the least repercussions to you, your family and your livelihood.
