If you or someone you love is facing criminal charges, you are going to want to do everything you can to protect them from serving time behind bars.

Without a doubt, one of the very best ways to accomplish that lofty goal is to find a fantastic criminal defense lawyer to guide you or your loved one through the trial and tribulations of a criminal trial.

When it comes to Philadelphia criminal lawyers, here are some great ways for you to be the judge on whether or not a criminal lawyer is right for you.

See how they take direction from you

It might feel like a criminal defense lawyer does all the talking and the client does all the listening when it comes to preparing for a case, but that could not be further from the truth. As your court date approaches, make sure to pay attention to how well your lawyer honors your wishes. If you feel like your ideas and desires are not being taken into heavy consideration, you may want to find another defense.

Learn about their courtroom confidence and experience

Something very important to the success of a criminal lawyer is how confident they are in the courtroom. In so many ways, confidence in the courtroom is based heavily on experience in the courtroom. Before you decide to work with a criminal lawyer, make sure to find out about how long they’ve been working in criminal law and how many wins they have under their belt.

On top of that, you can judge the confidence they show while speaking with you is a good indication. When you meet, you should like the way they present themselves because that is how they’re going to most like be acting when they represent you in court.

Judge how enthusiastic they are

In order for a lawyer to be a great lawyer, they have to be truly passionate about what they do. If a lawyer seems like it is just doing their job day-by-day, but not really loving what they do, the chances of failure in court is far more likely. Find a lawyer who loves the law and loves defending people facing criminal choices. Only then will you be able to feel fully confident about how seriously they are going to approach your case.

Look for a clear fee structure

This is highly important to do before you decide to work with a lawyer. Ask about their fee structure and make sure that they are charging something that is both fair and something that you can afford. After all, there is no reason for you to have to worry about both your criminal case and your finances at the same time if you do not have to.

Make sure they know the basics

Finally, a great criminal defense lawyer is going to know the basics of criminal law like the back of their hand. You should get a good feel for their knowledge and experience upon your first meeting!