If you ever end up in situation where you have been arrested by the police and are charged with a crime, you need legal representation to protect your rights and help prepare a defence. If you are based in Victoria, then it would be prudent for you to engage to one of the expert criminal lawyers in Melbourne to assist you.

With that said, the criminal lawyers in Melbourne can and will be as diverse in their quality as any other group of practising professionals. This means that there are lots of poor practitioners that want your money but are unlikely to deliver to outcome you want. Of course, you want to get the best solicitor you can since your freedom and ability to find future employment may be on the line pending your verdict.

The following will look at some tips you can use for hiring and working alongside a criminal lawyer in Melbourne.

Find a specialist in defending against your charge

When you are looking for a criminal lawyer in Melbourne to hire, you need to try and find a practitioner who specialises in defending against the kind of charge you are facing. While some solicitors will claim to be generally competent with all types of charges, it’s better for you to seek out someone who specialises exclusively in your kind of charge.

For example, if you are facing a murder charge then it would be inappropriate for you to hire someone who primarily deals with traffic offences like speeding or drink driving. This kind of solicitor won’t have the expertise or confidence to be able to defend you against a determined police prosecutor since they have never handled anything that serious before.

If you are charged with drug possession with intent to sell, then it would make the most sense to hire a specialist drug offences criminal lawyer in Melbourne. They will know the ins and outs of this kind of charge and the best way to defend you against it.

Interview them

If you have the luxury of bail and some time to shop around for a criminal lawyer in Melbourne, then you should make a shortlist and interview your top candidates. You can usually conduct this interview briefly during the free consultation they normally give you to discuss the general details of your case.

This is where you should gauge their responses to your questions and get an idea of how confident they are to take on your case. They should ideally show eagerness to help you as well as demonstrate their expertise in this area of the law.

Listen to their advice

There’s no point hiring and relying on the expertise of a criminal lawyer in Melbourne if you plan on second-guessing their advice. You’ve hired them for a reason which is to get insight that you don’t possess on your case, so you need to trust them.

Sometimes you solicitor will tell you things you might not want to hear but are accurate and are going to help you the most. For example, a solicitor may recommend you plead guilty and seek a shorter sentence rather than trying to fight for total acquittal as it much not be realistic in their professional opinion.

Hopefully the above information will make it easier for you to hire and use a criminal lawyer in Melbourne.