Medium3 Qualities You Should Look For In A Criminal Defence Lawyer | by Adrian Santos | Medium
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3 Qualities You Should Look For In A Criminal Defence Lawyer

3 min readApr 17, 2023

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A criminal defence lawyer is one that works on behalf of a client that is accused of committing a crime.

Their role is to bring to the fore all the possible reasons why their client is either not guilty, or shouldn’t face the full extent of the law.

Sounds like a sketchy job, right?

But if you’ve been involved in a crime, wouldn’t you want someone to fight on your behalf? Someone to convince the judge why they should be lenient with you if found guilty? Or let you off the hook if you didn’t do the crime?

Whether the general public likes it or not, you are only exercising your legal right by hiring someone to fight on your behalf.

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Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

But before you go and hire any lawyer, ensure they have these 3 qualities:

1. Integrity

It might be ironic to think of someone who fights for criminals as honest.

However, it’s the moral compass that a person of integrity carries that will motivate them to fight on your behalf until the very end.

A person of integrity will never shy away from difficult conversations.

They also strive to get the job done using every ethical means necessary. Why? Because they’re built like that!

Wouldn’t you want a lawyer with such a quality to fight for you?

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2. Critical Thinking

If you’re charged with a crime you didn’t commit, it’s going to take a lawyer with good critical thinking skills to get you out of that bind.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyse information and come to a conclusion based on the information provided and truths that are already known.

A good criminal lawyer is able to piece together a story in ways that makes sense with critical thinking.

Further, they’re able to use the evidence acquired in the investigation to support their claims and fight your case.

Tenured lawyers are more likely to have excellent critical thinking skills, so experience is a critical factor in acquiring a good lawyer.

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Photo by Melinda Gimpel on Unsplash

3. Written and Oral Persuasion

Contrary to what we see in movies, most of a criminal lawyer’s work is done through writing.

As much as they have to make arguments in the courts, experts say that excellent writing skills often help them to make significant inroads on their cases — outside of the courtroom.

In the courtroom, they analyse the jurors and prepare their arguments to sway the verdict in favour of their clients.

Oral and written skills are paramount to your criminal lawyer getting you the results you desire!

The most exceptional lawyers have a balanced combination of these qualities along with a network of resources at their disposal.

If you evaluate your potential lawyers with these criteria, you should be okay in any court of law!

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