Will You Pick Your DUI Attorney Based on Price?

I had a prospective client call me today. She was looking for a DUI attorney to help her out. I answered the phone, said hello, and asked her how I could help her. When she told me she needed help with a DUI charge, I said "okay, why don't we schedule a time to get you in here. I have a lot of material that I'd like to give you to help you understand the process. It's completely free." The next words out of her mouth were "I don't really want to come meet that many people, what is your fee?"

Believe it or not, this is typical of many people looking for help from a criminal defense attorney. Price seems to always be the factor. And notice that I didn't say a factor, but the factor. The lady I spoke to on the phone today didn't even want to know about who I was, what I did, or what I had to offer on her case. She just wanted to know how much. And when I told her my usual fee, she told me she'd talked to someone who'd quoted her half that.

There is a funny thing out there with Seattle DUI attorneys. You usually get what you pay for. What I mean is, if you go out there and hire the cheapest person you can find, you are going to get the kind of work that comes with the cheapest attorney around. Like I told the lady on the phone today, I charge the fee I do for a reason. I provide a level of service that the guy asking for half my fee probably isn't even aware exists. I charge this much because I am going to work the crap out of the case trying to get the best result possible.

If you are in the market for a DUI lawyer, don't make your decision based on price alone. You are going to get what you pay for. You don't need to get the most expensive guy out there, but you need to get someone that feels his product is good enough to ask for a reasonable fee, a fee that means he can spend the kind of time on your case that is necessary to get a good result. If you don't have the money to get a good attorney, get a public defender. They want to help, and they'll give you 100 times the effort the cheap private attorney will for none of the fee.