What Happens During a Consultation with a Defense Attorney?

Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC | Consultation with a Defense Attorney or DWI Lawyer | Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas

If you’re under investigation or have been recently charged with a crime or DWI, you need to get the right lawyer to help fight your charge. You need an experienced criminal defense attorney or DWI lawyer, as their knowledge will be vital to help you successfully navigate the criminal justice system. Although prosecutors are tasked with seeking justice, most of that time, our idea and their idea of justice differs greatly. And even in situations where there is evidence of wrongdoing, you need the right lawyers asking the right questions to make sure you are getting the best outcome. Here are some of those questions we are asking:

Do they have sufficient evidence to prove my case beyond a reasonable doubt (the highest burden of proof in Texas)?
Did law enforcement make an illegal stop? Illegal search and seizure?
Do I have a valid legal defense? Self-Defense claim? Jury Nullification?
Is the charge fair?
Is the punishment fair?
Do I have mitigation evidence?
Did the victim (injured party) embellish or lie about what happened?
Was there a valid search warrant?
Did law enforcement conduct a proper photo line-up?
Should I take a plea bargain or take my case to trial?

Being aware of the best way to proceed during stressful times is tough, and you may have worries about your consultation. This is a normal reaction when you are being investigated or charged, especially if you’ve never been in a similar situation before. Understanding what happens during a consultation with a defense attorney or DWI lawyer can help you prepare for your consult.

Our team at Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC offers a free 15 consultation, in person or over the phone, for clients charged with new offenses in Tarrant County, Texas. Often times, those consultations go longer than 15 minutes, especially when it’s clear that we have a good working relationship and everyone wants to get started on strategy right away.

Note: we do not handle traffic tickets or traffic warrants. We are only licensed to practice law in Texas and we do not handle any other type of legal issue (civil, personal injury, family law, etc.). Our expertise is handling criminal and DWI charges in Tarrant County, Texas. Our team are all former prosecutors in Tarrant County, so we know the ins and outs on how to best navigate your charge. We have offices in Fort Worth and Colleyville, Texas.

Attorney Client Privilege

The first thing to know is that when you consult with a criminal defense law firm, your conversations are privileged (in person or phone conversations), which means that our attorneys and staff are not allowed to disclose any of our conversations with anyone else about what you tell us. We know it can be difficult, stressful, and sometimes embarrassing talking about being charged with a crime, but the attorney client privilege allows clients to talk about what’s going on, knowing that it is a private conversation. Remember your lawyers are here to help, not to judge.

Sharing Your Version of Events – Be Completely Honest | No Guarantees

After you’ve scheduled your case evaluation, you’ll discuss your case with one of our experienced criminal or DWI lawyers. Our staff tries to pair potential clients with the right lawyer to make sure you are getting the best advice/opinion. For example, Partner Lindsay Truly handles a majority of our DWI charges, Partner Dustin Trammel is a US Army Veteran and handles clients that are Veterans. Partner Colin McLaughlin is a former sex crimes prosecutor, so he handles a lot of our sex crimes charges. It’s important to know that when you hire one or our experienced Fort Worth criminal defense lawyers or DWI attorneys at Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC, you are hiring our entire team and we rely and help each other out to make sure our clients are getting the best outcome on their case.

During the consultation, you’ll explain your version of the facts, including all details that can help them create an effective opinion. It’s recommended to write down important information about your charges beforehand so you do not forget and you make sure to give all the details to your lawyer.

It is also extremely important to be 100% honest with the lawyer during a consultation. Many potential clients will ask – “What do you think will happen?” and we can only give a meaningful response if we have all of the information. Even then, no lawyer can guarantee a particular outcome during a consultation – how can we when we haven’t even reviewed the State’s case at this point? But if a lawyer is telling you that they can guarantee an outcome (like a dismissal), than they are violating State Bar rules. Even on cases where we may feel very strongly that the case is “BS” and that we feel we could get dismissed, we still cannot guarantee an outcome.

Maintaining Evidence | Examining Documentation

Make sure you keep any relevant evidence that may help your defense (text messages, photos, etc.) and during a consultation, when applicable, a defense attorney may examine documentation relevant to your case, especially if the conversation expands past an initial consultation.

During a DWI arrest, for example, you are typically given a DIC-24 and DIC-25 paperwork (keep that and bring that to a consultation). If there was a warrant, you may have been given warrant paperwork (keep and bring that). If it’s a sexual assault or an assault family violence charges, there may be important text message, photos, etc. Remember to gather all papers and evidence that can be considered evidence for your case, especially if they’ve been given to you by court officials or police officers. If you already have a date for your first court appearance, let your lawyer know.

This documentation will be used to conduct an initial investigation and understand the dynamics of your criminal case beyond what you’ve told after arriving at the office. A criminal defense lawyer can also use them to talk about your case’s outcome and what you should expect after your trial is complete. You may also receive instructions on how to avoid additional charges.

Offering an Opinion | Telling it Straight | Building Trust

As noted above, many potential clients will ask “what do you think will happen on my case?” or “can you get it dismissed?” or “can I avoid jail or prison time?”. The goal is always to minimize the charges (dismissal, reduction, no bill, or maybe probation on a serious charge), and it’s our job to offer an opinion on the possible outcomes. Again, even if we feel strongly about a case, we cannot guarantee an outcome, but we strive to be honest in our assessment on a case.

We are going to tell it straight, even if it means we have an uphill climb to get the goal we want. We don’t want to just tell clients what they want to hear to get their business. That’s not fair and that doesn’t build trust with clients. It also creates big problems later on when the prosecutor makes a high offer. It’s extremely important to be on the same page. Good, Bad, or ugly our firm is going to fight for our clients, but it’s important to have an honest assessment of where we are starting from when we take on a case.

Discussing Your Fees & Scope of Representation

Following an initial discussion with one of our lawyers, we will discuss the scope of representation and our legal fees. Our most common fee is a flat fee we call a “Disposition Fee.” That’s our flat fee to handle your case from now until it’s resolved without a trial (i.e. a dismissal, a no bill, a plea bargain). That scope typically includes reviewing your case and all the discovery provided by the State of Texas, communicating with the Judge and prosecutors on your case, answering questions, helping our clients with mitigation evidence, going to all the court settings, and being available when needed.

Other separate services related to criminal and DWI charges we provide include: fighting a license suspension when we are retained on a DWI, filing a lawsuit to get a case expunged or non-disclosed following a dismissal, or getting retained if the State is trying to revoke your probation.

In addition, we also provide representation to clients who are being investigated for a charge. For example, a Detective may contact you and want to talk about a possible sexual assault. At that point, you need to hire a lawyer to make sure you are making the right decision in talking or not talking to police and exploring options (polygraph, etc.).

How do we arrive at our fees? Our fees depend on a number of facts including:

Our expertise and experience handling your type of charge, which includes our experience as former prosecutors, our training, our history of knowing exactly how to handle certain types of cases, and our relationships.
The type of criminal or DWI charge?
The typically length of representation for that charge? Some cases can take years to resolve if we are fighting for the right outcome (and not just accepting whatever the prosecutors are offering).
The anticipated time for the representation because by getting retained we are passing up other potential clients?
How many lawyers do we need to handle the case?
How much time are our staff (paralegal, etc.) going to be needed to assist on the case?
Do we need to retain an investigator? Polygraph? Assessment? Mitigation Expert?
The amount of discovery to review?
Are there other collateral matters that we need to handle like a license suspension or an occupational license in addition to handling the charge itself?
Does the client need a letter for a current or future employer to help protect their career?

Build a Strong Defense with a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Every case is different and there are many ways to proceed when it comes to criminal or DWI charges. Criminal defense lawyers and DWI attorneys are legal professionals that can help you make an informed choice during stressful times and help you get the best outcome.

At Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC, we make sure that our clients know that we truly care about getting them the right outcome. Our consultations provide you with the confidence you need to face your charges, knowing you have someone fighting for you. Our goal is a dismissal. If you’d like to know more or need help, you can call 817-334-7900 or fill out the online contact form.