Criminal lawyers in Melbourne are a dime a dozen, but that does not equate to quality across the board.
This is a tough industry to find a foothold and even tougher to reach the top of the class.
So how can clients make an independent judgment on their skills and expertise?
Let’s discuss that point in more detail.
Flexible Client Payment Methods
Clients who are in the market for criminal lawyers in Melbourne won’t all be white-collar executives or self made millionaires accessing the top of the class. They will often be working class citizens facing a life changing charge. Given the gravity of that situation, it is vital that firms like Papa Hughes Lawyers give their clientele some leeway on payment so they can access quality counsel without being bankrupt for the privilege. This can include a variety or combination of payment policies, including flat fees, hourly rates, fees based on the verdict and pro bono work.
Extensive Knowledge of Criminal Law
Criminal lawyers in Melbourne cover a variety of bases within the practice. It can range from severe cases that include murder, manslaughter, arson and rape. There can be a financial element with bank fraud, money laundering and blackmail. It could also include child abuse and sexual assault that places it in another category. The wider the knowledge base of the practice, the greater chance they have of taking on business and managing cases that span a greater range of clientele.
Ability to Mediate, Negotiate and Persuade
People skills are fundamental when it comes to criminal lawyers in Melbourne reaching the top of their industry. Whilst the knowledge of the legal system and all of its intricacies are crucial, it is the art of mediation, negotiation and persuasion that separates the peer group. During talks with opposing counsel and when it comes to presenting an argument in front of a collection of jury members and the judge, it will be those people skills that are front and center of the case. Even if participants are swayed subconsciously, it will have an impact over their final judgment and that becomes an asset that a client has to obtain to reach a sound verdict.
Outsourcing Key Tasks To Paralegals
When criminal lawyers in Melbourne decide to take too much responsibility on their own shoulders during the span of a working week, they can leave themselves short when it comes to the final result. This is where an expert practitioner will have a skilled paralegal team to run the errands, undertake key research tasks and cover the other bases that they normally wouldn’t be able to cover. Some in the industry will brandish an image of being a world-class operator throughout every element of the practice, yet it is those who can delegate and work within a team environment who are often one step ahead of their peers in the courtroom.
Capacity To Get Ahead of Evidence
Criminal lawyers in Melbourne are put on the back foot when the defence or prosecution has obtained a key piece of evidence and submitted it to the courtroom. It can arrive in the form of eyewitness testimony, a DNA test result, a valuable piece of documentation, a social media post, a photograph, a character reference or a police report. Those members of counsel who come in second to obtaining this evidence are left to instigate reactive measures rather than instituting a proactive stance.
Summary
It won’t be hard to determine which criminal lawyers in Melbourne are successful. From online ratings and reviews to personal references and the reputations circulating through the halls of the Victorian justice system, these solicitors are judged on a daily basis. The key is to identify those who meet these high standards and are willing to come to the table.