The lawyer you might be looking for may not be the same person who helped buy a house, who handled your will, or whom your uncle used when he was involved in a car accident. All these are civil lawyers. For your case, you are looking for someone with great specialties in the criminal law. However, you may have a choice to get someone who has specialized in both areas.

Civil vs. Criminal Lawyers
The private criminal defense attorneys tend to practice in small partnerships on their own in a small geographic area. On the contrary, lawyers handling civil cases congregate in large firms with many offices in numerous cities. While personality differences between criminal and civil lawyers account for this variation, the main difference is the nature of work.
• Big-firm civil lawyers represent companies who have business in many parts of the country. Criminal defense attorneys represent defendants whose problems are local.
• Companies represented by many big-firm civil attorneys are often contacted for continual legal representation and advice. Individual criminal defendants tend to act many roles and specialties on many legal needs that are often nonrecurring.

The private defense lawyer has many years of experience working for the country before working as a private legal practitioner as a public defender or as a prosecutor.

The Local Advantage
A defendant i advised to hire the services of a lawyer with enough legal experience in the courthouses when the case of the defendant is pending. Though the same laws may be effected all over the state, procedures can vary from one court to another. For instance, certain offenses can have a no-plea policy for bargaining with a D.A in another county. On the other hand, such policy is not effected in the nearby county. Defenders should prefer lawyers who have experience with the local personnel and procedures.

Experience with the Charged Crime
A defendant should get the services of a lawyer who has represented defendants facing similar charges in court. The modern criminal law is so complex that many attorneys specialize in some aspects. For instance, one attorney can specialize in white collar crimes, and another specializing in embezzlement and tax cases.

It is, therefore, appropriate for the defendant to inquire about the the lawyer’s experience during the initial consultation session. Never hire an attorney who refuses to speak about his specialty and experience or the one who gives unrevealing or vague answers.

Personal Factor
A defendant’s attorney should always speak for the defendant. It doesn’t matter how the attorney can be recommended. The most important thing to do is to be comfortable with the attorney. The lawyer-client relationships are those where the clients partner fully with the attorney to make decisions. Defendants should choose the lawyers who work as partners and not as case files.

As yourself the following questions when hiring an attorney:
• Does the lawyer’s concern point to your situation?
• Does the lawyer’s concern show personal or genuine desire?
• Does the attorney seem to be ready to work?
• Does the lawyer explain things in a manner that makes you understand?