Dear Public Defender,
I am sorry that I can get a better deal for your client than you can. Maybe it is because I have been practicing law for about as long as you have been breathing. False confessions, eye-witness allegations and testilying cops don't frighten me. I plea bargain, but I do so from a position of power, even when I am the "underdog". I give your client a feeling of protection and ability.
Chances are I know, taught, mentored or helped elect the judge or prosecutor you are dealing with and s/he will take a chance on a client I represent because I bring a sense of reliability that you don't enjoy. That is likely because your investment in our legal community is limited to telling your fellow lawyers what rubes we all are or rolling your eyes as we invite you to belong to our bar associations.
Oh don't forget that while you are guaranteed a salary,I am not. Hence, you don't work on every holiday or go in on weekends or even return calls... I do.
I give my clients my private cell number and my e-mail address. I am available to him or her 24/7. I am still in my office at 11pm on a pretty regular basis.
I did my time in Legal Aid. I appreciate the work that you do and I enjoyed it when I was doing it, but let's face it, if I didn't describe you, I described many PDs who get a lot of credit for dedication, but aren't always as dedicated as they think. That is why their client is in my office begging me to take his case, and why I can't. You can take it though, and you could win his undying loyalty and respect, but it's not free, you have to earn it.
Warmly
Private Lawyer
Dear Private Lawyer,
I do not look down my nose at private attorneys. I belong to my local bar associations, go to their CLEs, and always try and check out private attorneys in trial when I can. Where I practice they are very supportive of our political troubles and I am always willing to help a private attorney who ends up taking a case from me.
However, I think *any* attorney (private or public) would be annoyed when another attorney dispenses advice without knowing the facts of the case. It hurts the client and completely disintegrates the attorney/client relationship. It frustrates me to sit in my office for over an hour going through the evidence and possible defenses with a client only to be told what I “should be able to get them”.
I do return calls. I visit my clients in jail. I visit crime scenes. I brainstorm their defenses. I go in on the weekends to prepare their cases. I will take the extra time with a mentally ill client to be sure both of us understand what’s going on. I will fight to get the best negotiation possible. I brief their legal issues. I argue for them at the court of appeals. I am a hard worker and I do care about my clients and the quality of representation I provide them.
And believe me; I do not envy you having to get money from your clients or be on call 24/7. Just as I am sure you do not envy me not being able to choose who I represent. This isn’t a competition between the private and public criminal defense sectors – it’s a matter of pure professional courtesy.
Best,
Mariam
I agree with you completely. I was not speaking to you directly anymore than you were speaking to me. I was of the opinion that you were generalizing about all Private counsel. I am glad to see you were speaking of only one particular case and one particular lawyer. That said, it wasn't clear at first. I am sorry some sleaze of a "lawyer" messed with yur client. I wouldn't however be suprised if your client wasn't acurately portraying the consultation with that lawyer to you.
No hard feelings intended. Good luck.
TLD
Uhm, private attorney, I think you overstate your ability to get good deals based on your skills. I have been doing this work for 21 years, a portion in private practice, and plea deals come for a lot of different reasons. Some because of overworked or lazy prosecutors. Some because you come in at the last minute when the public defender has done all of the groundwork. And do you think that maybe the judges are giving you a chance because they may need your support financially at the next election? Good for your experience. I don't flinch from the things you talk about.
What I hate is what Miriam talked about, the attorneys saying, oh yeah, that should not come in or you should be able to get this case dismissed, or get their case reduced to a misdemeanor. And the last time I looked, Judges don't reduce felonies to misdemeanors. Then the attorneys act surprised to the client when what they promised does not come through. And I know it happens because I hear the angry conversations in the hallways. I also absolutely cannot stand when the lawyer is not familiar with the portion of the law he is talking to the client about, i.e. Florida's anti-murder rule for probation violations. They tell the client Oh yeah I can get you a bond hearing and then get embarrassed in court when the State none too pleasantly points out the portion of the statute that says, no bond until the violation hearing.
Your intial response was extremely arrogant. As a public defender I have taught a couple of the judges when they were new attorneys or interns. As a public defender I have worked weekends and average ten hours a day working. In my office this is the norm and not the exception. And let me ask you this, Mr. Long Island Attorney, have you in one year walked three people out of jail who were charged with first degree murder? A public defender in my office has.
If you want to know the real reason that people come "begging" for your service is because they, for some reason, seem to think that unless the reprentation is paid for, then it cannot be worth anything. That is why I sometimes can't help but laugh at the people who choose to hire people I know are inept at best, some who are in constant problem with the Bar.
Here is St. Louis we have a pretty good relationship with the private bar. That may be because most of the best private attorneys were public defenders.
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