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Leading Federal Criminal Lawyer Michael Leonard on how to hire a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Firm News

Leading Federal Criminal Lawyer Michael Leonard on how to hire a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney.

There are a number of factors that should be considered by any individual who is considering retaining counsel when he or she: 1) has already been charged with Federal criminal charges; or 2) who is already being investigated for potential Federal criminal charges; or 3) who suspects that he/she may be facing such charge or investigation.

First, do the lawyers being considered for retention have experience in handling Federal criminal cases? State and Federal criminal laws and procedures are often quite different from one another. Of course, the Courts and Judges handling them are entirely different. Accordingly, a lawyer who has exclusively handled State Court criminal cases, or who has not handled a substantial number of Federal criminal cases, may not be the best choice to retain as counsel.

Second, even if the lawyer possesses experience handling Federal criminal cases, does that lawyer have a history of merely assisting client in entering guilty pleas in Federal criminal cases? Of course, there are Federal criminal cases where that is the most appropriate outcome. However, a client should take a close look at how many Federal criminal cases the lawyer has actually taken to trial.

Third, the client should ask: has the lawyer ever won a Federal criminal trial, and if, so, how many times? Moreover, there is a difference between merely winning one or more Counts during a Federal criminal trial versus winning the entire case – in other words, all Counts. It can mean the difference between walking out of the Federal District Court entirely free and facing no time in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as opposed to still facing years or possibly decades incarcerated.

At Leonard Trial Lawyers, we are confident that you will find that we check all of the above boxes in terms of not only handling Federal criminal cases, but of obtaining extremely favorable trial and sentencing outcomes – including actually winning Federal criminal jury trials.

Michael Leonard

Leonard Trial Lawyers

January 29, 2025