You have spent your life building your reputation, credentials and business. Now, law enforcement in New Jersey claims that you have abused your position of trust in your financial position and charged you with a white collar crime. What do you do now? You do not have to just accept your fate.
Public defender vs. private attorney
First, you may feel like the state or federal government is taking over your life and trying to destroy it. Also, your state or federal public defender may feel like they are a part of that system. However, while they are part of the government justice system, they are your attorney, and they do represent your best interests. Nonetheless, they are limited by their time and resources.
Remember, there is no limit to the number of cases they are asked to take, but there are only so many hours in the day and their budget does not grow with the number of cases. This means that you may get lucky and have a very attentive and resourced public defender with a low caseload, or more often, an overworked and under-resourced public servant just doing their best with what they have. Since the latter is much more common than the former, most facing white collar criminal charges choose a Nutley, New Jersey, private attorney.
I do not think I can afford this
As with all unexpected bills, unexpected white-collar criminal charges come with unexpected costs. And, while you may be tempted by a “free” public defender, remember, legal fees are just one fee associated with white collar criminal charges. Your primary concern should be avoiding conviction or mitigating charges because the costs and fees associated with a conviction are much higher than any potential legal fees.
Plus, you can talk with your attorney about your budget. Their goal is not to bankrupt you, and over the course of the case, you may find that the “cost” of a private attorney is actually much less than a public defender.
How do I pick a lawyer to craft a white-collar crime defense?
Now that you have decided that you want to seek outside help, or at least explore your options, the next step is figuring out how to pick a lawyer to craft your white-collar crime defense. The first concern is that your attorney is local to Nutley, New Jersey, which is where you face the charges. Even if your charges are federal, the courts in our area are different from any other area of the country, and you need an attorney who has experience winning white collar criminal cases here and experience collaborating with the attorneys and judges here.
