Every new lawyer has a choice — join a firm or go it alone. It’s one of the few professions where even a neophyte can hang out a shingle and hope for clients from day one.
In criminal law, the choice is more stark — while you can go out alone right away, it’s not always a great idea. In fact, I don’t advise it. My suggestion is that, at least for the first couple of years, you join the local public defender office. That’s where you’ll get the solid ground-up training, make the contacts, and have the fun of the “all-for-one-and-one-for-all” spirit implicit in such places.
Public defender organizations are built to take on new lawyers and train them well. Experienced attorneys will run training programs, mock trials, lectures, and CLEs. You’ll be one of many other new, enthusiastic attorneys, fighting the system together, helping poor clients, taking on The Man.
Stand With Survivors: Legal Tools To Make A Real Difference This DVAM
Enhance your legal skills to advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence.
There’s also tremendous strength in numbers and a great feeling of accomplishment when the organization you work for changes the system for the better. Public defender organizations in New York can be credited with making sure people who have been arrested get to see a judge within 24 hours; that police in many jurisdictions now tape-record interrogations; that substandard crime labs are exposed; and that lying cops and unethical prosecutors are held accountable.
Because public defender organizations are big, they’ve also got power and when they take action, it’s felt. For example, a contingent of Legal Aid attorneys disrupted court proceedings last week by walking out of the building to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ interference with their cases and their clients. (The point: Let immigrants finish their criminal cases before putting them in deportation. They might be acquitted!)
When joining a public defender group, you’ll never lack for clients and responsibilities. New attorneys will handle cases independently, go to court every day, and do trials faster than attorneys who go out alone or who join smaller criminal-defense law firms.
On the other hand, the down side is the stress caused by such a large number of cases and the responsibility each represents. Every client demands time, patience, and your best effort.
The Trump Gold Card: A New $1 Million Pathway To A U.S. Green Card
A new proposal would let wealthy foreign nationals secure an opportunity for a U.S. green card with a $1 million 'gift' to the government, sparking legal and ethical debate.
But what if you’re not hired by a public defender organization or would rather go out on your own? All is not lost. You can still do criminal defense work for a career, it will just be tougher to get started. All the stuff that comes naturally when working for a big organization — tons of clients, training, and social contacts — you’ll have to make happen.
Here’s some ideas on how to get clients:
Volunteer If You Have To
Even if you’re not part of a big organization, many urban areas have panels of independent lawyers paid by the city or state who get appointed cases. There will be hoops to jump through — you’ll need recommendations and some experience. It’s rare you’ll be appointed to a panel right out of law school unless the area is absolutely starving for defense attorneys. One suggestion — find a small firm, or even solo practitioner, to work with. Even if it’s volunteer work, you’ll be building the chops you need to start your own practice and accumulating recommendations, references, and experience that you’ll need to be accepted on any panel.
A colleague of mine who wasn’t hired by a public defender organization decided to volunteer to do appellate work. By doing that, she got to know the defense attorneys who did the underlying trials. She then reached out to those attorneys and asked to work with them on their upcoming cases. Contacts matter. After a couple of years, she was appointed to a city panel that does misdemeanor work and soon hopes to be appointed to the felony panel.
Join a Defense Bar Group
Another good idea for the solo attorney is to join a defense bar group. Almost every state has at least one, if not many. Large urban areas like Boston, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta have country, city, and state organizations. The listservs these organizations host are great ways to become familiar with what’s trending in criminal law and the names of the most active and interesting attorneys in the field. They are also a source of work. I can’t tell you how many experienced attorneys use listservs to post notices that they’re looking for young attorneys to assist or second-seat them on trial.
Don’t Sweat the Expenses
Starting-out expenses don’t have to be high. You don’t need a staff (have computer, will travel). You don’t even need an office. Virtual offices (addresses where you can rent conference space) exist everywhere. Rates are low. Or you can meet clients in the space provided by the bar organization of which you’re a member. What you will need is a laptop, printer, access to the internet, and a legal-research website, but there’s little else. (Ahem, malpractice insurance is a good idea. I pay a couple of thousand a year for mine.)
Reach Out to Experienced Attorneys
On the social/mentoring side, most criminal defense attorneys are really friendly. You reach out to them, and they’ll reach back. In the realm of lawyers in general, criminal lawyers are among the most down-to-earth, passionate, and happy to help.
Don’t Ignore Federal Work
Although most federal defender organizations won’t take you on straight out of law school, many do take on interns and mentees. You can also get yourself associated with a long-time federal practitioner who’s got a thriving private practice or is on the CJA panel, even if it means starting out as a glorified paralegal. They can get you paid to help out on big cases. Remember — contacts, contacts, contacts.
Develop Leads with all Relevant Communities
A lead to one solid source, a person in the community who for whatever reason has a pipeline to people who get arrested, is better than a mountain of advertising.
A colleague of mine happened into a case 20 years ago. He answered a midnight call to do an arraignment on a DUI for a Dominican family and has been working with that community ever since.
Maybe you have a brother who’s a court officer, corrections officer, or cop. These guys get arrested, too. Great communities from which to draw clients.
Advertising is tricky. Unless you’re a big fish in a small pond, or the only fish in your pond, or have some very specific skill (like speak Swahili or are a former DEA agent), it’s tough to get your name to rise to the top of Google.
But all you need is one great case and one great win. Do great for one member of some community — and they’ll be spreading your name to everyone.
Toni Messina has tried over 100 cases and has been practicing criminal law and immigration since 1990. You can follow her on Twitter: @tonitamess.