Hiring a DUI Attorney: Things You Need To Know

This article covers what you should know before retaining a drunk driving criminal defense attorney (DUI Attorney). We also examine what legal services DUI Attorneys provide and what they customarily charge for their services.

Hiring A Drunk Driving Criminal Defense Attorney

Typical Education of a Criminal Defense Lawyer

• Completion of Four Years of College
• Three Years of Law School
• Passing The State Bar and Ethics Exam

DUI Lawyers and General Criminal Defense Practices

Criminal defense lawyers that have made drunk driving defense their primary practice belong to a highly experienced subcategory of criminal defense lawyers.

While most general practice criminal defense attorneys accept drunk driving cases, depending on your case and the potential legal and financial exposure you face in being convicted of drunk driving facing, it is usually a safe bet to retain an experienced DUI Defense attorney with extensive DUI trial experience. However, these attorneys can be quite expensive.

What DUI Attorneys Do

Once the police report and other forms of initial discovery are obtained, such as breath, blood, or urine test results, your lawyer will focus on the legal and factual weaknesses and strengths of the prosecutor’s case against you.

Attacking The Prosecution’s Case

As you will see, there are multiple ways of attacking the prosecutor’s case against you, including reviewing the following issues:

• Was the officer’s traffic stop constitutionally justified?
• Were there errors and weaknesses in how the field sobriety tests were administered?
• Are there reliability and error margins in your breath, blood, or urine test?
• Can the experience or recorded observations be challenged?
• Was there sufficient probable cause to make an arrest?
• Are there alternative explanations to challenge the officer’s written assessment of your performance on the field sobriety tests?

DUI Fines and Penalties

The First Offense

State laws can differ when it comes to DUI fines and penalties. In most states, a first offense without priors or aggravating circumstances can result in either 48 hours of jail time or 48 hours of community service, between one and two thousand in fines and court costs, and court-ordered DUI school or substance abuse counseling.

Prior Convictions

Minimum or maximum sentences will vary based on the number of previous DUI offenses you have been convicted of within a prescribed period. First and second DUI convictions are usually misdemeanors unless a serious injury has occurred. Third and fourth DUI convictions are usually charged as felonies and can include severe penalties.

Aggravating Circumstances

The level of punishment will depend on the nature of the aggravating circumstances:

• Number of Priors
• Excessive BAC – (more than twice the legal rate)
• Driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license
• Violating terms of criminal probation
• Reckless speeding
• Causing injury to another driver
• Causing the death of another
• Having a minor in your vehicle while impaired
• Causing property damage
• Resisting arrest
• Fleeing the scene
• Carrying a weapon
• Having an open container in the car

Drunk Driving Attorney Fees

Many Factors to Consider

When looking for the right DUI attorney, it’s important to remember that your decision should not be based entirely on price.

The best way to choose a DUI lawyer is to meet them, discuss your case, and ask many questions.

The probability that a lawyer can obtain a better deal for you outside the standard first-time DUI terms and penalties is relatively low. Alternatively, suppose it is not a financial hardship to retain a lawyer. In that case, it may be worth paying more for the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your lawyer explored every legal option on your behalf.

Determining the Reasonableness of Attorney Fees

American Bar Association Rules

Under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the factors considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee include:

• The time and labor required to complete the task
• The difficulty of the legal and factual issues presented
• The skill required to effectuate the legal services
• The fee usually charged in the locality for similar legal work
• The time limitations and availability of the attorney
• The nature of the relationship between lawyer and the client
• The reputation and level of experience, and special abilities of the lawyer

DUI Fee Requirements & Prohibitions

• An attorney must inform the client of the basis on which the client will be charged.
• The attorney’s bill must show where the money is going and how the amounts have been calculated.
• The attorney must not overcharge the client for hours they have not spent working for their client.
• The attorney must not charge a client for ordinary overhead expenses such as staffing, equipping, and running the attorney’s office. However, an attorney may charge their client for calls, research, overtime, photocopying, etc.

DUI Legal Fees Set by Law Firm

For the most part, law firms generally permitted to set their own legal fees. Most states require that attorney fees must be reasonable under the circumstances.

How Law Firms Set Their Fee Rates

• The lawyer’s level of experience or specialization in the area of law
• The complexity of the case
• The number of hours the lawyer expects to work on the case
• The number of additional lawyers or support staff that the lawyer will need to adequately represent the client

Legal fees will depend on the complexity and seriousness of the case and the amount of attorney time estimated to effectively challenge the prosecutor’s case.

Sometimes, it becomes apparent that the case should be prepared for trial, especially if it has been filed as a felony.

If the client has prior drunk driving convictions, your lawyer may attempt to “strike” prior convictions on constitutional grounds. Motions to exclude evidence will likely need to be prepared and argued, as well as chemical tests retested.

Right to Negotiate Legal Fees

In all states, clients are free to negotiate the terms of representation with their attorney, including the amount of fees to be paid.

Collection of DUI Legal Fees

Legal fees are usually collected in criminal defense matters before the attorney appears in court. This is because once the lawyer makes their first court appearance, it is tough for the attorney to withdraw from your case based on nonpayment fees.

Collecting the Entire Fee Upfront and Before Making the First Appearance

Sometimes lawyers will agree to accept payment in installments at different phases of the criminal process. It’s not uncommon for DUI lawyers to accept installment payments so long as the first installment covers most of the work to be performed.

How Much You Can Expect to Pay

Fees vary depending on the experience and qualifications of the lawyer. It also depends on how much legal work your case will likely require.

Note that legal fees will also depend on your location. Rural areas usually have lower fees than major metropolitan areas.

Attorney Fee Ranges – 2022

• 1st Offense: $1,500 – $2,500
• 2nd Offense: $3,500 – $5,500
• 3rd Offense: $5,000 – $25,000 (if charged as a felony)

Handholding and Convenience

Sometimes the single role of a DUI attorney is to hand-hold clients through the plea process and appear on their behalf without the client having to personally attend court appearances.

These types of services fail to offer appreciable value to the case’s defense. In these cases, clients often get little more than they would have obtained independently. These lawyers regularly plea to the standard terms at the time of arraignment.

Trial Fee Arrangements

Many lawyers require a non-refundable, lump-sum fee for representing you through trial. Be very careful here. Less than 5% of all DUI arrests go to trial, meaning you may be paying for legal services you will never need. It is recommended that you request that your attorney track his time for all work performed on your case.

The lawyer keeps the trial retainer in a trust account pending the resolution of the matter. As the case moves closer to trial, the lawyer can draw upon the fees from the trust account but not before.

If not, the trial fee should be returned to you without delay once the criminal matter has been resolved without the need for trial. It is usually better to insist that the trial retainer be divided into phases (arraignment, pretrial, and trial).

Trial Fees

Most first-offense DUI trials take, on average three-court days to complete, and the middle range of attorney fees for trial is between $1,000 to $2,000 a day, depending on experience.

Non-Refundable Fees

There is some controversy surrounding this issue. Your local bar association can resolve most fee disputes. Most fee arbitrators do not favor “non-refundable” attorney fees. Such fee arrangements can result in an unfair windfall for the lawyer at the client’s expense. This is especially true if the lawyer pleads your case out early in the court process without making many court appearances or performing much motion work.

Most bar associations will resolve the fee dispute equitably, based on the lawyer’s experience and how many actual attorney hours were completed in your case.

Questions to Ask Your DUI Lawyer “Before” Signing the Fee Agreement

• Will you represent me at my DMV Hearing?
• Will you work on an hourly fee basis and put my money in your trust account?
• Will you subpoena the chemical test results or calibration records?
• Will you make a motion to strike my prior convictions? (assuming priors)
• Will you file to dismiss if you determine the police acted illegally?
• How many DUI trials have you had in the past five years? What is your win record? (This will include a hung jury since actual acquittals are rare)
• In the past twelve months, how many DUI cases have you personally tried to verdict?
• Will you be the one pushing my case and handling the appearances?

Consult With A DUI Criminal Defense Lawyer