Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
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A criminal lawyer in California may offer his clients payment plans
Criminal attorneys in California may offer payment plans. They are not required to do so though. It is in the lawyer’s discretion as to whether he will offer this form of payment.
And, if provided, the lawyer might still require a retainer up front, or a fee paid prior to any formal representation.
In addition to payment plans, California criminal lawyers may:
The exact amount that a criminal attorney will charge a client will depend on a number of factors, including:
A criminal lawyer in California may offer his clients payment plans. If so, the plan typically involves a client paying the attorney a set monthly payment. The payments continue until the client pays off the total amount owed to the lawyer for his services.
Please note that it is entirely in the attorney’s discretion as to whether he will offer a payment plan. Lawyers are not required, by law, to provide these plans to their clients. And, if one is offered, the lawyer might still require a retainer to be paid up front.
The benefit of a payment plan, if agreed to, is that a client can spread the overall cost of legal services out over time.
Criminal defense attorneys can charge their clients by the hour. This means clients pay their lawyer for the actual time he/she spends on a case. An example of an hourly fee is $125 per one hour that the lawyer spends working.
There are pros and cons to hourly charges. The main advantage is that they favor cases that end fast. Clients will pay less for a quick resolution to a matter. The main con is that attorney fees will grow very expensive if a case grows complicated or takes a long time to conclude.
In any event, an attorney should be able to provide an honest estimate as to how long a case will last.
California criminal attorneys may charge a client a fixed fee for handling a case. A fixed fee means the client pays the lawyer a set amount for him/her to handle the case – from beginning to end. And, this fee will not change even if the lawyer spends an incredible amount of time handling the matter. An example of a fixed fee is when a California DUI attorney charges a client $2,000 to handle the entirety of his drunk driving case.
Like hourly payments, there are pros and cons to fixed fees. The pro is that a client will know exactly how much his legal fees will cost. The main con is that a client might feel like he paid too much if his case ends quickly.
A criminal lawyer in California can ask for a retainer. This is a fee that the lawyer may ask for prior to any formal representation begins. If a client pays a retainer, then an attorney will deduct his initial charges from the amount of the retainer.
Consider, for example, a lawyer that asks for a $1,000 retainer. The lawyer also charges the client per hour for his services, at the rate of $100/hour. If the lawyer works five hours on the case, he will be owed $500. Rather than ask the client for this money, though, the attorney will just take it from the initial $1,000 retainer. And, there will be $500 left to pay for future services.
The exact amount that a California criminal lawyer will charge will depend on a variety of factors. The top four include:
As to the latter, a criminal lawyer in a big city may charge more for his representation than a lawyer in an isolated legal market in a small town.
If a defendant cannot afford to pay a private criminal defense attorney, he does have a constitutional right to have a public defender appointed to his case. Public defenders do not charge for their services. They are rather paid by the government.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.