So somebody very close to you has been arrested and it's time to hire a criminal defense lawyer and you don't have a clue how to go about it? Choosing the right lawyer may well be the difference between the imprisonments you may face or you walk scratch free. Choosing poorly may not only lead to loss of money but also freedom and life.

Well the first important thing about the lawyers. They lie. They are paid to lie and this comes over to their personal habits as well. So do not just blindly trust whatever your Criminal Defense Lawyer says. Ask him a set of questions given below and come running out if he answers any one of them wrongly.

Ask him whether he/she can guarantee an acquittal. If he/she says yes come running out the front door. No lawyer however good can guarantee an acquittal because you never know what kind of jury you are going to face. If he/she asks for a retainer ask him to put his promises on paper and sign it before you pay him. If he refuses politely and courteously step away.

Ask him his/ her win ratio but just do not go for the win ratio. Certain lawyers do not win cases but they negotiate cases in such a way that you walk away from prison time or you do not end up paying your life savings as penalty. Make it clear also to ask for criminal defense lawyer as you do not want any tax attorney to fight your case.

Do not ask the amount of time a lawyer has been practicing? It is not a good criteria for judging compatibility. A lawyer with thirty years of contract law experience is nowhere near as good as a criminal defense attorney who has handled 150 cases in five years.

Ask your lawyer not the tenure of his experience but how long has he practiced locally ? Has he practiced in any other state or city? What prompted the shift? Did he have any case that grabbed national headlines? How many cases has he successfully plea bargained? The tenure of the local experience will give you a fairly good idea the kind of reputation the Criminal Defense Lawyer enjoys.

The national headlines grabbing case would let you have a clear understanding of his lawyer skills. If you work hard enough you could pull out all his previous cases similar to the one you or your loved ones are facing. You can even get the manuscripts.

Never ask your Criminal Defense lawyer how many cases he has handled ? Ask him the type of cases he has handled. Whether he has any experience with kind of case he is about to take. Has he won such a case before or successfully plea bargained this kind of case before. What is his loss percentage with this kind of cases. No point in hiring a lawyer who has lost all such previous cases.