My Prosperous World

I grew up wanting to be an attorney. I went to an unaccredited law school. I could sit for the bar, but my school was not ABA accredited. This meant I would not get offers from the big law firms. But I wanted to be a criminal attorney so I thought this would not matter.

I simply wanted to graduate. Then I wanted to pass the bar. I would think about getting work as a lawyer later.

However, the practical experience in criminal law came from working for the government. Most criminal attorneys working in the private sector started as a deputy public defender or deputy district attorney. And I was not going be able to break into that area coming from a small school. On top of that when I graduated the state had a hiring freeze because of budget constraints. About a year later however, the freeze was lifted for one opening. I interviewed and scored an 88 out of a possible 100. This was not good enough to land the only opening in a year with all the competition out there I knew.

Three days later I got a letter explaining the hiring freeze was back on. The position was not even filled before the freeze was on again. The next day I enrolled in a course on DUI law practice. I had not gone to school to defend drunk drivers but it was a part of criminal law.

After completing the course I ran an ad in the local shopper. My phone rang all day long. I went to court with my first client. The courtroom was in the city I grew up in across the street from the college I graduated from.

There was really no defense for my client. His alcohol blood level was above the legal limit. The cop stopped him as he was driving out of the driveway of the bar he had been drinking in all night. But as my instructor said some people like a lawyer to hold their hand as they are going through the process. That was my role that morning, hand holder.

Finally when they were done the female bailiff looked me up and down turned her nose up and walked off. I asked the female deputy district attorney to confirm the charges and asked what would be the sentence she would agree to. This is what I learned in my class. She organized her files on the desk and without looking at me said you can find that out from the judge when we get started.

I was treated very politely by the female judge however. I think she probably came up the ranks of the public defenders office. My client got the basic penalty he was due and although his license was suspended for one year, I was able to allowed to drive to and from work and while he was working since driving was part of his job. But I pulled the ad from the shopper. One DUI defense was enough. One criminal case was enough for me to change my mind about criminal law. At court I felt like I was the one who was on trial not my client. But the truth of the matter is, the criminal attorney is the agent of the accused and has to know that going into not only the courtroom but into law school.

Having a well experienced criminal lawyer Fort Lauderdale is greatly beneficial to the case. A Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney will use their expertise to fight for your welfare, guaranteeing the best possible outcomes.