this a normal lawyer thing?

[notgood]

my dui happened about 5 months ago.. i pleaded not guilty and got a lawyer. I had an appointment with my lawyer and saw him in court representing for me once (he was late to!)

anyhow he told me to contact him in january and i could only get a hold of his secretary which told me to contact her or him within three weeks before my trial. So i phone back on feb 06 of this month and the secretary tells me i missed an appointment which i was never told about but apparently i was acording to her. So she says the only follow up appointment available is the day BEFORE my trial.. does this seem like a lawyer that is really going to do what he can to help me? i have already given him $2500 and he's expecting another 2500 before the trial.

point of story- is one day before a dui trial enough for a lawyer to look at the disclosure papers and get some idea of what hes going to do?


if i decide to cancel the lawyer and go in myself will i hang myself? If i was financially comfortable i wouldnt be so worried about this but $5000 dollars is the most iv spent in
one shot.


fyi i havent had a sip of alcohol since this accident (about 5 months) lost all my "friends" and job.. been working with a temp agency making crappy money.. so your not giving information to potential re offender.

Thanks

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

I think there are some very good lawyers out there. Mine just wasn't one of them, which is why I come on here often recommending that people find a lawyer that specializes in DUI defense, and was referred to you, not just a yellow pages "find".

Mine charged me 3K, then never took my calls. He showed up for a couple of events unprepared, completely winging it. He was late to my final hearing, I had to ask the judge to take another case because my attorney was in another courtroom upstairs at the same time. I don't think that helped me any. He was going to charge me far more to go to trial, and I took the deal of minimum penalties offered by the prosecution.

Is it normal? I don't think so. I just didn't lawyer-shop very well. Then again, I was guilty all along, just hoping to get out of it. The penalties worked and I don't behave like that anymore.

 

[notgood]

thanks i value your opinion cause im in the same shoes as you once were

no wonder lawyers are so rich

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

There are good and bad, just like in any profession. I only wish I would have either:

Been more selective and hired one who specialized in my type of arrest
or
Not bothered with paying a lawyer and just accepted the penalties, which I would have been offered anyway.

 

[SillyPuddy]

"point of story- is one day before a dui trial enough for a lawyer to look at the disclosure papers and get some idea of what hes going to do?"

** Yes. That's plenty of time. "DUI Defense" is the scam of the century. That's why attorneys involved in DUI law charge flat rates rather than by the hour. A DUI takes about 3 hours of an attorney's time or maybe 4 hours if there's a little distance between his office and court. If the attorney's charged by the hour, they wouldn't make any money on DUI. Also, contrary to naieve belief, a DUI defense attorney has no intention of "helping you". You're seeing that reflected in how the law firm you hired is treating you. Their job is to escort you in to the system in exchange for the DA agreeing to lesser penalties.

In your case, you pleaded not guilty. I don't know the circumstances in your case, but your attorney doesn't see all that interested in your case. None-the-less, don't try it on your own.