DUI arrest is expensive! Some of the costs you face include towing of your car, bail, higher insurance rates, court fines and fees, alcohol evaluations, and alcohol classes. On top of all of that, you will want to hire a reputable DUI attorney — and that costs money too. While you want to be sure your attorney is highly skilled and experienced, you also want to know how much they cost.
How much should I spend on a DUI attorney?
DUI attorneys are no exception to the maxim, “You get what you pay for.”
Experienced attorneys with good reputations in the community are going to be able to demand higher prices for their time and expertise than can attorneys who are unseasoned or have bad reputations.
On the other hand, there may be attorneys that you cannot afford. The over-inflated cost of some attorneys will not make a noticeable difference in your case. It is in your best interests to do a little groundwork. Look at the range of prices between attorneys. Compare their experience and reputations. Choose a lawyer who is experienced and has a solid reputation but does not seem to be overcharging.
Why shouldn’t I hire the cheapest attorney?
Private attorneys who offer rock-bottom prices must take on a lot of clients to pay their bills.
Many people forego the public defender because they believe that the public defender is subpar to a private attorney. Actually, private attorneys will often seek the advice of public defenders on particular issues. A public defender handles so many cases, they usually have more extensive experience than almost any private attorney.
Public defenders are highly experienced attorneys who are “overworked and underpaid.”
While public defenders may have broad experience, the legitimate complaint about public defenders is that they are “overworked and underpaid.” The court often jam-packs their caseloads, resulting in very little time to spend on each case. In other words, the circumstances that give them so much experience in court are also the circumstances that may cause them to give your case less attention than you believe it deserves.
Sometimes a public defender is a better choice.
If you are seeking a private attorney because you want your attorney to spend more time on your case than a public defender would, do not hire the least expensive attorney. Attorneys who take cases at very low prices also must overload themselves with clients to stay in business. At some point, you might as well have kept your public defender, because now you are paying money to someone who has as many clients as the public defender has, and you are paying out of pocket for her/him. Plus, the private attorney likely has less oversight than the public defender.
How much does it cost to hire a DUI lawyer?
The DUI attorney cost can range drastically between firms. I have personally heard of quotes from DUI attorneys ranging from $500-$10,000 for pretrial work on a simple DUI case. If the case went to trial, those numbers would be much higher. It is impossible for even our firm to give an exact figure on how much we would charge for a simple DUI case because the circumstances in a DUI case can range so much. That is why we will standardly not charge you for a thirty-minute consultation. The consultation is our opportunity to review the details of your case to give an informed estimate as to cost and expected outcomes.
Call our attorneys today for a no-obligation quote.
If you call our office today at 208-571-0627, we can gather the details of your case, and give you an estimate on the cost of retaining our office to represent you on your DUI case.