One of the first questions that people ask themselves when charged with a drink driving offence is – “should I hire a lawyer?” Many people have never been to court before and have no experience with hiring a lawyer, so it’s understandable that they might be confused about what decision to make.
We therefore thought it might be helpful if we explained some of the ways that a drink driving lawyer can help you.
Drink Driving Lawyers Know the Law
Drink driving laws can be extremely complex and difficult to understand. Even for the most ‘simple’ drink driving offence, there would be at least a dozen different laws that need to be taken into account when deciding how to handle a case. These laws deal with drink driving limits; possible penalties; immediate licence suspensions; maximum and minimum penalties and so on.
As drink driving lawyers, it is our job to know all the relevant laws inside and out. We can then use our knowledge of the laws to ensure that our clients get the best outcomes possible. This could be a shorter disqualification period and/or a lesser fine or we could even find a way to have the charge dropped completely. For clients in more serious situations, it could also be the difference between going to jail or not.
It also means that we can give our clients expert advice about their options, for example the ability to apply for a restricted work licence which can give them the opportunity to continue driving for work purposes, despite being disqualified by court.
Finally, our knowledge of the law helps us to provide ongoing support for our clients as the law changes. This means that our clients aren’t caught out by the introduction of new laws.
We Know the Court Process
Our clients often tell us how grateful they are to have an experienced lawyer appearing in court with them and guiding them through the whole process. This not only gives our clients peace of mind knowing that their case is being handled by an expert, but it also means that our clients sometimes don’t even need to attend court if we can appear for them. This can be a huge relief for people who are busy with work and family commitments.
Going to court is a stressful time for anyone but having a lawyer who can look after the case for you can be extremely helpful.
We Can Save Time and Money
Some people may think that hiring a lawyer is too expensive and that it’s cheaper to just appear in court themselves. This can be a big mistake as people often underestimate just how much a lawyer can help them.
A lot of time can be wasted when going to court, as people who represent themselves need to wait until all the lawyers have finished appearing for their clients. Even then, they may have 100 other people in line to appear before them! It’s not uncommon to see people waiting in court until late in the afternoon before their matter is finally heard.
As lawyers, we have the benefit of appearing first. This often means that we are finished within half an hour after court has started which saves our busy clients lots of time that would otherwise have been wasted.
Drink driving lawyers can also save their clients money by either ensuring a lesser fine or, in some cases, providing advice which saves clients money later. For example, we have previously been hired by clients who first represented themselves in court but didn’t understand the penalty that was imposed. This has caused them to drive while disqualified which has then caused them to lose their job. Hiring a lawyer the first time they went to court would have saved them a lot of money in the long run!
Conclusion
We have provided just a few examples of why people should seriously consider hiring an experienced drink driving lawyer when going to court. At the very least, you should call a lawyer to see whether they can help you or not. The team at Harper Finch Lawyers is available to take calls 24/7 so don’t hesitate to call us now.