When you’re facing a driving under the influence (DUI) charge, you may be tempted to hire the most famous DUI attorney in the country, even if they are based clear across the country. Certainly, you want the best DUI attorney you can afford, but you need to ask yourself, are there advantages to working with a DUI attorney near me? There are definite benefits to working with a local lawyer.

10 Advantages of Working With a DUI Attorney Near Me

They Know People Who Matter

Every city has people who have more influence in legal matters than others. A local DUI attorney will likely know all the players involved in your case, from the officer who charged you, to the prosecutor who will try you, to the judge who will decide your fate. Even though there’s a process to follow when you’re involved in a DUI case, people make the ultimate decisions. You want a lawyer who knows the right people to make those decisions.

They Know Which Arguments Work

When you hire a local attorney with experience in DUI cases, you’ll know that they have probably argued DUI cases before most judges in your district. Therefore, they’ll already know which arguments work better with which judges. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee that you’ll win your case, but it’s very helpful in determining an initial strategy to highlight certain points of your case that your judge appreciates once you know who your judge will be.

They Know the Procedures

Every court in the country runs a little differently from every other court, and if you hire a lawyer who’s never practiced in your district’s court, they may miss a key procedure or offend a judge by not adhering to a specific rule. Unfortunately, no attorney can know all the rules and procedures of every court in the nation, but a local attorney will understand these particulars inside and out and will avoid incurring the wrath of the judge.

They Have a Reputation

Local attorneys are usually very careful to protect their reputation in their so-called “home courtrooms” because they know how a loss of respect can affect their outcomes. They will usually be held in high regard with local judges, especially if they’re always prepared with a legal strategy that doesn’t waste the court’s time. Having the respect of your judge is vital to your case, and a visiting lawyer would have to build that respect from square one.

Moreover, successful local DUI lawyers will have developed a reputation for getting their clients satisfactory outcomes among the local legal community. No matter how hard a judge tries to be completely impartial, knowing a lawyer’s success rate can only help your case. Prosecutors also may not want to go up against your attorney in court, so they could offer you an excellent plea bargain instead. You can’t buy this kind of reputation from an out-of-town attorney.

They Are Convenient

If you need to consult with your attorney immediately, you’re more likely to get an appointment with a local lawyer than with one who has to travel to the meeting. Plus, you’ll never have to worry if your attorney is going to make it to court on time due to travel issues. Most local lawyers can get to the court within minutes, so you won’t have to stress about whether or not the judge will have to delay your case.

Additionally, if you need to sign documents or drop off papers to your attorney, it makes it easier for you to drive to a local attorney’s office rather than relying on mail or delivery services. You won’t have to call long distance and spend even more money, either. Having your lawyer available to you when you need them to be is one of the biggest advantages of hiring a local DUI attorney. Having to wait makes things much more stressful.

They Have Relationships With Local Experts

To prove your case, you may need to enlist the help of experts, including accident reconstructionists, medical professionals, and others. If you hire a lawyer from another location, they won’t have relationships with experts in your area. This is important because local experts are going to know the area where you were pulled over or where the accident occurred better than an outsider. Moreover, it’ll cost you less to hire local experts than those who have to be flown in.

They Offer More Personalized Representation

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, especially if you’re looking to get personal attention from your DUI attorney. While you might be thinking that you need a big, flashy law firm to handle your DUI case, you actually might be better served by hiring a smaller, local firm. This is because the larger company may not have enough time to dedicate to your specific case. With a smaller law firm, your case will get the attention it deserves.

A DUI charge isn’t something you can afford to neglect, so you want an attorney who’s going to fight for your rights every step of the way. Hiring a famous DUI lawyer may seem like a good idea, but your case could be handed off to someone with less experience, which definitely isn’t what you want. No two DUI cases are exactly the same, so you deserve a personalized approach to your defense that takes all eventualities into account.

They Are Usually More Affordable

Of course, the costs of your case are highly dependent on your circumstances, but you’re likely going to pay less if you hire a local DUI attorney than if you hire one who has to travel from another city. This is particularly true if you hire one from a large city, where overhead costs are higher. You’ll also have to pay for travel-related expenses, such as flights, fuel, hotels, and more. With local representation, you won’t have these added expenses.

They Are More Dedicated

If people all over the country are hiring a certain attorney, they may not be as dedicated to any one case because they don’t need to be. They’ll still have all the business they can handle. With a local attorney, though, your case is important to them. They’ll give your case the same attention they would if they were defending someone in their own family. They have a reputation to uphold and a business that needs to be successful.

They May Take On Cases Other Lawyers Won’t

Big law firms that often take cases from other cities or states may decline to represent you unless your case is financially profitable. Your case may be either trivial to them or they don’t think they can win your case, which would affect their statistics. A local lawyer, though, will be more likely to take challenging DUI cases because they’re hungrier for business. Plus, with a lighter caseload, a local attorney can devote more time to your situation.

They Specialize in DUI Cases

Often, large law firms from other cities take all sorts of cases, including DUI offenses. Sure, there may be an attorney with that firm who is specialized in DUI cases, but wouldn’t you feel better if the entire law firm handled DUIs exclusively? This is one benefit of hiring a local firm that only handles DUIs. You can bet their experience will be considerably more than a more diversified firm from out of town.

With a local DUI attorney, your interests are put ahead of anything else. We at Jameson Stone regularly represent clients from Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Carlisle, Harrisburg, and York, and regularly practice in front of the Judges in Cumberland County, Dauphin County, and York County. Don’t take the chance that an out-of-town lawyer will mishandle your case. Contact Jameson Stone Law today to schedule your initial consultation.