Finding Best New York State Speeding / Traffic Court Defense Lawyer or Law Firm
When you seek to hire a NY speeding or traffic court defense lawyer it is only natural that you want the best New York lawyer to represent you. However, it is difficult to find the best NY traffic court lawyer because it is so hard to compare between firms. I liken it to trying to decide the quality between competing mattresses. It is so difficult because like buying a mattress hiring a NY traffic court lawyer is done on rare occasions and each have their own industry nuances which are difficult for the average person to digest. The goal of this article is to help educate you as to benchmarks and indicators to look for so you can determine the quality of a New York traffic court defense lawyer and avoid getting fleeced by a fly by night operation. This article should enable you to hire only the very best New York speeding and traffic ticket defense lawyer for your case.
Specialization
In viewing a lawyer’s web site, it should scream to you in no uncertain terms that the law firm specializes in speeding and traffic court defense. One of the key hallmarks of finding the best New York speeding ticket defense lawyer is that the web site is exclusive to the practice of traffic court defense. Law firms that that advertise traffic defense among personal injury, immigration, closings, adoptions, matrimonial, estate planning, and who knows what else are consummate generalists who know a little bit about a lot of stuff. You don’t need a lawyer like that. You need counsel that knows a lot about speeding and traffic ticket defense.
The issue on specialization is simple – if you broke your arm you wouldn’t go to a dermatologist, you would go to an orthopedic surgeon. The same is true in in defending a speeding or traffic ticket. One of the touchstones of being the best New York speeding ticket defense lawyer or law firm is whether they specialize in traffic court defense to the exclusion of all other practice areas of law. So look at an attorney web site. If it does not it scream “NY traffic court defense lawyer” you simply cannot be considered to be the best in the field.
Authority on the Subject
Once you have found an attorney that specializes in New York traffic court defense you have to delve into the content of the web site. Many sites are not designed to be informative and informational, but designed as landing pages for pay per click campaigns or other tactics to get you to land on the page. Then all they have on the page is bare boned information and an outline about general common matters and physical locations covered. These are not true web sites, but “landing pages.”
A landing page is just that – a page designed for you to land on which is nothing more than an electronic billboard when you get there. A lawyer or law firm that is serious and authoritative about the practice of traffic court defense law will have much more content and information than just that. For example, take a look around this web site. Does it have pages of in depth articles and information regarding specific issues in traffic law? Does it have detailed attorney profile information so that you know whom you are dealing with?
One rule of thumb when looking at a web site ask if the site merely tells you that they defend traffic tickets, or does it have pages and articles explaining the process and procedure and various areas and issues in speeding and traffic law. The law firm web sites that are authoritative on traffic law are the ones that are the best NY traffic court lawyers.
Another way to tell that a New York traffic court lawyer is authoritative and therefore the best to retain to defend you is whether the lawyer or law firm is published outside of the web site they control. For example, our law firm is a regular contributor to the Westchester County Bar Association Magazine “Westchester Lawyer”: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/wcbany.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Magazine_West_Lawyer/2014-09-WLM.pdf
Breadth of Geographical Area Covered
Being a traffic court lawyer is a service business, and by its very nature a traffic infraction is a transient charge. In other words, you can be from out of state or across the state from where you have to deal with this problem. The best, most professional traffic court lawyers and law firms are sensitive to the needs of their clients and as such do not only cover a small portion of the state but cover the entire state. Indeed, statewide coverage it is a telltale sign that a traffic court lawyer is just that and is not really just a criminal defense lawyer taking a few speeding cases where he routinely goes for extra money. Multi-state licensing and representation is another one. For example, our firm is licensed in 3 states (New York, Vermont, and Connecticut), and there is not a location or court that we do not cover in those states.
Third Party Testimonials
Having a way for you as the consumer to independently verify their effectiveness through third party testimonials is yet another way to vet a lawyer or law firm as the best speeding and traffic court lawyer to represent you. In our case you can go to our testimonials page here: https://www.attackthatticket.com/testimonials.html or to Avvo.com here: http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/michael-palumbo-1477580/reviews.html to see what past clients say about us in their own words.
Money Back Guarantee
A law firm that puts their money where their mouth is by offering a money back guarantee can be considered one of the best speeding and traffic court lawyers or firms to retain to defend you. Many lawyers will tell you it’s unethical to offer a money back guarantee so that’s not why they do it. But, don’t be fooled it isn’t, and our firm’s money back guarantee is here: https://www.attackthatticket.com/money-back-guarantee.html.
Represents clients before the NYS DMV
A traffic matter is a duel judicial and administrative matter. In other words, while being convicted of a speeding ticket or motor vehicle crime often triggers revocations and suspensions there are other ways a motorist can lose her license or driving privileges having nothing to do with a court case or conviction under the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Rules and Regulations. Often untangling the bureaucratic nightmare to get you unsuspended and back on the road is more difficult than representing a client in court against a speeding or traffic matter. This is because there are over 110 reasons a driver’s license or driving privileges can be suspended or revoked, many of which have nothing to do with driving or an underlying court action.
In our case a main part of our practice is representing motorists in administrative actions taken by the NYS DMV. In addition we are also one of the few non-government entities that has direct access to the NYS DMV licensing and registration database. We have experience in representing motorists in all facets of restoration of driving privileges. Such actions have included:
· Appealing from adverse findings at fatality hearings
· Restoration after license revocation due to insurance lapse
· Representing and advising clients whose license is suspended for income tax arrearages
· Appealing from finding of refusal of to a chemical test (breathalyzer) at refusal hearing
· Clearing suspensions and arrest warrants for failing to answer traffic tickets in various courts and restoring driving privileges
· Representing clients at DWI chemical test refusal hearings
· Applying for license reinstatement to the NYS DMV Driver Improvement Unit
· Remediating incorrect driving history records which are preventing re-licensing
· Representing and advising clients whose license is suspended for child support arrearages
· Restoration after license revocation due to conviction for driving without insurance
Attorney and Law Firm Accessibility
When contemplating retaining a lawyer or law firm to represent you in traffic court or against a speeding ticket, you must take into account the responsiveness of the law firm to your initial inquiry. Only the best NY speeding and traffic ticket defense law firms are responsive to your calls, e-mails, and other inquiries. The importance of a traffic ticket defense law firm to run their practice professionally cannot be understated. When you retain a traffic ticket defense lawyer the law firm goes to court for you. If the lawyer fails to appear on your behalf it is you, the client that suffers by having your license suspended and / or being convicted by default, not your lawyer or the law firm.
The law firm you retain should not be operating out of a briefcase, off of a corner of his dining room table, with a cell phone, wing and a prayer. The firm should have a bricks and mortar operation. The phone should be answered promptly 24 / 7 by a live person, not an answering machine. Traffic ticket practice is a volume practice, so it is not unreasonable that a lawyer does not initially pick up the phone on your first call. However, the firm should have a support staff that is fully trained and knowledgeable and conversant enough in the practice to help you, explain the service, answer any questions, know when your case is an emergency situation to expedite getting a lawyer on the phone, and e-mail you a retainer agreement with instructions on how to retain the office. Further, an attorney of the firm should always reach out to you no more than 24 hours after your initial contact and consultation to ensure that all of your questions are answered and for an opportunity for direct consultation an attorney.
These are minimum basic requirements that you should expect when deciding which law firm to retain. It should give you pause if the lawyer or firm at the outset is not responsive to your inquiry, because it should scare you to think of how they will treat you after they have your money.