Don’t Wait to Seek Legal Help
When you are arrested or charged with a crime, time is truly of the essence. The prosecution, like a well-oiled machine, has started to work on your case. You put yourself at a distinct disadvantage when you wait before contacting us.
***Before we continue, a note to those who have waited:
Sometimes you live a busy life, and it’s everything you can do to hold it together and deal with an overwhelming issue, like being charged with a crime. Sometimes you are afraid, either of the potential consequences, or of people finding out. In the end, there are as many reasons people don’t call us right away as there are people who don’t call us right away. All is not lost. We are successful with many cases where we were brought in later, but the truth is that there is a point that happens in all cases where it may be later in the game than we would like. Even when it seems like all is lost, a good attorney can help protect the rights you still have, and can fight to change past decisions. It is only by consulting a discreet, understanding, zealous attorney that you will know what we can do for your case. It is our job to protect you and fight for your rights, and we are pretty good at what we do, but if you don’t take the first step and call us, we can’t help you at all. Call now.
Dates and Deadlines Come Quickly
Some charges, like DUI and DWI, have separate components like ALR hearings that you must request or lose your right to contest. If you don’t contest the ALR, you can have serious consequences, like losing your driver’s license. We can help you with an occupational license, sometimes called a restricted license, and we are happy to do so, BUT… Isn’t it better to just contest the matter and not lose your license in the first place? We certainly think so.
This is just one example of what can happen when someone does not call an attorney. Other cases with front-loaded issues include domestic violence, sex cases, solicitation, juvenile cases, and more. They can miss out without even knowing it, or suffer consequences through means they didn’t know existed. As a firm where criminal defense makes up more than 95% of our caseload, we know all of the ins and outs of the criminal justice system, and we are ready to put our knowledge to work for you. We have the best chance at helping you with every aspect of your case and not missing any deadlines is when you call us immediately!
You May Not Realize You Are Giving Up Your Rights – But We Can Protect You!
Every criminal defense attorney has had “that moment,” the one where our client says that of course they told the cops they could come in, of course they signed the paper waiving an attorney curing questioning, and we have to explain that their case will definitely NOT be dismissed. This can lead to confusion, frustration, and truly sad results… all because regular people, smart regular people, are just not familiar with the law.
You literally cannot call us too soon. If you hear there is a warrant out for your arrest, call us. If you see the police pulling up to your house, call us. If you’re arrested and they will let you use the phone, call us then. And if something happens, and you know there might be trouble down the road, call us.
Consultations are free. We may all sit down and determine that you don’t need our services right away, or we may be able to give you quick instructions on the phone as to how to handle a particular situation. The bottom line is that from the first time you call us to the day we mail your expunction order, we are there to help you, both to understand the law and your case, and to protect your rights.
Police Officers Are NOT Lawyers – And You Need A LAWYER
It happens all the time. Potential clients come into our office and tell us in detail what the officer told them about their case and the law at the time of arrest… And then are surprised to learn that the officer lied. Or the officer didn’t know. Or it was a dear friend whose brother is a lawyer. Or it was a dear friend who is a lawyer, but does not practice criminal law, or practices criminal law in another state.
The bottom line is that the internet and non-lawyers, or lawyers who do not specialize in criminal law in Texas, are singularly ill-suited to evaluate your case. We spend a lot of time that we could be answering clients’ questions and delving into the specifics of their situation essentially arguing with them about whether or not something that happened in another case might happen in theirs, whether the officer was correct, or about what the law in Texas actually says. This is, unfortunately, sometimes an exercise in futility, and a potential client leaves our office unable to be convinced of the law because of preconceptions.
It is best not to start out on this note. When clients call us first, we are able to arm them with useful resources they can use to aid in their own defense. We are able to give to-do lists and homework that may actually help on their case. Most importantly, we are able to explain the actual laws in Texas and give you the best possible idea of what can happen on your case. We can give you tips and pointers on what to expect, and we can really delve into details on your particular situation.
Now, it is important to note that we are not averse to hearing your ideas and solutions. Indeed, it is very important that you tell us about these things because client-led solutions are often nuanced and involved knowledge it would be helpful for your lawyer to know. The Jon Stephenson Law team includes our clients, and we will always welcome ideas, questions, and information. Nothing is to small to bring to us. We just don’t like arguing with our clients about armchair lawyer opinions. We’d prefer to save that fighting energy for the courtroom.
Call us today, and get the right answers first.
Value and Choice
We encourage potential clients to shop around. The attorneys at Jon Stephenson Law are both committed to making their clients happy, and they have found that this is a nearly impossible goal to achieve if a client felt they did not have a good rapport with our attorneys, or did not feel they had adequate time to evaluate choices in representation.
The vast majority of our clients come in to the office and hire us on the spot. That’s because we give realistic predictions backed up by the law and experience, are generally easy to get along with, and have a straightforward contract and agreement process. But, even we acknowledge our style of representation is not for everyone.
Though we have yet to have a situation where we had a client walk away from a representation agreement truly unhappy, as a team we’ve found the best way to avoid those situations is for clients who need to deeply research options for representation to do so. As we said above, some people are the type to make an immediate choice and just know. Other clients need time, space, and research. We welcome all kinds, and if you know you’re the type who can’t just meet with one person, who needs a second opinion, we want to make sure you’re calling us early enough that you have time to explore all your options to make a comfortable choice.
Call us as soon as possible so you can do the research you need to make a decision, before you get so far down the road that your case has lasting consequences that could have been prevented had you hired someone sooner.
Let’s say you chose the wrong lawyer…
We have people call our office on an almost-weekly basis to see if we can take over representation from another attorney. Sometimes it’s an appointed attorney, and they’ve only just come up with funds to hire someone of their choosing. Other times, personality conflicts or a loss of trust has made continued representation impossible.
We do take clients who have had a bad experience elsewhere. We, as a set of people, tend to be optimistic realists. It will almost always be in a client’s best interest to continue representation with their first attorney, but we understand that can’t always happen. In those cases where continuing the initial relationship simply will not work, it is best not to try to hang on.
The sooner you call us, the sooner we are on your case, the more we will be able to do for you. If a previous lawyer made mistakes, it is best to have ample time to fix them. If we need to obtain your file, it’s best to have enough time to look at it before trial. We do not want to put our clients or ourselves in situations where it is impossible for us to be fully prepared.
If this is you, if you are part of a lawyer-client relationship that has soured, please call us as soon as possible. The sooner you call, the better chance we have of getting the best possible resolution to your case, that is to say the closest to what you would have gotten had you hired us from the beginning.
Call Us As Soon As Possible
No matter where your case is, if you think you may need a criminal defense attorney, the time to call the lawyers at Jon Stephenson Law is NOW. We are waiting to consult on your case, and ready to work for you immediately.
