Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that many firms take cases on a "free if you don't win" or contingency basis. It has been our observation that when a lawyer is not getting paid, the client's value is determined by the value of the case, not the client's needs. Similarly, if the client does not care enough about his case to be financially invested, they are usually not invested enough to pursue the matter over the long term. Given that we seek clients that truly need relief and willing to commit themselves to this process, we do not take cases on contingency. We will, however, work to find a hybrid solution for clients that are having financial difficulties that may make our services affordable.

While this depends on the type of case, some general rules of thumb are:

 - For Criminal Cases: the date of arrest, the next court date, the case number, the location of the next court date, as well as the arrested person's booking number and date of birth.

 - For Appeals: the case number, the location of the Court where the case was tried, and (if known) the date judgment was entered.

 - For Prisoner Civil Rights Cases: the date of the incident, a description of the rights violation, the inmate's CDCR number, and whether the inmate has filed any administrative grievances about the incident or condition.

It depends. Most public defenders are incredibly good lawyers and have their client's best interests at heart. However, most public defenders will agree that they have very heavy caseloads, meaning they cannot always give personalized attention to clients to the degree they would like to. That said, many minor cases can be quickly disposed of through a public defender, or for a variety of reasons may not merit private counsel. So, if we believe that a public defender is the right fit for you, we will be the first to tell you.