Auto Accident Attorney
Hiring an attorney to represent you in traffic court can be expensive. On the other hand, the fines imposed by the traffic court can also be hefty, and that’s not even taking into consideration the spike in insurance premiums that you are likely to see as a result of a traffic violation.
Before you can determine whether it is worth your while to hire a traffic attorney, it may be helpful to know how much it will cost you. However, this answer can vary based on a number of different factors.
1. Location
Where you live, or more accurately, where your traffic court case is taking place can influence how much a lawyer will charge. Attorneys’ fees vary by county and state.
2. Type of Violation
The more serious the offense that you are accused of committing, the more you can expect to pay in fees if you decide to hire an attorney to represent you. There are two types of traffic violations. Some are crimes, which carry the possibility of jail time if convicted, while others are infractions, which are civil violations for which the possible penalties do not include incarceration. If you hire an attorney to defend you against criminal charges, it will likely cost much more than it would for a mere infraction.
3. Attorney’s Experience
The more experienced and successful an attorney is, the more he or she is likely to charge for legal services. However, you should do your homework carefully beforehand. Just because a lawyer charges a lot of money, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is the best or most skilled.
4. Scope of Representation
The scope of representation refers to how long the attorney is expected to remain on your case and how much work he or she is going to have to do. In other words, are you going to have your attorney represent you at trial, or will you only require his or her services through an arraignment and a plea deal? The greater the scope of representation, the greater the attorney’s fees are likely to be.
5. The Type of Driving You Do
If you are a commercial driver, a traffic violation could potentially mean the end of your career. Since the stakes are so high, an attorney is likely to charge you more. However, you may not have as much to lose if you only drive for personal reasons.
On the low end, the most basic legal services from a traffic attorney can run $60 to $150. On the high end of the scale, hiring a traffic attorney could cost $2,000 to $5,000. We would be happy to discuss pricing and fees with you when you contact a Traffic Violation Lawyer, like the lawyers at The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, to arrange a consultation.
