How Not to Advertise Yourself as a Criminal Defense Lawyer

30 Nov, 2009  4 Comments

The blogosphere is a odd matter. Accept as true it or not, I am not the lone Seattle DUI defense lawyer running round here on the internet writing with reference to bits and pieces and letting everybody know what I believe about material and hoping that somebody reads it. Others are out there. And others are out there across the state.

Yet, some of us are not so brainy when it comes to the spotlight something like a blog can give to a ordinary old Seattle DUI defense lawyer.

What do I represent by that, you have got to be asking? Well, let me notify you. There is this guy running around in Houston, Texas holding himself out as a illustrious DUI attorney. And I don’t know him, so possibly he is truly good quality. What I do recognize is that lately he’s been in and out of the weekly for some of his promotion methods that are, shall we say, less than principled.

To start with, he candidly admits to bad mouthing other criminal attorneys explicitly in order to get the affair of that individual customer.

And second, he admits to leaving favorable reviews of himself on websites like Avvo.com, yahoo.com, and other outlets where reviews are offered.

Even though I don’t really mind how this guy acts, and I’m certain there are people like that in the Seattle region (though I don’t distinguish of any myself), it isn’t in actuality the finest way to get business for yourself or prop up yourself, especially in a weekly. Why not, you might be asking? Although those two methods may get you trade when inhabitants don’t know that you are doing it, when they do see that you are doing it, people straight away know two things about you, and both are false.

And, not only that, but the judges and prosecutors know about this, destroying your credibility in a world where trustworthiness means a lot. I wouldn’t want to be in this guy’s shoes.

And the story doesn’t cease there. Because I’m positive this DUI lawyer was a terrific quote and treasured chatting about himself, the weekly just kept on asking him inquiries, and he just kept on answering them. One of the most boneheaded moves he made was to deliberate about his job for his driving under the influence clients, namely that he’d gotten off a lot of citizens that were in fact drunk driving.

Why is this a terrible thing, you might inquire? Well, if you were one of the citizens he got off, then it almost certainly wasn’t so appalling. But think larger picture. Ponder regarding all of the people that glance at this daily and peruse this piece of writing. Think about the prospective jurors out there soaking all of this in. Now, if you are representing somebody charged of drunk driving in this neighborhood, all of the jurors may be thinking at least one thing, a lot of drunk driving attorneys get citizens off that were actually too under the influence to drive - not precisely the mindset I’d like my jurors to possess!

Additionally, if any of the jurors go home and explore this attorney before they go to bed in between trial days, they will likely stumble across this article. And what is to stop them from presuming this guy is just trying to get off one more one of his drunk customers? Opening your mouth can on occasion not go as planned, and here it may have backfired big time.

When my customers opt to go to trial on their Seattle DUI indictment, it is not because they believe I can get them off when they are in the wrong. It is because they were not driving under the influence such that they couldn’t securely operate a car and this is the only way they can vindicate their name. When you have garbage science, rubbish field sobriety tests, and police drooling over their next driving under the influence stop, it makes sense that trials will happen. And it makes sense that those trials would take place not to get the blameworthy off, but to let the innocent go free.

If you are a Seattle DUI defense lawyer and want to market yourself that is fine and dandy. I do it. And I do it a lot. It must be done if you are going to be seen in this sea of criminal attorneys. It is unavoidable. But do it right. Stand on your reputation, encourage other drunk driving defense lawyers in your area, and don’t be a jackass when talking to the daily.

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