How to Find the Best Toronto Criminal Defence Lawyer
There are few things in life as frightening as being accused and arrested for a criminal offense. Whether or not you are actually guilty doesn’t alter the fear it instills in you. Obviously, if you are guilty it is something you should have expected. However, that doesn’t alter the fact that now you are accused of a crime and you want the best criminal defense lawyer Toronto has to offer. Unfortunately, the average person just doesn’t know how to find that criminal defense lawyer. Here are a few tips to help you make an informed choice if you should ever find yourself in need of a top-notch criminal defense lawyer in Toronto.
When Searching Online
It is a well-known fact that more people now search for businesses, doctors, and lawyers online than using a local telephone directory. In fact, most people don’t even have a hardcopy directory anymore. Do they even still publish them? So then, you will almost certainly search for a Toronto criminal defense lawyer online but that doesn’t mean that you should take the first one that pops up in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). When searching online, do take the time to read criminal defense lawyer reviews – especially those submitted by the defendants those lawyers represented.
Consult the Law Society of Ontario
While you can use this as a search engine for choosing a criminal specialist in the Province of Ontario, there is other information you can find as well. If any criminal defense lawyer has been cited for professional infractions, you will almost always find that information on sites like this. They may not have lost their license to practice law in Canada, but they may have had penalties assessed and that’s something you’d like to know. You want a criminal defense team that is beyond reproach.
Social Media
One of the ‘newest’ ways to find a great criminal defense lawyer to represent you in your area is, believe it or not, social media. You can always join forums in your area and ask other members who they’ve been successfully represented by. You can check out lawyers’ social sites to see comments and posts from people they’ve represented, and you can get a ‘feel’ for what it’s like to communicate with that team. You can pretty well tell if you will be able to establish a rapport by the way in which they interact with followers on their social pages. You will find that most criminal defense lawyers have one or more social media accounts, so do take the time to check sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Choosing a criminal defense lawyer that you are comfortable with is important on a number of levels. You obviously don’t want a criminal record and you also don’t want to be sentenced to prison. Therefore, take the time to know that you are hiring the best legal defense lawyer you can find. With the internet as your best resource, it can be a relatively fast process. Just remember not to choose the first criminal defense lawyer that pops up in the SERPs. Take the time to read those reviews! Your freedom may very well depend on it.