"ACT IMMEDIATELY TO PROTECT YOUR DRIVING PRIVILEGES"

In Boise, Idaho, if you are charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, two things are certain: First – your mugshot photo will show-up online for all to see, and second – you will receive a "letter" advertising the services of a lawyer who wants to represent you.

I am writing this today after meeting with a potential DUI client who told me that he had been "scared" into hiring a young, inexperienced lawyer with a slick website and an even slicker solicitation letter. After a couple weeks of trying to get a return call, he was ready to change lawyers. His initial fear – the main factor that had driven the client to hire his lawyer – had been replaced by a feeling of dissatisfaction over how the case was being handled.

I have written about this before, but I had not recently seen the letters some lawyers are sending to potential clients. Some of the solicitations I have seen are overly frightening and deceptive. At a recent DUI seminar the speaker said that one of her clients had received over 25 of these solicitations.

Here’s what I hate about these solicitations – they are solely intended to convert you from "charged" to CLIENT. The lawyers behind them prey on the fear that is inherent within the legal system – fear of big fines, jail time, lost driving privileges and lost jobs.

All of these ARE potential consequences of a DUI, but the idea that you should "decide now" to call a direct mail lawyer because "your time is running out and you must act immediately" is erroneous.

Stop. Breathe deep and get the facts about DUI before you jump at that "mailbox lawyer."

Yes, DUI is a very serious charge. The penalties are enough to keep most of us sleepless for nights if charged with this crime. The answer to the fear caused by your arrest, is information.  You do not have to choose a lawyer without first learning as much as you can about the charges you face.

Do not have to be scared into hiring a lawyer who sent you a "legal" looking come-on by mail.

Take some time.

Talk to some friends and get lawyer referrals.

Talk to some lawyers.

Then make an informed decision, not a decision based on fear!

Start your research on driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol by checking out the DUI posts in this blog under the Topics section to the right of this post. There, you will find information about drunk driving arrests, physical control of the vehicle, the politics of a DUI charge and why winning is so difficult, 5 questions you must ask before hiring a DUI lawyer, the truth about penalties for DUI in Idaho, whether you should take the breathalyzer in Idaho and a follow-up on that same issue, whether you should take the field sobriety tests in Idaho, and when your car can be stopped by an Idaho law enforcement officer. And there is so much more – under the DUI topic in this blog. 

So get informed BEFORE you choose a lawyer.

And if you want to learn more about your case, simply give us a call.