The profession of a criminal lawyer is interesting and full of challenges. For those who have a penchant for digging deep into legal matters and love challenges, a career as a criminal lawyer can be a good option. Read the following post to know more.
In the present times, the profession of a lawyer has become one of the fastest growing across the globe. Those who have a penchant for trying something new and challenging, a career as a lawyer can be actually very satisfying. Lawyers are extremely regarded in every society. In the recent times a demand for criminal lawyers has increased rapidly due to the ever-changing social and economic scenario all over the world. Let’s explore the profession of criminal lawyer in a little more details:
Most of the times, we are under the impression that criminal lawyers end up working most of their times in courtrooms, offices and law libraries. If the need arises, they also end up meeting their clients either at homes or business, prisons and sometimes even hospitals. At times criminal lawyers need to embark on travel for work purpose in order to gather solid evidence so that they can approach legislative authorities.
Professionally criminal lawyers can be divided into two major types: the ones who are salaried and the ones who engage in private practice. Salaried criminal lawyers usually follow a fixed work schedule while private lawyers on the other hand usually have somewhat erratic working hours. They are often seen engaging in work like extensive research, attending conferences with clients and preparing briefs outside working hours. Criminal lawyers need to put in a lot of hard work. A typical profession, preparations for court cases not only encompasses learning a lot about the cases and clients but also keeping one’s self abreast about all the latest laws and changes coming up in the country’s legal system.
Job Description of a Criminal Lawyer
The basic job description of a criminal lawyer comprises the following:
Representing respondents fronting illegal charges in a state is the most important job description of a criminal lawyer. The scopes of practice for criminal lawyers include bail bond hearings, trial, hearings, appeals and post-conviction remedies. Usually a criminal lawyer performs the following functions:
- Investigate a criminal case and engage in discussion with witnesses
- Indulge in research case laws, crime codes, statues and procedural laws
- Construct a defense and work upon case strategies
- Negotiate effectively with the tribunal to plea bargain
- File, draft and argue motions such as motions to suppress and motions to dismiss
- Campaign for the perpetrator at the hearing
- Effectively arguing appeals
Skills Required to Become a Criminal Lawyer
A mere degree will not help someone to succeed as a Criminal Lawyer. One has to have certain skills that in order to perform as a professional lawyer. They must have excellent verbal or orals and written skill. A strong sense of justice and persuading power to be able to influence the jury is very essential. Research and investigation skills are required to able to build up strong defense; durable original thinking ability and analytical powers are required in order to analyze and successfully pull through complex cases.
Apart from these, criminal lawyers should have an in-depth knowledge about federal, state, local rules, procedures pertaining to court, local judges, evidentiary laws and the entire judicial system. In addition to all these, skills that can work effectively are a robust attorney- client relationship and an excellent interpersonal skill.
As crime rates begin to grow across the world, the demand for good criminal lawyers are increasing with each passing day. As new criminal laws are being codified and more individuals are being charged under criminal laws—the need for criminal lawyers are proliferating. The profession of a criminal lawyer is not only satisfying but also economically rewarding.
About the author: Sampurna Majumder writes on the behalf of Shiksha.com, which is the leading education portal providing genuine and accurate information about the current education trends and career options. The above article provides an insight into the profession of a criminal lawyer.