Legal Fees

At MyIllinoisDefenseLawyer.com we understand that legal fees are not something you plan on when you make your family budget.

Being charged with a crime is not something you ever thought would happen to you. But now you need to face it and are probably wondering What is the best criminal defense I can get in Illinois, at a price I can afford?

Our fees are very competitive with many, less experienced criminal defense lawyers. And when it comes to protecting your future, the value of keeping a criminal conviction off of your permanent record for the rest of your life has significant value to you.

You owe it to yourself to at least investigate the possibility of fighting the charges, and finding out what an experienced Illinois defense lawyer can do for you, by taking advantage of a free case evaluation.

In the course of a case evaluation, we’ll let you know exactly what our services would cost. I can’t put a price list here, because the variables are too many. Prices depend on the severity of the charges, estimated court time, and extra legal research necessary, investigators, and more. Many of these things are rare, but I need to understand what it will take to defend you.

We do charge flat fees, so there are no billing surprises. And we’ll also take credit cards if that will help you.

So what will it really cost? Misdemeanor charges are usually a few thousand dollars, but sometimes quite a bit less. Felony defense fees are usually $5000 and up, but there may be exceptions to that.

We invite you to compare fees with other attorneys, but it is a mistake to hire an attorney based on fee alone. Make sure the attorney understands your case, and understands you. But most importantly, you need to feel confident that your defense lawyer can help you. How many similar cases has he or she handled in the past year? How many wins, dismissals, reduction of charges?

Experience really does matter. Get the best defense you can, at a price you can afford!

What about traffic tickets?

If you are considering challenging a traffic ticket, speeding violation, or other automotive citation, the math in paying a defense lawyer is about two things:

• Saving your license
• Saving money

Saving Your Driver’s License

When it comes to keeping your driver’s license, for most people that is worth a lot of money. You need your license to get to work to earn a living, to get food for your family, and so many other things. If your driver’s license is suspended, it can cost you everything. Even in the best case scenario, you may have to depend on others to drive you places, do errands.

An I can honestly tell you: do not ever consider driving while your license is under suspension. The risks are too great. You could easily wind up in jail for driving your car while your license is suspended or revoked. And technology makes it increasingly easy for the police to catch you. Many police departments in Illinois have video camera scanning technology that tracks every car on the road. You could be flagged as driving a car by an owner whose license is under suspension, and pulled over, even if you do nothing wrong on the road.

Saving money

If you aren’t at risk of losing your license, then it is all about the money, and the math is pretty simple.

What does the traffic citation cost? Does your attorney have a reasonable chance of beating the ticket and saving you that money? Always ask not only for a lawyers honest opinion about your chances, but exactly how many tickets like yours he or she has beaten in court. Most attorneys will give you a fair estimate if you ask a direct question based on their history of success. If the lawyer won’t answer that question, it make be that he or she hasn’t fought enough tickets to give you a guess. And if that’s the case, maybe you should look elsewhere for representation in a traffic court or DMV hearing.

And don’t forget - insurances rates can be a huge part of the savings! You may want to call your insurance agent to find out how much your rates will go up if you accept responsibility for the ticket.

For a criminal or traffic ticket case evaluation, please contact us. We’ll discuss your options and quote fees for our legal representation.