In Pennsylvania we have over 43,000 lawyers.  If you pickup the Harrisburg yellow pages, for example, you will see dozens of ads for DUI Lawyers.  So how can an average person, with no legal background or prior experience with an attorney, choose the right Pennsylvania DUI lawyer?

To answer this question we have today’s blog.  “How to find a DUI Lawyer in Pennsylvania.”

First of all, what is a DUI Lawyer?

This question may seem overly simplistic but unfortunately many people make mistakes early on in their decision-making process.  It begins at the very beginning their mental conceptualization of the definition of “DUI Lawyer.”  So, with that error very on, they end up making the wrong choice.  So let’s spend some time on the definition of true DUI Lawyer as it will be the basis of our original question.

To define DUI Lawyer, let’s not talk about DUI, alcohol, laws, or even attorneys.  Let’s talk about Cardiologists- heart doctors by analogy.  If you had  a minor problem with heartburn you would probably visit a general practitioner, your primary care physician. However, if you or a loved one had a serious heart problem, an arrhythmia for example, you would find a heart specialist-a cardiologist.  But not just any old cardiologist or even the one in the phone book with the best catchiest ad or who is on the internet with a flash intensive website, you would actively seek out the best, the most qualified and the brightest for your particular ailment who has the highest level of education in the specialized field and has the most experience.   Whether you are consulting with your primary care physician (family doctor) or the cardiologist, in both cases you are visiting a doctor who deals with heart problems, but when the problem gets serious you go to the specialist because someone who “also deals with heart problems” just doesn’t cut it.

The same holds true for lawyers.  If you have a minor issue, go see a general practitioner.  If you have a serious legal issue like a DUI you need to see a specialist. We have discussed at length the various consequences stemming from a DUI conviction.  Not only could you be facing, jail time and suspension of your driving license if convicted, you could also lose your job, your occupational license, insurance, and face other stiff financial liabilities.  For most of the clients we represent, the DUI charges they were facing, were the most serious legal issue they had or will face in their entire lives. Many of them didn’t realize how serious the consequences were until they sat down with us for a consultation.

So just as you would got to a heart specialist when facing serious heart problems, you should find a qualified DUI specialist when facing a serious legal issue like a DUI charge.  At that point, an attorney who “also deals with DUI” just doesn’t cut it. You need to see a highly trained, qualified lawyer who specializes in DUI and knows about all of the complex legal, procedural, administrative, medical, and scientific issues that are involved in these cases.

So we have answered our first question, “What is a DUI Lawyer?” and have come to the conclusion that we need to find a DUI expert.  Our next post will take a look at what criteria you need to examine in order to determine whether or not the lawyer you are taking to is, in fact, a DUI expert.

Justin McShane

PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.